Hi all,

Thank you for approving my account. I am currently looking to buy my first Stick and the advice and general info in this site will be invaluable, helping me to make the right choice of first Stick!

So any recommendations, especially about 10/12 string and passive/active pickups, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again,
Karen

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure you'll find a lot of helpful information here

If you're looking to buy, David is selling a stick in the UK https://www.stickist.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16286

Cheers,
Walt

Thank you Walt.

Karen,

The short answer is that there is no single correct answer.

It's possible to make a guess, but unless you are very lucky & have an existing Stickist within easy reach, preferably one with several Sticks, then it can only be a guess.

When you get your first Stick you'll start to learn if you have any particular preferences.

ALL Sticks are great. Most people stick (no pun intended) with Classic or MR or RMR tuning (add Baritone Melody to that list for a 10 string - it's the 'inner 10' strings of 12 string Classic). String weight is also a personal thing. I like light. There's a page at SE that describes the differences: https://stick.com/shop/accessories/strings/

Whichever choice you make, if you then place an order with SE, be prepared for a long wait. I placed my order (for a 12 string bamboo) in September 2021. A couple of weeks ago I was informed I might see it in a couple of months (after all this time if it's less than 3 months I'll be very happy, if longer I'll just shrug & keep smiling).

In the mean time I've been lucky enough to find 3 Sticks! IIRC those are all the ones that have been available in the UK during that time - & one of those came from Europe so I had to pay VAT on top of the purchase price.

The first was the 1985 10 string 'Ironwood' Stick that Walter mentioned & that is now available for sale . When I later landed an adjustable Stick I started some serious experimenting with tunings. That has led me down an interesting path to a very unusual tuning. No way could I have predicted that back in September 2021.

If you are interested in my advice I'd say make a best guess. Consider how you feel about metal v wood (or bamboo). Consider the pickups (there are comparative sound demo files on the SE site). Consider how you feel about 10 or 12. It's not a clear "12 is better". Some people prefer 10. I now have both & whilst I very much like the extra capacity of the 12, I really like the 10 too. It's different.
Similarly have a think about the tunnigs (but once you've restrung a Stick a few times, changing tuning is not too big a deal).

Other people will suggest other things to consider.

Having made your best guess. Decide if you want to make the commitment. I think it's fair to say that a very large number (the majority?) of Stick players put their money down before ever handling a Stick? If you decide to go for it, you then place your order, and wait...

Then in the meantime seriously consider any Stick that comes available so that you can get a head start on learning.

Obviously, since I have a Stick up for sale I should be considered to have potential for bias in that suggestion.

If you read the ad for my Stick I hope you 'll agree that I'm trying to be as open as I can about its limitations. A (nearly) 40 year old Stick with no adjustable truss rod or bridge is not an 'ideal' instrument. It is however an instrument, and a fine one at that. I'm perfectly happy to keep it here till it finds the next person to care for it.

If you have questions about any of the above, or anything else, please ask. I hope you'll find Stickists in gerenal to be a very helpful bunch. I've certainly found that to be the case.

Best of luck with your Stick journey.

I own a Railboard and a vintage (1978) Stick.
I prefer the sound of the 'Stickup' pickup on my vintage Stick.
I cannot comment on the other pickups as I have not tried them.