Some Very Relaxing and Soothing Stuff

[SilverHamer]

Ok, quickly...a show of hands of everyone who is familiar with the Chapman Stick...anyone? :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v354/LarryC/EMP/tony_levin.jpg

Yes, OK, Tony...For you King Crimson fans, you've seen Tony Levin playing one of these for some time now...I'd seen it too but didn't know the name of his instrument.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Chapman Stick (I was myself until about a year ago), this instrument is an amazing stringed instrument which you play by finger tapping.

Ok, back on topic...one of my friends on myspace is a fellow named Rob Martino...I actually became familiar with him on youtube and found out afterward that he is on myspace. He posted a video response to my version of Tull's Wond'ring Aloud...and I was completely taken by it.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=rpmartino All 6 of his videos are visible on his youtube profile page...check him out...particularly the songs called "Conscious Stream" and "One Cloud"...I can listen to this stuff for hours and catch a buzz just sitting here with my eyes closed, man.

Another really great page to visit is that of Heartstrings on myspace...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=105274075

These guys don't have any videos up that I am aware of, but there are 4 songs in their player which I found very enjoyable to listen to...these guys are awesome!

I think I'd really like to try to learn how to play one of these, but they are very expensive for starters...and there is no garantee that I would be able to get a handle on playing it either...so I balk at the expense.

[Tarkus]

how very odd that you post this, larry... up until fantasy camp, i had never heard of such a gadget. but mark slaughter not only brought-up the website but told me he'd just purchased one... and suggested i look strongly at it for myself.

"huh?" was my natural reaction, adding "i'm a keyboardist, not a guitarist!" his response was that my hand independence, combined with the tapping method for playing the stick, would make me a natural. i'm not completely convinced - especially since there are still keyboards i lust after - but i do have to admit he got my gears turning just a little.

of course, what really intrigued me wasn't just the possibility of expanding my playing skill... but having heard the thing played, the sound and musical possibilities really intrigued me (that's also why mark bought one for himself - he said it really got his creative juices flowing just screwing-around on it).

kewel post, larry! 8)

[SilverHamer]

I am very intrigued but I am very afraid of making the investment. You can get a glimpse at their prices here: http://www.stick.com/prices/ They start at $1600 for an 8 string bass stick and go up to $3100 for a Graphite 12-string Grand Stick with PASV-4 passive Villex quad pickup module. My fear would be of making such a large investment in something that I just couldn't get a handle on.

The features are very interesting because they have individual pickups for each set of strings, which means you can put different effects on each set. Rob does it in his song Conscious Stream. It's a very fascinating instrument to say the least.

[Tarkus]

yeah, for what it costs, i think i'll keep my eye on that hammond! :twisted: :lol: