There's got to be a way to recreate the pasv4 to some extent, or get close to it.

I know that William Villex passed away in 2022. So I understand why they are no longer available.

The NS has 4 emg pickups. Maybe there is a way to get 5 pole emg's and use them in a block for 10 string sticks.
I am sure this is not a priority for SE.
Maybe I'm the only one who has an issue with the pasv4 pickups.

Quite a bit of engineering involved.

I'm guessing I'm going to have to wind my own coils and make my own housing.

Probably similar to the stick up, with adjustable poles, and switches to be able to switch between upper and lower pickups on both sides. I would also like to do it on the railboard.

I wouldn't change the stickup if I can get one for my 10 grand, and sb8, and soon to have railboard, I would have it, and be done. Maybe figure out a way to add some switches.
I don't use the 12 strings anymore. I'm a ten string guy.

My brain hurts. Pipe dreaming.

Aaaarrrgggh.



Stick Sticksticstiikstickastick

That's Dutch(?) guy is not the one I was thinking of WerkSpace. Here's another from the guy you found

I agree. The only problem I see is that it's often difficult for folks who are interested to get their hands on one. There are probably a lot of potentially good Stick players out there that might have been intrigued, but when they realized how much work and/or time it takes to get one, they move on to something else.

That's why I wasn't thinking about making them any cheaper - I just can't stop wondering how I would go about getting the production and distribution more efficient if I had the opportunity to do so. But then again, perhaps many prefer the "boutique" character of the instrument; you don't see Stick players busking on every street corner!! It is kind of fun to play it for someone and have the opportunity to explain everything about the instrument from it's history to playing technique to variations and tunings. Some I'm sure would lament seeing the instrument losing that cachet.

Active EMG pickups (like SE uses on The Stick and NS) have bar magnets and not pole pieces. As long as the strings fit in the entire magnetic field of the pickup, you are good to go. There are no pole pieces to worry about lining up. The thing to watch out for is how thick the pickup is. I have older Sticks and the room for pickups (depth wise) is less than in a standard guitar/bass. That might have changed on newer models. I tried to experiment with different pickups a long time ago and the few I had available would not fit because they were too tall.

Would it be possible to mount the pickups over top of the strings?
It might look strange, but it would give you plenty of clearance.
Sometimes we have to think outside the box to solve problems...

That's what Emmett did on his first prototypes. You can see a picture of one of these here:
https://www.stick.com/about/history/birth/

Russell, do you know if that's how the Seymour Duncan 'Hot Rails' are (& maybe hence the 'rail' part of the name)?

You beat me to it. I immediately thought of that very picture.

David, it looks like the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails have bar magnets and not pole pieces, so yes, the same. Here is a page https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-pr ... ails-strat where they actually say "The dual blade construction gives you the ultimate string coverage, especially for notes that are bent on the highest frets."