I currently use a JAM 400 from SR technology, but I'm getting tired of the sound (sooooooo pristine) and moreover, it shows some weakness (at some point, it distorts then cut signals, and I have to "reboot" it)
I've always wanted to have some amps with a kind of vintage flavour, adding a touch of warmth and "dirtiness" to the natural sound of the Stick. I considered for a while playing through a kind of Ampeg bass amp or something like this.
I recently discovered that brand, http://www.traynor.com : they make some full range amps for keyboards with a valve equipped preamp stage. This brand is not very well known in Europe (rather, I didn't know it existed)
Do you have ever heard of them or tried with the Stick? Reading the specs sheet, the K4 seems an ideal for Stick players : http://www.traynoramps.com/products.asp?type=1&cat=57&id=340

Old traynor bass heads are sought after by guitarists for that vintage overdrive sound. They sound great for that.

Be weary of guitar amps for the stick, try then out first.

I have found Demeter and aguilar bass amps sound great and warm with the stick

Brett

These K4 and K2 models are keyboard amps, so I guess they could fit for the stick. So bad they are not that common in Europe to try them out prior a purchase

Traynor have a dealer in Paris. Check it out here.

http://www.traynoramps.com/default.asp? ... ubmit.y=13

I have been checking out the K4 and comparing it with other amps, here is my 2 cents.

It's a single 12" and pairs of 4.5" and 2.5" speakers, so you might need an extension cab if you are playing as part of a band.

I have found it beneficial to Isolate the bass and melody signals when playing live. For more intimate gigs, you are mostly in control of this, but if you use the direct out, you are going to have both hands in a single channel. This single facet was what kept me from picking one of these up. If there were separate line outs for each channel, I would being saving up for one now.

There are no on-board effects for whatever that is worth. That would be fine, but also keep in mind there is no effects loop. It's straight in and straight up.

I have seen them on ebay for as low as $925 as there are a number of resellers that can offer these at lower prices (no return generally) as they have been used once or are floor models with little to no wear.

I like keyboard amps for the Chapman Stick as they offer a full spectrum of sound, accommodate multiple inputs, often feature some sort of simple on-board effects (just a little reverb is fine) and are generally affordable. I have had good luck with Behringer amps for practice - live is another story.

Thank your very much for the input. Indeed, keyboard amps are, to me, the best suited for the Stick, (I had some very good results with the Roland KC line and I would love to try the huge KC880). More surprisingly, I had some very good results with the (bass amp) Fender Rumble 350, which love highs and overdrive signals.

Brett,

How do the Demeter and aguilar bass amps sound on the melody side?

I will use my Aguilar db-659 (hard to find) on the melody....WARM fullbodied, gorgeous IMO.

My fishman soloamp has a more fragile treble focus but the aguilar really adds warmth.

Brett

I have used Aguilar in the past for both melody and bass and found it to be very musical and warm.... I use a Genz-Benz 12.0 w/ Bergantino 2x12 and run it full range mono, and sounds really wonderful, however I just purchased a Bugera V55 for the Melody side. Gonna run that clean, and run effects through the Genz....