Newbie looking into tapping

[Nomad Monday]

Hi, I recently went to a concert and saw Tony Levin playing a Chapman stick, and I was instantly hooked. I actually don't have much experience with guitars. I come from a piano, percussion, marimba, and drum set background, but this instrument seems to fit my style.

So I just had a couple questions before I invest in one of these (quite a bit of money for an instrument I don't know how to play). Do you think my musical background would transfer well, or does it require some guitar experience? What are it's limitations (as opposed to guitar)? What's the least expensive one out there (I saw that Krappy guitars are $800 for a 12-string)?

Thanks, and any other insights are welcome. I'm pretty much a newbie at electronic instruments as well, mostly everything I've played has been acoustic.

[rjgoos]

More important than the instrument, I think it's important to think through what style of music you want to make, and then find the best tuning and a good instrument to accomplish that. To greatly oversimplify, there are people who tap regular guitars, right hand melody and left hand accompaniment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8DCDrKX4_I


There are those with "dual guitar" tunings, with both sides more or less in the range of a guitar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsU9_2Cpp5s


There are those who do left hand doing bass parts, and the right hand doing melody, usually as a solo instrument:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvi6L929gdk


And those who use it as a rhythm bass for accompaniment, with strong bass lines on left hand and mostly chords on the right hand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vD3sAAJN84

[Nomad Monday]

Thanks for the reply. That is some good food for thought. I think I was first inspired by tapping when I saw Kaki King (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shYdqbJgQdc). It really reminded me of the type of stuff I would play on marimba (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4_eMcjWYBc). So I guess as a soloist, that is the style I would want to play.

But I'm also interested in playing in bands, but in a much different style. I'm more into playing experimental/progressive rock. I think as a player in a band, I would be more bass-oriented than guitar oriented. Maybe something along the lines of Tony Levin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcbSjC9tAY8) or Les Claypool (not really a tap player, but it's the kind of style I would want to play).

Thinking about all that, I think a 12-string tapper would have the range and versatility to do all that. A major plus is mobility as well. I've been thinking about getting a marimba, but it's just so large, I would only use it as a solo instrument in my house.

[TheEclectic]

Mice video. watching you play made me think of something:

There are two kinds of tap instruments (at least for the point I want to make)-
Those that have a one string course and a continuous tuning, like a marimba.
Those that have two string courses and two different tunings, like an organ.

How you think about music may be reason to choose one over the other.

[Nomad Monday]

Just want to clarify that that's not me in the video :) But I have played pieces of similar difficulty and style.

I've been thinking about it a lot the last few days (even the last month, I really wanted to think it out before I spent the money), and I think I'm going to go with one of the lower tiered Megatars. I think it would be a good balance of price and quality. And if the instrument ends up not sticking with me, I can sell it for a loss, but that loss would be like paying a rental/trial fee, so it's not really that bad.

[rjgoos]

Just want to clarify that that's not me in the video :) But I have played pieces of similar difficulty and style.

I've been thinking about it a lot the last few days (even the last month, I really wanted to think it out before I spent the money), and I think I'm going to go with one of the lower tiered Megatars. I think it would be a good balance of price and quality. And if the instrument ends up not sticking with me, I can sell it for a loss, but that loss would be like paying a rental/trial fee, so it's not really that bad.


Buying something used in good condition is also an option. I got my Stick, Warr, and Megatar all on the used market.

[Nomad Monday]

Yes. I didn't think about it at first, but I'm checking out used instruments on eBay, and it's a much better place to start.