You can't have too many Sticks.
Play them all.
The 2, soon to be 3, instruments I have are all different. They all require different styles of playing, techniques, and tunings.
Now that I am realizing the Free Hands technique by Mr. Chapman,. I cannot imagine limiting myself to one particular instrument and or tuning.
I realize the cost of the instrument maybe a hinderance, I never bought a guitar that cost this much, but if you're serious about playing, there is always a way. Stick It.

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Yep. That's about it. Imagine you're a carp swimming in a pond and now your pond just got a little wider.

I started with a used 10 string which was in great condition. Having never played a stringed instrument before, and with minimal knowledge of music theory, I found that first one to fit the bill. I was frankly afraid of going to 12 strings because I thought it would be difficult enough trying to figure out 10 strings.
Aside: I first heard the Stick being played over 20 years prior to my purchase and ruminated on it for far too long! I have been a drummer for over 50 years, and as a youngster took lessons on clarinet; self taught on flute, sax, and piano/keys.
I fumbled around for several months and then decided to take lessons. Steve A. convinced me that 12 strings was not more difficult. I took the plunge, bought new and have never looked back. Over 3 years in and still a rank beginner, but I DO have about 50 songs I can stumble my way thru! ANd my music theory knowledge is vast in comparison to when I started.
Either way, you'll enjoy playing!

Depends on the tuning you're leaving the the tuning your moving to.

Both instruments tuned classic ... yes ... you have it exactly right.

I was playing a Baritone Melody tuned 10-string when I switched to a classic tuned Grand. So for me, I added an additional high string on each side.

Really cool post!
Here goes my very personal and subjective point of view on the matter, bearing in mind that I have a 10 string railboard and a 12 string grand with a stickup, and that I use both of them in every single gig:
1. The most important thing to chose from all the available stick options is the pickup. In my opinion, much more important then how many strings you have and the material it’s made of.
With this in mind, one should know that there is no stickup option on the wood 10 string grand, and the railboard has only one option for pickup (the RBlock)
2. The 10 string (particularly the railboard with it’s extra spacing between both string groups, and probably the 10 string grand) make it easier to learn and recognize visual cues and patterns. They are also a tad easier to play (less touching in the wrong strings)
3. Traditionally, there is an extra lower string on the melody side and one higher string on the bass side for the 12 st grand. With this you have more overlapping. Just that, no extra notes. One of the advantages is that you can play in one position longer before having to move the hand to the next frets (which is something you can adjust to and not miss on a 10 string).
4. There is nothing you can do on a 10st that you couldn’t do on a grand. The other way around is not true.
5. All of this combined with my personal taste, repertoire, and my pickup choices (R block and stickup) leads me to use the 10 string railboard for a more “pianist” approach (two hands playing melodic lines, or more independent work from each other) and the 12st grand for a more “two guitar and bass playing together”, fingerpicking, approach. Of course, much of this is because of the pickup particular tones. the railboard sounds more electric, processed, the stickup more acoustic.
Finally, and for me personally:
If I have the two extra strings I use them, if I don’t, I don’t miss them.
Would I buy a second railboard with 12 strings? Nope.
Would I trade my 12 string grand for a 10? Only if there was a 10 string grand with a stickup. Since there’s not, might as well have the extra two.
One last thing: linear inlays! Makes the stick look cooler, are an exclusive stick thing, and are a HUGE visual help!

On a side note and about different materials, I can’t chose either. Love the railboard’s super fast and low action. Love the wood’s higher resistance and string bouncing back when released. Love the freedom that changing from one to the other offers me. there is not one better, you should just buy them both and use them


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Good point! Emmett himself comments on the pickups being the greatest source of tone in the Stick construction, so that makes sense.

Interesting what you say on tonal difference between Stickup and R Block. Whilst I don’t own a Stickup, from the clips I’ve heard vs my R block I’d have said the R block sounds more acoustic and the Stickup sounds more classic meaty humbucker. But then it’s all so subjective anyway!

Having a stick for me was the solution to get some chords to improvise on with my LH. And, on top of that, to choose exactly the chords I wanted to hear. So many possibilities. Before that, only the piano was a solution in my mind. I know there are some other instruments but the stick is great to play what I want to play.

Any reason you stayed away from the piano?

In my view, the four main contributors to string tapping tone and timber have always been, in order of importance, the setup, the player's hands, then the strings, then the pickups. Far behind these comes the structural material of the through-neck beam itself.

With an optimum setup, everything comes into play - tone, intonation, speed and fluency, expression, also finger velocity for volume dynamics (starting by resting your finger upon the string against the fret for the quietest note).

Ease of play comes into the picture as well, enabling inspiration and stamina (no calluses).

As for an "acoustic" tone, I've always thought the two-handed tapping method itself automatically produces it, that is, to a large degree. I've described it as, "It feels and sounds acoustic but it's got to be electric."

A lot of players agree that of the four pickup modules I manufacture, the "Stickup" has the most acoustic tone. Its paired "humbucking" pickups have a different shape and are flatter, shorter and closer to the strings.

Some players believe that Villex's pickups (PASV-4 and Railboard "R-Block") are capable of an acoustic tone among a variety of other timbers. They act like single coil pickups with those laser pure frequencies, yet are wired for "humbucking" in a different way.

And yes, these appraisals are always "subjective", the subject being the player and the object being the instrument in his or her hands.

I play the piano...in fact, better since I got my stick. I use to say...more I play my stick, better I'm on piano and the contrary is also true...more I play on my piano, better I play the stick...these two instruments are closely related. You can't get this bass tone on the piano though. I love them both.