Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick,
10-strings, stereo out, the earlier
Brazilian ironwood model, serial #688, made 1980-April. The first time
I heard the Stick
was in a club in 1990. I heard this unmistakably guitar sound in duet,
so I looked and
looked but I could not see 2 guitarists on stage, not even one. I could
only see one guy
with a strange looking instrument and his fingers were moving in synch
with the sound so
he must be the one making that music. Wow! And I thought Stanley Jordan
and Eddie Van
Halen were the only ones tapping. Anyway, I left the issue for over 10
years and finally
decided it is now time to revisit it.
When I got it, there were 3 entirely new
concepts to grapple with: tapping instead of plucking, different
tunings, and playing two parts at the same time.
The tuning of the Stick from string 10 to 1 is:
E4, A3, D3, G2, C2, F#2, B2, E3, A3, D4
(C4=Middle C, A4=440Hz, number series change at B/C).
Compare this to a guitar from string 6 to 1 tuned
in 4ths: E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4.
In June 2000, I traded this in for a new NS Stick.
Chapman
Stick