Another newbie with an interesting quest

[EricK]

Hi, all.

I'm new here and I have been reading as much of the forum as I can. It looks like you are all a friendly bunch! A bit about me, I'm an very experienced woodworker with a shop full of great equipment. I used to make cabinets and furniture for a living. I'm also a musician and that's where my quest starts. I play the Chapman Stick, if you haven't ever heard of it you are not alone! You can check it out here: http://stick.com/. It's a wonderful instrument and I have been playing it for a couple of years. The challenge is that it's a very full range instrument, from low B of a 5-string bass at 31Hz. up to C6. That's 5 full octaves. It also has a very rich harmonic structure. All of us Stick players are constantly looking for a rig that's perfect and we keep looking.

Some use keyboard amps, some use extended bass amps with tweeters, others use PA systems. Then there is a whole class of really small amps like the Phil Jones Briefcase amp, the Acoustic Image Coda, and the Fishman Loudbox 100, that guys really love because they're so small. I don't know about you guys but an amp with 2 5" drivers seems a bit wrong for 31HZ.

Since I have the DIY affliction I have to make my own rig. I see from this forum that Bill frequently says that you can have 2 of 3 of loud, low, or small. I also see that most of you go for loud and low. But, I'm not a rocker. I need what is called a coffeehouse amp. Something small that goes low and sounds incredibly clean and acoustic, but, doesn't have to be too loud. Do you guys have any ideas about low and small for me? I'm already making my first attempt at an amp with some drivers that I had laying around, 2 7" drivers and some titanium 1" dome tweets. But, there are several thousand Stick players in the world and I think I can do better than what they all use now.

I hope this isn't too far off topic for this forum. I found Bill's site through my constant searching for better DIY information. I noticed that Bill has some plans for things that aren't big horns.

Thanks,

-Eric

[Sydney]

Cool...I have numerous recordings by Stick players like Trey Gunn and Tony Levin

[LelandCrooks]

I've wanted to play one of those ever since I saw them on the web a few years back. MP3's?

Omni 12.

[DJPhatman]

Welcome, Eric!

To answer your most pressing question, i feel any of the Omni, not Omni-Top, series will work for you. The O10 is a real powerhouse, in a small, portable size. O12 is a bit bigger, but adds lower extension. The O15 is the low-end power-house of the group. choose which one will suit your low-end needs. O10 for that low-mid bark, O15 for the real low rumble, and O12 for a little of both.

[Tom Smit]

Going by responses from the past, I would say Omni12 or Omni12TallBoy, complete with mid and piezos. Add a pair of wheels on the bottom for dolly style cartage.

TomS

[djohnson573]

Eric,
Wow, not too many stick players around. I heard Greg Howard play here several years ago and was blown away by the sounds from that instrument. Welcome to the forum.

[AntonZ]

I think the Phatman rounded it up pretty nicely. Since you want it small and portable, I'd be inclined to start with an Omni 10.5. If that's not loud enough for some gigs, add another. Take one or two depending on the requirements of the night. Omni 10.5 should be a very easy build for you.

If it does not go low enough for some occasions, add a sub. You'd still be flexible: take only the O10.5 for light and easy, or bring the sub along if you need deep and loud.

If you go the sub route, either a crossover and two channel power amp are needed, or you incorporate a passive crossover in the sub. T39 or O12TB sub, T48 if you want to go to extremes. The latter would make a bass rig that PA operators will frown upon.

[EricK]

Cool...I have numerous recordings by Stick players like Trey Gunn and Tony Levin

All Stick players owe Tony a lot, he really put the Stick on the map. He's known as TL in the community and not only is he a phenomenal player, he's also an extremely nice person who loves to share his knowledge.

-Eric

[Scott Brochu]

Man! I want one of those sticks in my band.
Can you get a steel guitar effect with it also?

All you do is tap it....wow! I got to try one.

[Sydney]

Levin is an incredible musician; I had several times in big concert settings ( w PG etc ).
The most enjoyable was close in ( less than 20' ) in a small venue ( 150 people ) in Morgantown WV when he was doing a CGT + 2 show.
It was an astounding performance. Tony spent a quite a bit of off stage time discussing with folks another of his passions - Photography.

Curious: what is the lowest open note and the highest fretted note?
Syd

[EricK]

I've wanted to play one of those ever since I saw them on the web a few years back. MP3's?

Omni 12.

The Internet has allowed the Stick to really blossom. There are thousands of us know and we are a tight community. I'm too much of a beginner to have any mp3s for you but here's a nice collection from some great players. I have met, studied with, and learn tons from all of them.

Greg Howard: http://www.greghoward.com/sounds/download/cdmp3s/

Steve Adelson: http://www.steveadelson.com/index.php?s ... ub=samples

Glenn Poorman: http://www.myspace.com/glennpoorman

-Eric

[EricK]

Eric,
Wow, not too many stick players around. I heard Greg Howard play here several years ago and was blown away by the sounds from that instrument. Welcome to the forum.

I study with Greg! Another cool thing about the Internet, video chat lessons with Skype. I'm in Wisconsin and he's in Virginia. We both sit in our homes and have a great music lesson. We can see and hear each other, record the whole thing if we want, and exchange files. It's great.

Greg is one of the premier Stick players in the world. He has taught dozens of seminars all over the world and has virtually developed a full pedagogy for this new instrument. He is on a couple of CDs with The Dave Mathews Band, even. He is considered the top Stick teacher by most of us.

Check him out: http://www.greghoward.com/

-Eric

[EricK]

Welcome, Eric!

To answer your most pressing question, i feel any of the Omni, not Omni-Top, series will work for you. The O10 is a real powerhouse, in a small, portable size. O12 is a bit bigger, but adds lower extension. The O15 is the low-end power-house of the group. choose which one will suit your low-end needs. O10 for that low-mid bark, O15 for the real low rumble, and O12 for a little of both.

Does the O10 go low enough? I need reasonable presence down to about 45Hz. I don't play those notes from 45Hz to 32Hz very often. I also maybe need some help getting over a bias here! I have never liked the sound of piezos. I have not heard them in arrays like this and I wonder how they do? I am going for extremely high-quality sound, more like high-end studio monitors. I guess the O12, with a separate mid and non-piezo highs appeals to me more on paper. But, I certainly could be wrong here and I'm open to opinions since I haven't heard any of these designs.

-Eric

[EricK]

Going by responses from the past, I would say Omni12 or Omni12TallBoy, complete with mid and piezos. Add a pair of wheels on the bottom for dolly style cartage.

TomS

I was hoping for something smaller than that. However, I think that might be a good solution. Lots of Stick players gig with this little thing:



That's a pair of 5" drivers! But, it is very small and can be carried in one hand. The holy grail seems to be, "One trip from the car." I am really after sound quality more than extremely small size, however.

-Eric

[EricK]

Man! I want one of those sticks in my band.
Can you get a steel guitar effect with it also?

All you do is tap it....wow! I got to try one.

All you do is tap. Makes it sound easy doesn't it? The challenge is playing two separate parts, like a keyboard player. Some of the top players came from keyboard and they seem to have an advantage. Most of us were bass players first, and another big bunch are reformed guitar players like me. If you are near a larger city there's probably a Stick player near you. Everyone I've met is very happy to talk about it and let you try it.

Which steel guitar effect are you thinking of? I'm not sure if it can do that.

-Eric