Graphite XG w/ MIDI ebay

[maddmannmatt]

Item # 110259597371

Um...for what this guy wants, I would rather buy a Warr. I don't think he's gonna get over 4 grand for it!

[K Rex]

Or a down payment on a new house... sheesh...

K

[PhoBucket]

This seller is well known among the online Stick community for his higher than average prices, not to mention his many youtube demos of different touch guitars.

[maddmannmatt]

That's...interesting.

Yeah, I will maintain that if it was me, I'd just get the Warr Artist 10 with 10 Piezo/5 MIDI.

Sounds better than most other stuff out there. I like Sticks, but for rich THICK sound, you can't beat the Warr.

Originally posted by PhoBucket
This seller is well known among the online Stick community for his higher than average prices, not to mention his many youtube demos of different touch guitars.

[K Rex]

Can't blame a guy for making a living. I'd much sooner buy a Warr for the money, but I'm sure it's a fine instrument for someone who doesn't have 6 months to a year to get an instrument in his hands.

XG does sound pretty slammin'...

Kev

[traktor]

I don't know.

Maybe he'll get it.

Our ToneWeaver Hammer of Thor (approx $4000) is proving to be pretty popular.

Of course the Hammer is a new instrument, with factory warranty, fanned frets for best tone, Buzz Feiten for playing in tune, dual active Bartolinis, mixable dual Acoustiphonic Piezo sound, and two 13-pin Midi-ready outjacks.

But still, maybe he'll sell it.

And if not, we can all applaud the attempt.

One never knows, do one?

[maddmannmatt]

Wow, Traktor...this is pretty shameless!

But I suppose you have to make a living too!



Originally posted by traktor
I don't know.

Maybe he'll get it.

Our ToneWeaver Hammer of Thor (approx $4000) is proving to be pretty popular.

Of course the Hammer is a new instrument, with factory warranty, fanned frets for best tone, Buzz Feiten for playing in tune, dual active Bartolinis, mixable dual Acoustiphonic Piezo sound, and two 13-pin Midi-ready outjacks.

But still, maybe he'll sell it.

And if not, we can all applaud the attempt.

One never knows, do one?

[maddmannmatt]

The very first Stick I ever put on to try out was an olde Graphite original. It was a beast! HEAVY. I thought that all Sticks were that heavy.

The first one I owned was one of the original Irowood models with fixed everything and wood everything (even the pickup housing) and it wasn't nearly as heavy as the Graphite one. The next one I got was a Rosewood one. MUCH better weight-wise. More comfortable on my neck and belt.

The Warr is also one of the heaviest instruments I even held or hung off my body. So, this begs the question: is "density" key in the tone?

I know that the Graphite Sticks are supposed to be rigid enuf not to have to have a truss to adjust them with. But how about tone? Thick like the Warr?



Originally posted by K Rex
Can't blame a guy for making a living. I'd much sooner buy a Warr for the money, but I'm sure it's a fine instrument for someone who doesn't have 6 months to a year to get an instrument in his hands.

XG does sound pretty slammin'...

Kev

[K Rex]

What exactly are you saying, Mr. Mad? That Warr's tone is richer than the Stick?

Regardless, I think your assessment of the role density plays in tone is dead-on... even Greg Howard once said that his old polycarb had a better tone than most newer Sticks, and I've heard Traktor discuss density as it applies to tone as well. I have a polycarb (loaner) which needs a setup. Dying to get that done to see for myself... The weight of the Phalanx (it's like 400 lbs.) does seem to improve its tone. Or, it could be the pickups. Or a combination. It slays, regardless.

This subject would be better discussed in its own thread, however. I actually created one for this very subject, and it was largely (and eerily) ignored...

... ... ... ... sniff... ... ... ... ...

Kev

[maddmannmatt]

AH-HAA!! Then I shall find this thread and fill it with words!

(and yeah...most people who have getten one will agree the Warr is alot fuller than a Stick which usually needs to be EQ'd out the wing-wang to get the same tone)

Originally posted by K Rex
What exactly are you saying, Mr. Mad? That Warr's tone is richer than the Stick?

Regardless, I think your assessment of the role density plays in tone is dead-on... even Greg Howard once said that his old polycarb had a better tone than most newer Sticks, and I've heard Traktor discuss density as it applies to tone as well. I have a polycarb (loaner) which needs a setup. Dying to get that done to see for myself... The weight of the Phalanx (it's like 400 lbs.) does seem to improve its tone. Or, it could be the pickups. Or a combination. It slays, regardless.

This subject would be better discussed in its own thread, however. I actually created one for this very subject, and it was largely (and eerily) ignored...

... ... ... ... sniff... ... ... ... ...

Kev

[traktor]

I have never seen any real research, however I have a theory. It's not exactly related to density, but it probably works out to the same thing.


I can't prove it, but just imagine for a moment that you had four solidbody electric guitars all lying on a table.

The first one is made of solid stainless steel.

The second of a very dense and rigid wood (ironwood).

The third one is made of balsa wood.

The fourth one is made of dense rubber (like truck tires).


Pluck a string on each one.

I'd wager that the stainless steel instrument would sound very bright and have long sustain.

I'd expect the very dense and rigid wood to have the next best sustain, and it would sound somewhat bright, but not quite as much, because the wood would absorb a little bit of the string's vibrations.

