It's bound to be an exciting day when you know a new Stick® is on the way!
Last week, while I was still in California I got the call from Stick Enterprises that my new dark bamboo Grand Stick #5827 was ready for delivery. I asked them to postpone delivery until I was sure I'd be home to receive the package.
I ordered my first stick in 2000, since then Emmett Chapman has continued to tweak and refine the instrument. This new instrument has several new features not on my original one. Most obvious, its extended scale, meaning it's longer than my old Stick and can play some notes I couldn't before. It also has Fret rails whereas my original instrument had fret rods. The difference being that the frets now taper at more of an angle, the old ones are more rounded. Another difference is the flaps, two adjustable plates that act like the nut on a guitar. My other stick has individual set scews for each string. I got it with the ACTV-2 pickup module, which I like for its great sound and simplicity.
This instrument is made from dark laminated bamboo with turquoise linear inlays, and has black tuners. A thing of beauty! I think it is absolutely gorgeous. I like the light weight of the bamboo as well. It has light gauge strings in classic grand stick tuning.
My first impressions?
I think I'm in love! It arrived nearly in perfect tune and I played a couple of hours with it. The extended scale takes a slight mental adjustment, but I was playing tunes in no time. The set up is just the way I like. I'm feeling blessed, lucky and inspired. A huge thank you for everyone at Stick Enterprises, especially Emmett.
