Good day all. I've really been thinking a lot about taking up the stick and the railboard seems like that would make a good first one (gunmetal I think).

I was wondering whether I'm better off going with classic tuning or something else and whether I should use medium or light gauge strings? Also, is it a good idea adding on a midi pickup? I'm not very savvy with effects being a classical guitarist.

Thanks in advance for any input and advice,

Emile

I have a Railboard. I recommend Baritone Melody tuning for a 10-string. If you eventually matriculate to a 12-string, the inside 10-strings will be the same as Baritone melody, which will facilitate the transition. Also, there are some stick songbooks and teaching guides by Greg that are written in Baritone melody. Greg also has books written for some of the other tunings as well. My 2 cents.

Mark

The first step is a big one. Something that you will find on your Stick journey is that YOUR path will fork and veer, that's all part of it. So long as you are committed to learning a new way of playing music, you are pretty much guaranteed a meaningful musical experience.

Things to consider are cost and how you intend to use the instrument. Railboards are a bit less and there is less of a wait for them. You have less options with pickups and there is a slight increase in weight - maybe 10%.

Are you a bassist? Guitarist? Keyboardist? Drummer? How do you intend to use the instrument? If you think of this as your first Stick, it might be a less difficult decision as the resale value of Chapman Sticks sits pretty firmly at 90%.

I would NOT get a MIDI pickup, but that's just me. You are going to have your hands full with having set signal channels and the new tuning in the left hand. If you pile having a MIDI rig on top of that, it could be a bit of a burden. Then again, it comes back to what you want to do with the instrument. If you are big into MIDI and you already have the rig for it, why not?

Finding a Stickist near you would be a great start. Where are you located? Let's find someone out in your area to have coffee with and talk Chapman Stick! I go back and forth between Temecula and Los Angeles if ever you are out here.

Great post, I'm looking forward to more great ideas others here have to share.

Just re-read the post. You are a classical guitarist! You might want to look into an Alto.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JVyp-IruI[/youtube]

I like medium gauge - probably a good place to start IMHO.

If you go Baritone Melody, Greg's "The Stick Book" is one of the best written instructional material I've ever come across! Just saying.

Thank you all for the input. I'm located in Massachusetts if anyone is nearby for some chapman stick chatting/playing/instruction. The baritone melody sounds interesting and it's good to know that there are instructional books for that. Do you know what tuning Bob C. is using in his instructional vids?

Thanks for the info on the midi. I'll stay away from it for now, but it would be nice to have different effects on bass and melody at some point if I ever get that far, so I'm wondering if it's just good to have one on the bass or treble side for future endeavours. I'd probably intend on using the instrument as a simultaneous bass and guitar or more accurately as a chapman stick .

You can have the MIDI pickup installed by SE, but hold off for now on buying the rest of the equipment. That way, if you want to purchase MIDI in the future, your stick is already prepared. You wont have to ship your stick back to SE for the pickup install....it will already be there. Make sense?

Definitely makes sense. I figure that I can have it in case I need it at some point. I certainly do NOT have the equipment for it or much at all. A Bose L1 and Tonematch is what I have to work with initially. I'll probably spring for a Roland effects board too.

Hi Emile, and welcome.
I am not sure but I believe the Railboard comes with the "channel" cut out already for the Stick version of the Roland GK-3.(in other words you can buy and install a midi? pickup later) I concur with Markussz and his recommendation of a 10 string/Baritone melody set up, and with earthgene's suggestion of avoiding midi or sinth sound to start. I began using the GK-3 pickup along with the Roland GR 20 guitar synth a few years back and I do like it. But it complicated my setup beyond belief. I am now trying to phase it out of my gear, but my band mates in Liquid Nixon and our 2 fans( ) are used to the sound and I can't easily discard it. I think the future has GK-free synth tech in store for all of us thus freeing us from the need to buy and install a Stick version of any Roland hardware.

Even if you use the newer Roland products, you only get one side of the Stick per GK pickup. One pickup is hard to run through 2 midi pedals(ex. GR20 and VG88). And 2 pickups are difficult or impossible to run through one synth pedal.

Advantages vs. disadvantages. Hopefully you will be able to try some of this stuff before making a final decision.

Welcome to the world of almost too many options. I advocate keeping it simple and building your rig after you decide whether you and the Stick are a good match.

Mike