Nice subject! One of the "shtick" definitions you posted was "a person's special talent, interest, or area of activity". My shtick is of course The Stick in all its variations, including:

- Longer 38" scale Sticks for Paul Edwards and Randy Strom in the late '70s.
- A wider 14-string Stick also in the late '70s.
- An intermediate length "Tenor Stick" for Allan Holdsworth before the guitar scale Alto Stick.
- "The Grid", a dedicated Stick synth controller with ten uniformly thin strings tuned in unison.
- My four "Electric Stick" prototypes from 1969 to first actual production in 1974.
- Failed Sticks (too flexible) made from clear Lucite, hard rubber and fabric laminates.
- Railboard precursor with hardwood neck/headstock and bolt-on 1/4" thick "Railboard" slab.
- And of course a myriad of custom tunings and combinations of features.

The semi-hollow BassLab "monocoque" structure was unique and could have been a contender in my productions, except for problems machining precise fret grooves. Heiko's proprietary molded material was in itself unique with a certain resonance and "bounce" to the tone (and the feel), reminiscent of "Silly Putty" of the '50s or the cellular bounce of soaked and doped violin woods from Stradivarius' time. There are about five BassLab models in existence with metallic colors of blue, black and blue, red and silver. The timber is rich and complex. Dressing the frets was not easy. That's the one that got away.

This has got to be the coolest thread on sticklist!!!!
More, we want to hear more.... I feel like a kid again, listening to my 106 year old grandmother telling stories about magic worlds and long lost heroes! Thank you Steve and everyone shedding some light Thank you Emmett

Hmmm

There are a few half fretless sticks Steve Adelson has 2 i believe.

Ive seen older quarter fretless as well [...]
Brett

Yes. I'm loving this thread too.
Being somewhat of a hardwood junkie, I've always been interested in the various hardwood materials Sticks have been crafted from. Purple Heart Sticks. I think those were produced in the early-mid 1990's. Purple H: as one of the many drastic color-changing woods, I'd love to see how they've changed from Purple to a dark brown...usually after 15-20 years (about now, I guess)...unless Emmett finished them with a UV protectant which is SUPPOSED to slow the color change, but I don't trust these UV protectants them anymore...

Any info on the above would make my day!

I bought some Purple Heart wood from Windsor Plywood in Calgary, Alberta. When I cut it, it turned brown. I put it in the sun tan booth for 30 minutes and that beautiful purple color came back. I got the idea after watching a youtube video about flame treating purple heart pens on a lathe. I needed to cover a larger area evenly, hence the sun tan booth.