Choosing a Tap Instrument

[Insanite]

Hello,
I'm strongly considering the purchase of a tap instrument, though I can't quite decide between the three instruments to which I've narrowed my choices. I'm a working high school student with a budget of about $1100, so of course I'm a bit limited :p

I've been thinking about a used 10-String Stick, a Megatar Eclipse, or a Solene. I know the most about the Stick; I'm a King Crimson fanatic. I like the 12-string Megatar for its tonal posibilities, and the Solene is, of course, the cheapest (not to mention quite cool looking :D I have guitar and bass amps already; the cost of these items is therefore not an issue.

Could anyone recommend a choice? Are the tonal possibilities of the Solene as limited as I believe them to be? This is the only thing holding me back from ordering one right away!

Thanks,
Max

[rjgoos]

Golly, I think you'll get as many answers as there are people on this issue...

I have the perspective of being exactly where you are back in July.

I bought a used plain jane 10-string Stick in the original 'classic' tuning. It has been an excellent instrument for introduction into the whole touch/tap world, and is a great general-purpose instrument. A good used one holds its value well. Apart from some wrist pain (maybe my ergonomics aren't right), I have absolutely no complaints about the instrument, its tone, etc.

I recorded excerpts of my first and second month's progress at:

http://members.ifmcs.net/rjgoos/Public/Music/

You can see that I am only playing simple melody lines with the right hand, and simple bass chords with the left. The classic stick tuning is great for that sort of music.

In my opinion, the only direct competitor for a 10-string Stick I see in the marketplace is the Austin Douglas ADG-10. Ola, a moderator here, and others here speak very highly of this instrument. It is a little wider in the neck than a 10-string Stick.

(maybe I can stir some controversy with the following statement) I don't see a Megatar and a Grand Stick as competing instruments. It seems to me that people are doing different things with them. Mobius will make you a Megatar in a Grand Stick tuning as a special option, but it is not their default set up. My hands are very small (only five inches from tip of index finger to tip of pinkie when I open my hand and lay it on an engineering pad), so any hope of playing a Grand Stick or Megatar with a "crossed hands" technique is out for me.

Regarding a Solene, I don't know if I would want to buy one, but I should would love to see and hold one at least once!! Who wouldn't want to try to play such a curious instrument???


BTW, there are two Sticks and one Solene for sale right now on eBay.


RJ