Re: Stick stuff

[KRosser414 <KRosser414@aol.com>]

>I've been facinated with the Stick for yearsnyears, principally because of
>the ability to play guitar+bass ranges together (or get in on that big
>piano vibe!).  The one thing that concerns me is the tone of tapped notes,
>especially in the melody range.  I've tried just tapping on my guitar, and
>the tone is kinda lifeless and thin (and, I suppose, attack-free).  Is it
>just me?  Is this something that can be improved with technique, or is it
>just part of the instrument? 

It's one of the biggest problems I have listening to Stanley Jordan, I just
can't get past that sound (and once I do, I'm not bowled over by his 
aesthetic
choices either).  I know there are other players like Jennifer Batten that 
do
two-hand tapping with all eight fingers that use distortion to beef up the
'body' of the notes (as well as to increase the sensitivity, presumably) 
but
I've never heard her do it so I can't vouch for the results.  

> Has anyone ever managed to get big jazz tone
>out of a Stick or similar touchboard-style instrument?

Or, I've got another wonder about the Stick that's puzzled me for a while:
why, with this great potential of creating harmonic textures unavailable on
guitar or bass alone, does virtually every player I've heard play 'white 
key'
music on it?  Are there any Stick players that really delve into 20th 
century
chromatic or modern jazz harmony on the thing?  I've heard many players 
claim
to play jazz on it but their playing was totally diatonic.  I dig a lot of
what Tony Levin does on it, like these big weird, 'rubbery' bass lines, but
man I'd love to hear someone with Richie Beirach or Herbie Hancock's 
harmonic
sophistication really dig into the contrapuntal possibilities.  Can it be
done?

Ken R