Hello all this is my first time posting although I have followed the
site for quite sometime and have finally joined.

I have two questions:

I had to sell my Stick (it was a 10 string polycarb don't remember the
serial number) while living in Denver back in 1996 due to financial
issues and have regretted it ever since.

The first question is,
I have sent emails to SE trying to find out if they have any used or new
(I know HA-HA) Sticks in their inventory. But haven't received a
response back. I understand they are a small group and really busy but
does anyone have any idea if they have Stick's like the web-site advises
they do from time to time..? If so I'm looking for stats and pricing.

Second question,
Is it possible and what type of foot controllers / interface would one
need to have to use the effects from Apple Garageband using two tracks open at
the same time. One track from the bass side of the Stick and the other
track from the lead side. Is this possible..? If not Could I do this
with Mainstage? If so can I run and control via foot pedal bass and
lead side separately at the same time live?

Apologies if previous post answer these questions as I wasn't able to
find clear enough answers from what I did find.

Thanks-boyerk

Ok 1st you may find a used Stick at SE but you'll have to order a new one and there's a waiting list. Also CALL them! They're wonderful people to deal with on the phone but aren't always that good returning e-mails.

2nd all you need to hook up to Garageband is an interface with two guitar cord inputs and you're stereo Stick cord. Just like hooking up two guitars.

There's also a graphite 10-string for sale in the classifieds section of this board if you're interested.

Thanks 88persuader & Powagoat,

Regarding the use of Garageband as a live effects unit for the Stick, what types of interfaces would you recommend. I have looked at the Apogee Gio but my understanding is its only a mono unit..? I wouldn’t want to spend +600 for 2 as I'm sure you could recommend a foot controller and interface option that would do the trick..?
One other issue I'm having with GB is I'm not able to get more than one channel to be active at the same time. Do you know how to have 2 or more tracks open at once. Currently I'm going direct into the Mac through a mixer. I have a Line 6 UX-1 but the last time I checked they still didn’t have a driver for the newest Mac OS and honestly when i was able to use it, it wasn’t any less noisy than going direct into the Mac sound-card.

I did read one other post regarding using GB or Logic Express live but I’m not sure I would always want to be stuck following a pre-programed pattern. One example I can think of is open mic’s and jam sessions.

As far as a used Stick what are some of the most common issues that one will need to keep in mind when shopping. After buying my used polycarb back in the 90's it really needed a good tune up and I sent it into SE (they did a great job) which was a few hundred more on top of the original purchase.

Well I might be asking a lot of questions and putting the cart before the horse. I should concentrate on getting another Stick and picking up where I left off but I would like to get an idea of rig and recording options and since I already have a Mac I would like to utilize it and try to keep cost down for recording and using GB as a live rig for the Stick.

Thanks again for your time - boyerk

If you have a fast enough computer to allow low latency, I'd recommend getting Guitar Rig and Rig Kontrol.
Rig Kontrol, which is an USB audio interface/pedal-board, has two inputs and works very well with the Stick (and the bundled software of Guitar Rig is by far superior to GB for amp simulations and effects).

I've used it a few times, but my old PowerBook G4 doesn't allow low enough latency for playing with drums... solo with earphones is OK though.

If you're looking for live application using your MAC my post about using Logic Express to control sound changes live works perfectly but does have it's draw backs. You CAN'T be spontaneous, it;s like playing to a sequencer. And it takes time to WRITE the song and sound changes. If you want an awesome recording program with an awesome LIVE use application included buy Logic Pro which includes Main stage. It won't change the sounds for you automatically BUT you can use ALL the internal sound plug ins like some amazing peddle board and even play use it as a live looper and play to backing tracks you've pre recorded. In regard to interfaces I like and use Presonus interfaces with my Macs. Firewire is usually best but they have a few USB interfaces that work fine too and they aren't that expensive. There are some peddle boards available that work with Logic, actually one built to work with Main stage but in my opinion they're pretty expensive. It depends how you want to use it I guess. Personally I'd get a cheap presonus interface then see how far you can go with GB and take it from there.

I just bought a used 10 string rosewood this past Monday from SE, lol. You gotta call. Don't email. Though Yuta did send me an email confirmation about 5 seconds after I made the purchase and hung up, haha. Maybe they only have 1 way email?




If you're at all interested in live playing via software, I'd recommend checking out Ableton Live. I've been using it for awhile for both recording and performing, and it's been excellent. For live work I do a ton of live looping with nothing pre-recorded. Just built up tracks with layers of sound. They have a free demo that you should check out. I also use a Behringer FCB1010 foot pedal to send CC and/or MIDI note messages to Ableton; allowing me full control over start/stop/recording of loops, FX, etc..

Logic and other DAWs are great, but in terms of live performing nothing comes close to the versatility of Ableton. I too started out with GarageBand and had some fun, but within a month I purchased Ableton Live.


I've used just about all the majors, and have landed on the Motu Ultralite. There's a huge amount of I/O and very low latency. With the Stick and a good multi-input interface, you'll be able to run the bass and melody sides of your Stick into Ableton Live on separate tracks; thus allowing independent FX, recording/looping, etc.

One thing to keep in mind is that you should absolutely get a preamp before running into any audio interface. I actually use a Line6 Pod X3 Live; which boosts the signal nicely (and I loath using a software based guitar modeler), but any decent preamp will work. The signal will usually be too low without one.

When i got my Stick i was calling to ask for Second hand ones, But they had a New one lying around after a cancelation.

So you never know what they'll have.