2 May 2008
Chapman Stick vs Megatar vs Stratocaster
FROM MOBIUS MEGATAR: PRESS RELEASE — A RECORDED SOUND COMPARISON …
QUESTION: Recently on the Tappistry.Org forum, Thom Ashworth from the United Kingdom asked other members about the Mobius Megatar ‘Eclipse’ model (our most-economical model).
Mr. Ashworth asked, “I’m just wondering if anyone here has played one of these instruments, because I’m wondering what it sounds like.”
ANSWER: Another member, R.J. Goos from Fargo, North Dakota, replied –
“I had possession of an Eclipse model for about a month, about six months ago, and I made recordings to compare it to the ‘Chapman Stick’ which I also had available. I played the same song on each instrument, using the same recording gear and settings. Although the song was played too fast, and I made some mistakes, I think you’ll get an idea of what the instrument sounds like.”
And so, thank you, Mr. Goos!
To hear the comparison recordings …
Comparing the Chapman Stick tone to Mobius Megatar tone
“About six months ago, I had access to Mobius Megatar Eclipse for a few weeks, so I made some recordings. The instruments were run into a small mixer, into a simple acoustic guitar effects pedal, and the output went directly into a computer for recording. The song is simple waltz.” — R.J. Goos
6-String Electric Guitar (MP3)
(inexpensive Korean Strat knock-off)
Commentary
As you can hear, the Stick instrument, which has a long and slim and somewhat flexible body, has a somewhat ‘chimey’ sound, whereas the Megatar instrument has a more guitar-and-bass kind of sound, with more substance and body on the lows, and a more rounded melody sound. This is what you would expect from the physical shape of the two instruments.
In addition, as Mr. Goos plays through the waltz, you can hear on the Megatar instrument how the notes sound subtly more ‘in tune’, because the Megatar instrument is built with the Buzz Feiten Intonation System. The tiny adjustments to bridge saddles and the ‘nut position’ cause corrections to the string length which make the scalar notes sound more ‘in tune’ to the human ear. (You can hear this especially clearly by comparing the ‘in tune’ sound of the high notes played in the ‘break’ section of each recording.) The better your ears, the more obvious this will be.
When comparing the Stick and Megatar instruments for value received, also bear in mind that current pricing (at the time of this writing) on the 10-string Stick instrument is about $2100, and the price for the 12-string Mobius Megatar Eclipse model is only $1190.
The Mobius instrument includes tone controls, the Buzz Feiten Intonation System, tilt-back head and through-body string anchoring for best sustain, two method books, and the stereo output cord. The Stick instrument does not include these things.
(Of course, Mobius Megatar offers several models with enhanced sound even better than our ‘Eclipse’ model, utilizing premium woods, Bartolini pickups, custom string saddles, and fanned frets, but these comparison recordings should make clear that our very simplest model compares extremely favorably against the Stick instrument!)
Finally, as a comparison, Mr. Goos also recorded the same waltz on a six-string stratocaster-type guitar. In order to do so, he had to position the notes somewhat higher-pitched, as you can hear, and perhaps it also sounds like it’s a bit more difficult to play in the restricted space of six strings, as compared to the touch-style instruments which have two separate sets of strings, one set for each hand.
[Note -- Mr. Goos was not compensated in any way for the production of these recordings, nor were they done at the request of Mobius Megatar. These recordings were undertaken for his own satisfaction, and he kindly gave us permission to present his recordings.]
Contact Information:
Mobius Megatar Touch-Style Instruments
Post Office Box 161
Weed, CA 96094 USA
(530) 938-1100 in USA (pacific time zone)
email: tappers /at\ megatar /dot\ com
