I notice that the official description of 12 string Grand Stick #5826, from 2009, that has just come into my keeping is 'dark bamboo'.

Nowadays the option is just 'bamboo'.

Does anyone know if there was more than one bamboo option back then? If so, any idea how 'dark bamboo' it compares to the current bamboo?

There used to be light bamboo and dark bamboo. They stopped using light bamboo and only made dark bamboo and called it dark bamboo. Maybe they just dropped the "dark" part of the name since there was only one kind.

I remember the light bamboo was very light. Very similar to the color or maple.

That makes perfect sense Russell.

The colour of #5826 does look very much like the pictures of current bamboo Sticks & it's easy to think of bamboo things that are lighter than this, but not so easy to think of examples that are darker.

Thank you.

I think all tinted bamboo Stick (like my Grand) were light bamboo.
I confirm it's very light (like my Maple 10-string Stick) compared to all other materials.

Thanks for your input. I guess it makes perfect sense to use as white a base material as possible for the tinted Sticks.

PS. I've added www.afstg.com to my links list. If you have a page of your own, please let me know.

I bought my first Stick, a dark bamboo grand, at the beginning of 2010 and it is probably a 2009 build. It is light chocolate brown. A year later I bought a light bamboo SG-12. The wood color is almost white (although mine was dyed red). A difference I noticed with the grand is that it does not have a divided truss rod. I think that upgrade was introduced in 2010 (?)

I'm adding two images to show the difference.

Neither my 'new to me' dark bamboo #5826, nor the graphite 10 string #5862 I already had, have a divided truss rod either. Both were shipped by SE to their original owners in July 2009.

The SE timeline page shows

6-09 Divided truss rod with 4-way push-pull operation in production instruments.

Given the evidence, I take that as meaning that the divided truss rod applies for blanks machined from June 2009 date on? It seems likely that your Grand & mine were both from an earlier batch?

Yep, apparently. Bad luck I put a lot of time into keeping those 36 inches straight for the best sound.

Different timing, different outcome. Divided truss rods would be nice, but in the grand scheme of things it's a detail..

I have now have 3 Sticks, two with simple adjustable truss rods & one with the double fixed truss rod. I don't feel that as bad luck in any respect.

It means I am among the fortunate few in this world to have the opportunity to learn to play Chapman Stick.

Per, I think that the short scale Sticks (SG-12 and Alto) never had a divided truss rod. Quote from SE website https://www.stick.com/about/innovation/truss/:
"This new system is used on all models except the short-scale Alto Stick and Stick Guitar, and the NS Stick"