My advice is simple. Regardless of cost, if you want something, wait and save. I spent a lot on my Stick, but I refused to settle on something that wasn't exactly what I wanted. A Megatar is about a Grand less than a Stick, but you're comprimising a lot IMO. Save your money, get somthing that you're not settling on.

The PASV-4 pickup option for the Stick has nice filters in this regard, and I use them all the time to roll off high end (the rolloff is combined with a boost in a lower midrange frequency, so it feels more "musical" than a traditional treble rolloff). I've also struggled with "tone" for years, not being sure if I liked the Stick tone as much as a more traditional guitar pickup sound, but have grown to love the sound of the PASV-4 on the 3rd filter setting- I prefer more midrange than sharp brightness (and I still add some additional 1 Khz boost on my amp for the melody side), but still enough attack to articulate notes well.

Most of my YouTube videos are based on this pickup setting, but the more recent ones have less effects processing so you can hear the tone of the pickups better (although the audio quality on YouTube leaves something to be desired).

The main issue I ran across as far as the Stick vs. more guitar based designs like the NS/Stick and Warr (which I've either owned or tried) is the way the instrument is worn - with the belt hook/shoulder strap the fretboard is at a more optimal and comfortable position for two handed tapping in my experience (tilted into view and leaning back towards the shoulder), it feels more "connected" to your body and feels better with the weight not distributed on your shoulder(s).

I owned an NS for a few years, switched to a Grand Stick, then when I tried someone's NS more recently, it felt kind of alien and made me appreciate the design of the Stick more- I feel like I can impart more energy into my playing with the traditional Stick design. It's like being in a car where all the controls are exactly the right place without having to reach for things at awkward angles. With more traditional guitar designs (held at an upright angle for tapping) the headstock wants to come forward more and the fretboard is more "out in front" of you (and less stabilized), which doesn't feel as nice in my experience.

Hi Per,

In addition to what Rob said about ergonomics, other aspects unique to The Stick include the custom adjustable hardware, which makes keeping your instrument set up optimally for tapping as easy as it can be.

The rear mounted truss provides a much easier adjustment than conventional center-of-the-neck truss rods. This is particularly important on a tapping instrument, where a flat fretboard is optimal for uniform low action.

Another adjustment feature unique to The Stick is the adjustable nut. Without an adjustable nut, it's very difficult to get the right amount of "play" at the nut, especially if you want to try different string gauges, tunings or string configurations. The first tappable fret should be just as useful as any other, but without a good adjustment at the nut, it's often not even used by many players.

The relatively narrow fretboard, with continuous taper, and the lack of an obstructive "body" maximizes access to the whole instrument for both hands, all the way up to the highest frets, whether playing by reaching over the strings, or if you want, playing uncrossed. On instruments with a wider neck, many people give up on reaching over and settle on playing uncrossed instead, because it's just not comfortable to reach over 6 strings on a wide neck.

For playing high notes clearly and quickly, there's nothing like Emmett's Rails, stainless steel precision tapping frets.

Most Sticks made since 2000 have all these features. Some with round fret Rods have been made since then.

They have had the adjustable truss since 1989, and adjustable nuts since 1982, with the latest version, Flaps, since 2000.

Hope that helps.

It sure did! Very informative post. Thanks a lot! I've been reading up elsewhere on the net too, tapped my practice guitar and come to the conclusion that I have to get a Stick. So I've started monitoring markets for second hand instruments here in Europe. BTW, what's the waiting time when ordering a new Grand 12 these days?