I'd expect the balsa wood instrument to have very little sustain, and the sound would have little highs and would sound a little 'flat.'

I'd expect the hard rubber instrument to go dead almost immediately, and the string would sound only very briefly and would have a thump sound.


I cannot prove any of this. But I see and hear it in my mind. (Of course, some of the things that I've seen in there .... well, we won't go into that ...)

What think you?

[rpmartino]

Originally posted by maddmannmatt
(and yeah...most people who have getten one will agree the Warr is alot fuller than a Stick which usually needs to be EQ'd out the wing-wang to get the same tone)
Well, I suppose a Warr has to be EQ'd out the wing-wang to sound like a Stick :) I can totally see why a person would prefer the tone of one instrument over the other but lack of fullness hasn't been my experience at all (and I've A/Bed my Stick and a Warr though my effects rig, and preferred the tone of the Villex PASV-4 to the Bartolinis). I've been playing lately with just my Stick and and amp, no special EQ, and get nice compliments about the sound.

They are both great and different sounding instruments, but I wouldn't say one is inherently superior to the other, it comes down to personal preference.

[K Rex]

Hi Kevin,

I never wrote or said this anywhere.

I do read the 3-6 posts a day that are written on tappistry, just to see if it's going to improve as a result of my not participating. So far, it's still a dead forum.

Please stop misrepresenting me, my motivations, and my limitations:)

You're entitled to your own opinions, but please don't put words in my mouth.

Happy Tapping,
Greg

Hi all,

Greg Howard emailed me and, feeling that he was being misrepresented by my previous post, asked if I would set the record straight, which I am happy to do.

I'd like to let this slide but...having played for many years on a polycarbonate (not graphite) Stick (made several CDs on one and played a few hundred gigs), I must say it was a great instrument, and in my opinion played better than any non-Stick tapping instrument I've tried since (not that I've tried them all, I haven't), but I've never had one in my hands that was as easy to play as my old poly was.

So I did indeed recall the post incorrectly, and Greg called me on it. He said nothing about the tone whatsoever, but was, in fact, talking about the superior overall playability of his early polycarbonate instrument compared to all he's tried since.

Glad I could set the record straight.

Kev

[jamsire]

I just like everything I have - everything sounds good.

It really does.

The only thing "I" personally feel is that older Ironwood Sticks with the original pickups sound better recorded on analog tape than digital.

That's just me. SInce I have two and have done recording on them back in the early 1990's - I can say that.

So there :p


Originally posted by K Rex
Hi all,

Greg Howard emailed me and, feeling that he was being misrepresented by my previous post, asked if I would set the record straight, which I am happy to do.



So I did indeed recall the post incorrectly, and Greg called me on it. He said nothing about the tone whatsoever, but was, in fact, talking about the superior overall playability of his early polycarbonate instrument compared to all he's tried since.

Glad I could set the record straight.

Kev

[Tom Drinkwater]

I'm definitely not an authority on the subject but I like to think that the nut and the bridge/saddles are of equal or more importance than the material that the body is made from. Construction and design matter a great deal as well. Place your ear against the body and neck or any stringed instrument and you will hear where the most powerful resonance is. I bet that if you had a Stick made from a very light wood like poplar and machined the bridge and all components like the saddles and nut from solid brass you would still have lots of sustain and magnificent tone to boot. Just my two cents. I have never played a Stick but I really like the variety of tones that I have heard.

[lactose]

Wow, Traktor...this is pretty shameless!

I have been away traveling for a week, so I may have missed something. But I am surprised at all the hostility towards subtle advertising in this and another thread. I am not a fan of ads, since I honestly feel almost every ad I see anymore contains some kind of lie.

But there have been plugs of various kinds for a while and it hasn't been a problem. That's pretty generous when you consider Traktor pays the bill and still allows the competition to get their plug. If anyone should get to plug it should be the person that pays the bill here.

[maddmannmatt]

I have a few friends who own and work at a local exotic hardwoods shoppe. They all agree with me that density is key to tone. A lighter-density instrument will actually diffuse the tonal quality. Think of it like this: less dense wood would have larger spaces between the particles.

The "Llttle Ice Age" is thought to be primarily responsible for the superior quality of the wood used by Stradivari to make his world-famous violins. The trees used for this grew more slowly and were therefore more dense.

Now, if you remember your high-school chemistry, children, you will note that weight does not equal density. You can have a swamp ash or mahogany body and both can differ significantly in weight, but that's not what gives the instrument its quality sound.

So I could say that any sort of denser material would give you better sound quality...to a point. There is a threshold what you can't cross before you begin to mute the sound.

So even if Greg is not an "advocate" of graphite having superior tone, I would say that it's a good bet that it would. Another great thing that graphite give you is its resistance to barometric pressure variations. Therefore no truss assembly is needed! Now, how's that for density?!

[maddmannmatt]

Hostility?

I'm, sorry. I don't think my caps-lock was engaged? Jeeze. A little ribbing is considered "hostility?"

Alrightee then....




Originally posted by lactose
I have been away traveling for a week, so I may have missed something. But I am surprised at all the hostility towards subtle advertising in this and another thread. I am not a fan of ads, since I honestly feel almost every ad I see anymore contains some kind of lie.

But there have been plugs of various kinds for a while and it hasn't been a problem. That's pretty generous when you consider Traktor pays the bill and still allows the competition to get their plug. If anyone should get to plug it should be the person that pays the bill here.