Chapman stick vs. Warr guitar?
Posted on December 14th, 2009 by f1xSTRM
A Happy-Tappy Question --
(See 'comments' link for Answers)
How do you compare a Chapman stick and a Warr guitar? They both seem really interesting, have variable tunings and numbers of strings. In the recordings I've heard, the Warr sounds better, but that could relate to a number of factors like the player. If you can play one, how difficult is it to switch?
Filed under: chapman stick
Although Chapman Stick instruments have options that can be upgraded, standard Warr Guitars have Bartolini pickups, which many musicians believe to be of very high qualilty. Bartolini pickups are not normally offered on Stick, to the best of my knowledge, though they have some other kinds of pickups available.
Warr Guitars have the Buzz Feiten Intonation System installed, which makes your playing sound more ‘in tune’ than normal guitars or basses (or Sticks); more information about this is available at http://buzzfeiten.com
Chapman Stick instruments have no body and even the neck is cut out somewhat where the (separate) pickups array is installed. This makes the entire instrument somewhat flexible — you can flex it in your hands — and accounts for some of the Stick’s distinctive sound. (The bass is less of a soft pop like normal electric bass and is more of a click and growl; the melody has more of a ‘chiming’ sound and sounds less like normal guitar.)
Warr Guitar has a very heavy-duty construction and a very solid body, which (in any electric guitar) provides rigidity in the area where holes are cut for the pickups, so that the instrument remains rigid, and just as a guitar of rigid steel would sound different from a flexing guitar, so does the Warr have a sound quite different from Stick. The Warr is more like a bass and a guitar in sound.
The third major manufacturer is Mobius Megatar at http://megatar.com.
Although the Megatar instruments generally cost less than either Stick or Warr, they come with the Buzz Feiten Intonation System, have Bartolini pickups available, and are built with a slender body which is quite rigid to get a more guitar and bass type of sound.
Sticks have been made longest, have the largest number of players, and have a large and loyal player base with active mailing lists and a forum just for Stick players. The Stick instrument is the lightest in weight. A Stick with the full 12-strings costs about $2500.
Warrs have enthusiastic players, and are the heaviest in weight, and a 12-string Warr generally over $3000.
Megatars have enthusiastic players, and are slightly heavier than Sticks, but weigh less than Warrs. A 12-string Megatar with Bartolini pickups costs $1490, though other models are available for as little as $1190.
Neither Megatar nor Warr have a dedicated Megatar-only or Warr-only forum, but Megatar and Warr players (and some Stick players, and some players of custom and/or homebuilt tappers) often hang out on the Tappistry.Org forum at http://tappistry.org/forum.
Although some very early models of tapping instruments may appear crude by today’s standards, current models of Stick, Warr, and Megatar are all made to exacting standards and are of high quality finish, sound, and function.