The Acoustick

The Acoustick is a 10 string tapping instrument. The instrument has an acoustic body and a Chapman Stick neck. The music is created by tapping the strings with enough energy to make them vibrate. This technique is used by flamenco and rock guitarists to embellish their sound. The Acoustick allows the player to play simultaneous melody and bass lines. This technique was thought to be facilitated only on electric guitars. But as you can hear in Bob's music two handed tapping can be a major technique in the acoustic world.

The Acoustick was created in 2002. Bob Culbertson always liked the sound of the acoustick guitar. As a dedicated Chapman Stick player Bob went to Emmett Chapman to see if he could build an acoustic version of the Stick. After meeting with Emmett and luthier Craig Anderson the Acoustick was ready to be built. After completion Bob had a mike/pickup installed to record the instrument. Acoustick Dawn is the first recording ever produced on an all acoustick instrument using the tapping technique as the primary style.

Photo by Robert Torre