July 11, 2004

The Chapman Stick The chapman stick is a unique electronic string instrument that has been around for quite a while. In recent years however it's been gaining in popularity and showing up in bands such as king crimson, peter gabriel, the blue man group, John Paul Jones, amongst others.

The link above gives you a good idea what the stick is all about along with a couple of short video clips that let you see how it's played and how it sounds. I own a chapman stick and I find it an amazing piece of musical technology and craftsmanship. And.. it's a blast to play, which in the end is what it's all about

posted by mh 20 years ago
  • It looks awesome! I want one!
  • That is so cool...though I don't really understand-- do you pluck or tap the strings?
  • Looks like you tap on them. Looks quite cool, but it doesn't look like you'd be able to rock out on it. And rocking out is important.
  • Yeah. I got interested in this a few years ago, along with the LucyScale fingerboard, which is something else again, entirely. Oh, and you *can* rock out on the Stick, most definitely. Hehe.
  • I'm guessing you can get distortion, right?
  • You tap it (more like press really) and you can definitely rock out on it. electrically is much like a solid body electric guitar although it's a little more Hi-fi in nature (less midrangy than a guitar, more bass and treble). you can get distortionaplenty also if that's your thing.. below is a clip that shows some more of what the stick is like as a one man band. it has a bit of distortion going at the end. http://www.poorman.ws/detroitstick/visuals/video/
  • p.s. don't view the 56k clip links unless you really have to. you will lose a lot of the sound quality (like the high/low end bass on the stick)
  • p.p.s. i finally figured out how to get links displayed..one-man-band style stick video clip (w/ distortion) here...
  • Not going to link to the homepage, then?
  • Not going to link to the homepage, then? Er, except in your first link. Eek! Pass me my idiot hat!
  • Why doesnt' Stanley Jordan play one? /me registers as "idiothat"
  • Stanley Jordan *does* play one. Just not all the time.