stick-philosopher: When you've listened to those, I recommend you dip into the rest of the podcasts too.

Don't get hung up on what to get. Just get a Stick and start learning and playing as soon as you can.

You said you wanted a 12 string. All 12 string Grands have all the main important features (adjustable truss rod and intonatable bridge) regardless of age.

But don't turn your nose up at a Stick that doesn't have all you want (unless it's at a stupid price or in very poor condition - people have been known to try selling Sticks that are literally 'broken' at top dollar. If you want an opinion on a used Stick, ask here).

As Russell started by saying:


A Stick in the hand is worth two in the...

What I'm trying to say is there is an openness to the sound, slightly more guitar-ish but I really don't want to use that expression. Have a look at Greg's Meet the Pickups vid, as well as the EMG -RB10 vid. A/B those vids and you'll get a fairly objective view of what's available.

Also, be sure to get a solid rig that can cover the wide range of the stick. I made the mistake of having a 12" RCF as my first speaker. It had good mid range but just didn't bring the instrument to life. That's a whole other conversation an there's plenty on this forum once you dig around.
I also forgot about another of the best places to hang out online and that's the stick podcast!

I'm excited for you SP!

And if you are free around 9am California time on a Strurday, drop in to Bob Culbertson's group Zoom call.

https://www.stickmusic.com/live-video-streaming

My question would be: what is your intention with the Stick, is it to focus on original material or is it to play covers...

I ask - because if like me you are making the quantum leap for the sake of furthering your own musical vocabulary and skills, then yes a Stick is for you.

I am a huge huge fan of the 8 string instruments, both the wood Stickbass and also the Railboard 8 which I believe is no longer being made.

My Stickbass is set up like 2 bass guitars - one in fifths and one in fourths, and believe me it is loads of fun to play, and that was not an original idea by me, Grace turned me on to the idea of buying a Stickbass and setting it up like two bass guitars while I was sad about missing out on an old Ironwood.

My Railboard 8 on the other hand is set up in what is called the Crafty/Fripp tuning, and it is a single region - as opposed to divided fingerboard, and I did some custom work to my RB after the fact to get the strings in perfect division in relation to each other, as the RB 8s came with a huge gap running up the center which was a huge problem for me.

The NS Stick is worthy of exploration too, mine is in what I think is called Mixed Guitar Intervals or something.

But my real love is my old Ironwoods, one from the mid 70s one from the mid 80s, the old one is in Classic tuning with flatwounds, the newer one is with the regular wound Classic tuning strings.

I like the idea of the Grand Stick, the 12 string version - and I am entertaining the thought of putting in an order for one IF it could be set up 5 bass and 7 melody, Classic 5ths on the bass side, and Crafty/Fripp on the melody side as that would be super exciting to play - however, if I could find an original Grand Stick with the slotted screw nut that's 34 inch scale used, I'd go with that in an instant.

My advice to you - if you are able to - is experiment with different tunings on your bass.

I currently have two Ovation Magnum's set up C G D A

While my Steinbergers are D A E G

For a brief moment in time, I had a 5 string bass, and a 6 string bass tuned in a divided fashion - 5ths for bass 4ths for melody - with the logic being if I can't do it on 5 or 6 strings, I could forget 10 but I'm not sure now if that was a good idea, and all those instruments are back stock again, although my 5 string bass is C G D A E also my Syme Guitar too.

Sticks are very very exciting but can also be quite daunting.

I would plan on this being an investment for life, as opposed to something you buy, try then decide against - because you will be learning new things for life, along with experimenting with what tuning scheme works best for you.

I am in the minority as I totally love the tunings in fifths, but many others on this great forum use a great deal of other tunings.

Welcome, and definately welcome any and all feedback to any and all questions which you may have.

Sideways off-post here, but BGW, when I tried 5+7 on my 12 string, I immediately missed the high string on the bass side.