Hi, I'm new to the forum here but have been interested in the Stick and tapping instruments for a long time. I'm seriously considering getting myself a touchstyle instrument in the near future but I'm not certain I can make it work musically in my band.

I'm the bass player in a 4-piece thrash metal band, with one guitarist, a drummer, and a singer. I think the Stick could help fill in some parts that we'd ordinarily need a second guitarist to do, as well as holding down the bottom end.

My real question is how applicable would a touchstyle instrument be in a band where I have to play a lot of open low B's? I play a 5-string bass and I would say half of our tunes revolve around that low B. From what I can work out on my own, the open low string of the Stick is usually a B but the damper makes it impossible to play that open note. The NS/Stick allows playing the low B if you rotate the damper out of the way, right?

I'd probably be most interested in an SB8 or similar, just because I'll always be a bass player at heart. What kind of advice can you folks give me with regards to the whole touchstyle endeavour?

Thanks!

To my knowledge, you'd be clearing a new path. That in itself would be attractive to me, but there are a few out there who have used Stick in a heavy band setting. I see the Stick filling a space somewhere between guitar/bass and keyboard. If you are doing original tunes, I say go for it! A cover band that wants to sound faithful to the originals, might cause you some resistance from band mates.

Welcome to the forum.

And I hope you pursue your interest in tapping. I would suggest you check out the blistering bass parts Tony Levin played with Liquid Tension Experiment to answer your question. Two-handed tapping can be extremely fast and articulate, perfect for metal bass parts.

Here's how he described his use of the instrument in that band:

"The style of the music is for the guitar, bass and keyboard to play the same line," says Levin about the "metal" aspects of the band's music, which features low, fast guitar, doubled with the bass. "The Stick is a much faster instrument than the bass and it speaks in a different way....clean, clear and fast down low."

from this article: http://www.stick.com/articles/progression/

As far as tuning goes, the first fret on the 36"-scale Stick is quite playable, even with the damper behind it. You can even tune that low bass string down to a Bb if you'd rather have the B a little further away from the damper, which is sometimes done for 10 and 12-string tunings: http://www.stick.com/instruments/tunings/12/dmr_66/

So the answer to your question as far as the Stick goes is a big yes. I can't speak for other tapping instruments. I have no idea if they will sound good tapping a low B or Bb, or if they work well when tapping near the damper. On The Stick, it's no problem.

As a last thought, Emmett called his playing method Free Hands, Touchstyle is just a marketing term used by Stick competitors, and one you don't often see here. for more on that see this article:

http://www.stick.com/method/Free_Hands/

I have been playing heavy music for years on the Stick. There is nothing in the world like the bass side of the Stick through a Big Muff . I play my Baritone Melody side through a Mesa Boogie and it is very satisfying.
You can do anything with The Stick.

Check this out. Oh yeah.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YZO_A6QJ1A[/youtube]

Welcome to the forum.

You can play an open B on a stick. You just tap on the zero fret. So that shouldn't be an issue at all.

Do you use a pick to play bass? It might take you some time to get up to the speed you need using just your fingers.

While not quite “thrash” Tony Levin would be at the top of anyone’s list for Stick players in a Rock setting. I think the two live Liquid Tension Experiment DVD’s showcase his Stick playing wonderfully. This link is to “When the Water Breaks” which has a few fast passages where you can hear him clearly on his own and you get a good sample of his straight up two handed technique (awesome !!!) I personally prefer the Live in NYC show as it has a tighter shot and you get a close in view of Tony playing… but there wasn’t any quality clips of that show on YouTube unfortunately. I can’t recommend this DVD enough as a showcase for heavy rock Stick playing at the highest level !!

If you follow this link on from the LA show to part two you get the added benefit of Jordan’s Keytar solo which he didn’t do in the NYC show. So I guess you take your over the top goodness as it comes…LOL. Which I guess is kind of the point of LTE !!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhSLhQEnESs[/youtube]

to get your own copy if you are interested:
http://www.ytsejamrecords.com/ProductCa ... ategory=11

Thanks Walter,

I had forgotten about that example, though it's not really fast, it does show the movements you can use.

Tony basically invented the two-handed bass concept on The Stick, which benefits greatly from the inverted 5ths tuning giving you a lot of room for your hands to spread out on the string. So for pharoahamp's purposes, I'd suggest thinking seriously about a Ten String Grand in a Deep Matched Reciprocal tuning as a possiblility.

http://www.stick.com/instruments/tunings/10/dmr/

I like the idea of either the Stick Bass or the 10-string Grand, for the wider spacing. I play 5-string basses exclusively, and I have traditionally favored those with tighter spacing at the bridge. I play a Music Man Sting Ray 5 mainly, and I do play 100% fingerstyle. I'm not much good with a pick but I do practice the technique. I started on double bass so having the neck mostly vertical is very comfortable for me.

I was actually considering Dual Bass Reciprocal tuning, since I could start out with a lot of the same patterns and motions I'm currently using on the melody strings. When I get more comfortable with the bass in descending 5ths I could restring the instrument to Deep Matched Reciprocal or similar.

Is there a big benefit in having the low string a Bb rather than a B? I won't have much use for Bb as my guitar player can't play that note and a major 7th isn't a popular choice for metal harmony If I go to the 36" scale instrument I can see the value in a low A for pick-up notes to the low B. The dominant is quite useful to me in that regard. How fast can I reasonably expect to play that low B?

Right now I use a technique where I "fan" the strings with the first 3 fingers (i,m,a) on my right hand to increase speed and play certain triplet patterns. I don't think I can transfer that over to the Stick.

I have a 12 string in matched reciprocal 4ths starting with B.

If you do decide to tune your starting with a A# the advantages would be have smaller fret width allowing you to play more notes.

Since you're used to fingering notes the transition will be easier than you think. I played a 6 string bass before getting my first stick a few months ago.

I enjoy a good metal show as the next guy. After having my stick just a few months I hammered out this quick piece. It's not thrash, but does show the possibilities of this awesome instrument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvPeiiMsdho