Stickist.com :: View topic - Hello from n00b Stick Player

klothos wrote:

You are absolutely right.......I made the mistake of ( and I imagine Im not the only n00b thats ever done this) of over-estimating my skills based on my career and subjective mastery of bass guitar and keyboard techniqhes.....I play in a function band where, on some songs, I play Left Hand bass and Right Hand Keys ( in addition to the keyboard player we already have) and thought "Hey, a MIDI Stick would be a lot of fun and way more show-y ... and I wouldnt have to set up my keyboard rig"....I have no idea why I thought I would just get this thing and jump right on it LOL "Wake Up, Call"....What a HUGE learning curve!! (agreed with above that its not rediculously steep but it does have a bit of gravity!) More important for myself is the "habit breaking" curve: Now that Im also learning "Free Hands" style which makes better mechanics sense as opposed to the way I 2-handed tap on bass guitar.......but, WOW!, what a lot of fun this thing is!! I havent had that desire of wanting to woodshed on an instrument in a long time and I feel like Im 15 again, constantly wanting to get home to play the Stick.......

IMO, yes I suck

, but Im making leaps and bounds in just the first week, even just trying to play simple basslines and accompanying chords (no melody lines)....Playing simple things like "Tupelo Honey", bass/chording "At Last", etc that I can add playing it in the function band hopefully sometime in the coming year

Yeah, MIDI is gonna be awhile......although Im happy to say Im enjoying using Zoom processor on the Melody output ( I have a Compressor on the Bass output) and both of these make me sound like I sort of know what Im doing LOL

Ive also switched to "Matched Reciprocol tuning" instead of "10-String Classic" as I like where the right/melody hand positions on the fretboard in relation to where a lot of my current Bass/Left hand is

Thanks for all the encouragement! Gotta get back to the Stick

Author:	klothos [ Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Hello from n00b Stick Player
and when I say n00b, I mean 'n00b': I get my first (a used 1984) 10-String Stick tommorrow ........ 30 years as a bass player in which two-handed tapping is part of my arsenal as well as I play keyboards, Im hoping this is a good choice Got a million questions --- is there an FAQ somewhere? my main questions are: (1)Can I use standard guitar and or bass strings? (2)and can my '84 Stick's pickup be swapped to get the MIDI pickup? thanks

Author:	kevin-c [ Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:55 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
Hey welcome bro. Use stick strings exclusively if you can. I don't know of anyone on the forum that doesn't. Remove the variables from your approach, particularly if you are new to the Stick......by that I mean dont throw guitar strings on it. As for midi......I'll let the midi guys answer that question. Enjoy the journey bro...... cheers, Zee Wango Zee Tango

Author:	JRJ [ Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
What Keven-c said ... Emmett has researched and refined the strings for the Stick for many years and even though you can slap guitar and bass strings on a Stick the sonic difference and even playability is noticeable, no fooling, I have tried it . SE strings are worth the extra cash... As far as MIDI, probably your '84' will need to have a channel routed out for the GK-pickup. The pickup that is most likely on your Stick is called a "Stick-up" and is completely separate. If you get the MIDI pickup installed you can route the melody side into the MIDI pickup for less wiring hassle and that is what Steve Adelson does so 'famously' with his VG-99. Send us some pictures of your 'vintage' 84. The learning curve is not as steep as it might first appear . jRj j .~

Author:	klothos [ Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
thanks for the greetings and info....so Stick strings it will be....and Ill certainly look into the GK3 system....thanks also for the words of encouragement, it does look daunting but as i said earlier, im not new to two-handed tapping and I play keys (ive been the keyboard player in bands) so I am hoping these will aid me....Im also well-versed in music theory which I also hope will help....Ive been looking at the different suggested tunings and I think the Classic 10 String is going to be what I will go with.........eagerly waiting on USPS

Author:	klothos [ Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
JRJ wrote: Send us some pictures of your 'vintage' 84. The learning curve is not as steep as it might first appear . jRj j .~

Stickist.com https://stickist.com/

Hello from n00b Stick Player https://stickist.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=11698	Page 1 of 2

Author:	paigan0 [ Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
Congrats on finally getting that Stick! Best of luck!

Author:	earthgene [ Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
There it is! A real beauty. For what it's worth, I would recommend staying away from MIDI for at least the first 2-3 years. This is your first Stick, what's the rush? You can still get far out and groovy sounds on your keys, so my recommendation would be to get a feel for the inverted 5ths in the left hands and really get to know the tone you are after before you start processing it otherwise. I liken it to having a kid the same year you get married. Enjoy getting to know the natural sound before you add MIDI.

Author:	AnDroiD [ Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:35 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
...and you can tap w/ one hand play synth w/ the other (YouTube Tony Levin w/ K.C.)

Author:	klothos [ Tue Dec 06, 2016 5:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
earthgene wrote: There it is! A real beauty. For what it's worth, I would recommend staying away from MIDI for at least the first 2-3 years. This is your first Stick, what's the rush? You can still get far out and groovy sounds on your keys, so my recommendation would be to get a feel for the inverted 5ths in the left hands and really get to know the tone you are after before you start processing it otherwise. I liken it to having a kid the same year you get married. Enjoy getting to know the natural sound before you add MIDI. You are absolutely right.......I made the mistake of ( and I imagine Im not the only n00b thats ever done this) of over-estimating my skills based on my career and subjective mastery of bass guitar and keyboard techniqhes.....I play in a function band where, on some songs, I play Left Hand bass and Right Hand Keys ( in addition to the keyboard player we already have) and thought "Hey, a MIDI Stick would be a lot of fun and way more show-y ... and I wouldnt have to set up my keyboard rig"....I have no idea why I thought I would just get this thing and jump right on it LOL "Wake Up, Call"....What a HUGE learning curve!! (agreed with above that its not rediculously steep but it does have a bit of gravity!) More important for myself is the "habit breaking" curve: Now that Im also learning "Free Hands" style which makes better mechanics sense as opposed to the way I 2-handed tap on bass guitar.......but, WOW!, what a lot of fun this thing is!! I havent had that desire of wanting to woodshed on an instrument in a long time and I feel like Im 15 again, constantly wanting to get home to play the Stick....... IMO, yes I suck , but Im making leaps and bounds in just the first week, even just trying to play simple basslines and accompanying chords (no melody lines)....Playing simple things like "Tupelo Honey", bass/chording "At Last", etc that I can add playing it in the function band hopefully sometime in the coming year Yeah, MIDI is gonna be awhile......although Im happy to say Im enjoying using a Zoom processor on the Melody output (Chorus, Delay, Reverb patches) and I have a Compressor on the Bass Output and both of these make me sound like I sort of know what Im doing LOL Ive also switched to "Matched Reciprocol tuning" instead of "10-String Classic" as I like where the right/melody hand positions on the fretboard in relation to where a lot of my current Bass/Left hand is Thanks for all the encouragement! Gotta get back to the Stick

Author:	paigan0 [ Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Hello from n00b Stick Player
klothos wrote: You are absolutely right.......I made the mistake of ( and I imagine Im not the only n00b thats ever done this) of over-estimating my skills based on my career and subjective mastery of bass guitar and keyboard techniqhes.....I play in a function band where, on some songs, I play Left Hand bass and Right Hand Keys ( in addition to the keyboard player we already have) and thought "Hey, a MIDI Stick would be a lot of fun and way more show-y ... and I wouldnt have to set up my keyboard rig"....I have no idea why I thought I would just get this thing and jump right on it LOL "Wake Up, Call"....What a HUGE learning curve!! (agreed with above that its not rediculously steep but it does have a bit of gravity!) More important for myself is the "habit breaking" curve: Now that Im also learning "Free Hands" style which makes better mechanics sense as opposed to the way I 2-handed tap on bass guitar.......but, WOW!, what a lot of fun this thing is!! I havent had that desire of wanting to woodshed on an instrument in a long time and I feel like Im 15 again, constantly wanting to get home to play the Stick....... IMO, yes I suck , but Im making leaps and bounds in just the first week, even just trying to play simple basslines and accompanying chords (no melody lines)....Playing simple things like "Tupelo Honey", bass/chording "At Last", etc that I can add playing it in the function band hopefully sometime in the coming year Yeah, MIDI is gonna be awhile......although Im happy to say Im enjoying using Zoom processor on the Melody output ( I have a Compressor on the Bass output) and both of these make me sound like I sort of know what Im doing LOL Ive also switched to "Matched Reciprocol tuning" instead of "10-String Classic" as I like where the right/melody hand positions on the fretboard in relation to where a lot of my current Bass/Left hand is Thanks for all the encouragement! Gotta get back to the Stick Sounds like you're moving right along. Matched Reciprocal rocks, as you discovered. And we all overestimate our own ability at other instruments when first playing Stick. It's a lot harder to translate all those skills and relearn some different habits at first. Then you discover that you're progressing in leaps and bounds, until you hit a plateau and level off for a bit. And if you can play keyboards already, MIDI Stick is not so important--at least right away. You can always rock the Stick left handed and keyboards right handed, which is pretty cool. Basslines became my biggest joy in starting Stick. My basslines became lazy playing keyboards, and the fifths tuning really opened up some ideas for me there. It's easy low-hanging fruit, and then if you can add some simple melody with the right hand to your left hand root, fifth, octave bass, you're really jamming in no time! Good to see you're moving right along! Keep Sticking with it!

Page 1 of 2	All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/