Ever played a strumstick?

Ukeffect

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Hi ya'll, well another project I had built was this strum stick not one of the McNally $140++ ones but from this guy in North Carolina that sells them on Ebay for around $55-65 It's sort of a cross between an ukulele, a dulcimer, held like a guitar, and sounds kind of like a banjo! I got one just to have something different to play when I finally get the cajones to do a video! I really like the sound of Ben's (AKA tranzar) strumsticks...the sound when tuned up is surprisingly loud and full with a lot of sustain...and it has a tiny sound board!
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I have two McNally Strumsticks, one standard and one Grand.

Just so you know, the term "Strumstick" is copyrighted by Bob McNally. All others should rightly be called something else.
 
Are those the instrumentes with "no wrong notes"? I'd heard about them, apparently every not is part of a certain scale?
 
Yeah they are fretted diatonically so you can only play in one key. They're pretty fun little things.
 
Are those the instrumentes with "no wrong notes"? I'd heard about them, apparently every not is part of a certain scale?

We call those Diatonic Harmonicas. *laughs*

'Course I have been working for months to get more wrong notes out of my Harmonicas… I will play the Legend Of Zelda Overworld theme on my harp* if it is the second to last thing I do (The last being playing Debussy's Clair de Lune on the Piano).

Hmm… I need more ukulele related goals.

Diatonic / Fixed Key instruments are really cool. They will greatly develop your ear for melodies. Learning to play Harmonica by ear (by tablature at first, then truly by ear) greatly enhanced my ability to pick out melodies on the Piano (from not-at-all to most-of-the-time-if-it-isn-t-too-complicated). I can also pick out melodies on the ukulele to some effect (I need to practice that more).

* to properly play that on the Harmonica one must play the six hole overblow
 
We have a strumstick. It's really cool, we don't play it, but it is really cool. CJ had to have one an early B-day present. We've played it 3 maybe 4 times. Been thinking about selling it, but it's not hurting anything just sitting there and we might play it someday. It's kind of hard to hold. Anyone have a trick for holding this thing?
 
Apparently if you want to make and sell them, you can't call them Strumsticks. McNally has a copyright on the name. There was this user on youtube that had one not made by McNally, so he had to email this user telling him that he couldn't call it a strum stick anymore.

I personally think is kinda silly to copy right the name of an instrument (especially if it's one as simple as Strum Stick). It seems kinda monopolizing. It would make more sense to just copyright a brand name such as "Fender Guitars" or "Kala Ukulele". He could have "McNally Strumsticks".
 
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Apparently if you want to make and sell them, you can't call them Strumsticks. McNally has a copyright on the name. I personaly think is kinda silly to copy right the name of an instrument (expesially if it's one as simple as Strum Stick). It seems kinda monopolizing. It would make more sense to just copyright a brand name such as "Fender Guitars" or "Kala Ukulele". He could have "McNally Strumsticks".

IANAL, but I think he actually is trademarking a brand name. Problem is, he's not defining the generic name.

But legally, it would probably be viewed as a "Strumstick brand diatonically-fretted stringed instrument".

For an example, check out the Chapman Stick website. Note how it's really a "Stick fretboard tapping instrument". Others are free to make their own "fretboard tapping instrument" (and they have), but they can't call it a "Stick".

(Incidentally, this is why the singular of "Pop-Tarts" is still "Pop-Tarts". :D)

JJ
 
I own a grand strumstick -- and I love it. Mine is tuned DAd -- with the last "d" an octave higher than the first "D". Fret anywhere on the bottom (geographically lowest, highest sounding) string and strum. The other two strings create a pretty drone like a dulcimer or bagpipes.

For the musically clumsy like me, finding a note by "ear" is easy. The open "d" is doe, first fret is "re" third is "re" and so on. Somewhere in there you need to skip a fret, but you get the idea. It's a pretty easy major scale. If you know someone who can poke out a melody on a piano, they'd take to the strumstick easily.

http://www.strumstick.com/

I consider it a long necked mountain dulcimer -- strung kinda backwards and played like a guitar or uke.

McNally strumsticks are well made and sound excellent. I noticed the other guy on ebay. His look good, but not quite as nice as McNally. A third guy, Blaine Horlocker makes the strum stick (two words) and sells them in a slightly different shape for the body. Blane's a good guy.

http://www.smokeymountaindulcimer.com/

The best part about the Strumstick or strum stick is that it always sounds like music... That's why they call it no wrong notes. Mess up a chord on a uke and it can be a train wreck, but these things usually sound good even if you don't know what you're doing. Which is good, cause I don't. It sounds like a cross between a banjo, sitar and dulcimer.

By the way, if anything above is musically technically inaccurate, let me know. Considering my vast inexperience, I could easily sound like Cliff Claven. :eek:
 
I have two McNally Strumsticks, one standard and one Grand.

Just so you know, the term "Strumstick" is copyrighted by Bob McNally. All others should rightly be called something else.

Well , to be honest this guy calls them Stick Dulcimers just for that reason...but a rose by any other name and all that! :rolleyes: I just wanted a reasonable one to try out, and his version certainly is reasonable. He also makes a "paddle" version, with a larger soundboard and shaped like...yep, you guessed it... a canoe paddle. some of his work is very intricate, and hey it sounds good!:p
 
We call those Diatonic Harmonicas. *laughs*

'Course I have been working for months to get more wrong notes out of my Harmonicas… I will play the Legend Of Zelda Overworld theme on my harp* if it is the second to last thing I do (The last being playing Debussy's Clair de Lune on the Piano).

Hmm… I need more ukulele related goals.

Diatonic / Fixed Key instruments are really cool. They will greatly develop your ear for melodies. Learning to play Harmonica by ear (by tablature at first, then truly by ear) greatly enhanced my ability to pick out melodies on the Piano (from not-at-all to most-of-the-time-if-it-isn-t-too-complicated). I can also pick out melodies on the ukulele to some effect (I need to practice that more).

* to properly play that on the Harmonica one must play the six hole overblow


Oddly enough, I can play harmonica. Not extremely well, but I can play some simple things.
 
Oddly enough, I can play harmonica. Not extremely well, but I can play some simple things.

Harmonicas Rock.

You can keep one it your pocket and carry it everywhere. The only reason I can play anything on it at all is the portability. Any time I am out and have a free moment I will start playing. I wish my Ukulele was that portable.
 
Harmonicas Rock.

You can keep one it your pocket and carry it everywhere. The only reason I can play anything on it at all is the portability. Any time I am out and have a free moment I will start playing. I wish my Ukulele was that portable.

Exactly. It's just very convenient, small enough to have just about anywhere.
 
I own one...and I'm gonna give it to my kid when he's about 5. In all fairness, its great for someone who cant play anything, but I'm not a huge fan. All it is is a generic mountain dulcimer in guitar format. I would probably like it still, if I didnt realize I could make something better on my own $35 in a few hours.

cigar box instruments rule
 
I own one...and I'm gonna give it to my kid when he's about 5. In all fairness, its great for someone who cant play anything, but I'm not a huge fan. All it is is a generic mountain dulcimer in guitar format. I would probably like it still, if I didnt realize I could make something better on my own $35 in a few hours.

cigar box instruments rule

Actually, I'm trying to build Cigar Box Guitars/strumsticks and that budget is about right. The McNally I have is really well built, sounds a lot louder than I figured it would and has opened my eyes up on the subject of alternate tunings.
 
The long neck dulcimer on ebay was very tempting. Then I counted the frets. There's some controversy (or freedom of choice) about the 6+ fret, but my McNally has 12 frets. The one on ebay only has 8 if I'm seeing the picture correctly.

I could be wrong -- these old eyes fail me sometimes, but that one looks like a problem.
 
Looks like your eyes are fine to me. I think that first one is a "zero" fret so technically it only has seven usable frets.

I think I'll stick with my original.
 
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