Found this today. Not much info on the site, just images really. The site looks like a launchpad for concepts, inventions and ideas.



The site is called LoopHole and their credo is "Loophole® is a strategic product design, engineering, and prototyping consultancy located in Denver, Colorado. Our human-centered design thinking approach balances empathy, creativity, and rationality to develop products with a positive impact."

Obvious influences from the Stick..especially the linear markers.

http://loophole.co/casestudy/heiko/

Looks like a cross between a Stick and a Gittler (remember those?). Not sure if this is an actual build or a computer mockup. Other images on their site, just don't click the image arrow..it will send you to another product. Rather, scroll down.

Interesting find, Juan.

Looks like a computer mock-up by an industrial designer; concept only to my eye. I have difficulty believing that any actual part design or engineering is represented in this image.

I agree. In addition to my statement that it looks like a cross between a Stick and a Gittler, I also see design ques from Westone Bass that came out in the 80's. It was called The Rail and had a pickup that slid on rails. The pickup could be locked in place under the desired position, presumably the "sweet spot".



The funny thing about this is my friend Mike had come up with a design that he drew up which had the same idea of a sliding pickup housing. I also remember telling him that I thought it was a bad idea. About a year later he showed me an ad for the Westone Rail and said "I told you it was a good idea!".

Gusset is probably right. Looking at the photo with my limited Photoshop skills I
can see that it is very possible that a Stick was used as a starting point. If that is true
though it is pretty good and convincing. Deep fake Stick? But pixels have no tone .

Every so often this topic comes up; alternative tapping instruments and techniques.
I love the ideas but dislike the conflicts inherit in bringing these extra-ordinary ideas
into a competitive marketplace. Even the term "Touch Guitar" is a 'touchy' use of words .

Here is the "Solene". Also aluminum but cylindrical and real . Check out the tone
and the skill on the 7 string. Scroll down:

[youtube2] https://www.guitarmoderne.com/gear-2/fr ... xploration [/youtube2]

It is fun to read initial thoughts on the design—and guesses about what might have influenced it.

After I bought a Stick many years ago, I explored how light and thin a minimalist headless 10 string concept could be made. Several more years passed and I needed a concept to explore some software capabilities of SolidWorks. The original 10 string concept checked all the boxes for a conceptual engineering test.

Last year, I ordered a new set of strings. Shortly after, Emmett contacted me to check what the strings were for and ask me about this new refined concept. I assured him that the strings were for my Stick and the concept was a non-commercial endeavor. I admire Emmett’s design and vision. It is amazing that all the little details have remained true over the years.

Like many artists, I enjoy re-imagining a creation and traveling the path of the original creator—rearranging it. This can be exploring sublime variations, or venture so far that it escapes the orbit of the original. I suspect this concept is on the fringe and will be very polarizing on this forum.

Please consider this as 'fan art', continue to share your thoughts, or guess at the design influences—So far, you have one correct .

The Heiko design looks pretty cool,
but I don't think that it would be comfortable to play.

I enjoy my 1978 vintage Stick made from Angico.
Wood has a nice warm feel to it and it plays like the day it was made.

I thank Emmett for making such a wonderful instrument.

Unfortunately it is to a few people, but it should not be:
"The touch or tapping technique was formally codified by American guitarist Jimmie Webster in his 1952 method book called the 'Illustrated Touch System'."

Use of the 'touch' word predates the Chapman Stick by many years, so it is natural to use 'touch guitar' to describe a tapping instrument, and also natural to use 'touch technique' and shorten it to 'touchstyle'.
Dave Bunker referred to the technique as 'touching' in early demonstrations of the Duo-Lectar, which also pre-dates the Chapman Stick, and later became known as the Bunker Touch Guitar.

The 'touch' words are the original and natural words to use, not something that came after the Chapman Stick and being an insult to it.

I like "fretboard tapping instrument". The Chapman Stick. touch, tap, fret, bend, pluck, scream at, scratch, drum, all around awesomeness.

I think this thing looks awesome! A tad over engineered imo, but sick none the less! Anything that'll get more people tapping is stellar in my book