Went to the summer NAMM show today. Purchased a really excellent D whistle from fellow piper Jim Rementer of Copeland Woodwinds. Saw one guy playing nothing but a big fret with lots of strings and then wires coming out of the bottom of it running into a gizmo that was connected to speakers. His fingers were moving up and down acrosss the thing and much of his hand movements mimicked hand and finger movements of a pipers. Bass strings in the middle of the thing. Really wild stuff. A friend of mine with me, former Uilleann piper, cleverly said something to the effect “the folks who play that make pipers look like a large group of people!” The technology of music and recording in this day and age is truly astounding.
Sounds like a Chapman Stick. Been around for awhile now.
Kevin Krell
What is a chapman stick?
Now its my turn to practise self-restraint. 
Something like this:
Lots of samples and CDs available on the web. A toy that never got the full respect it thinks it deserves …
djm
http://www.chapmanstick.com/
Much more than a guitar… The Chapman Stick came out in the late 1960’s. It can be described as a bass guitar and guitar (tuned in 4ths) combined on the same fretboard. It’s setup where you tap the strings to the frets for sound (as opposed to plucking or strumming) giving it an electric piano-like (Fender Rhodes) sound. You can play leads, chords and basslines at the same time… providing you have the talent 
Generally, the stick performers play jazzy-like progressive music that best shows off how much music one person can make from one instrument.
Wanna hear audio samples?
http://www.leoagosselin.com/mp3/sibeag.mp3
http://www.chopstick.net/sounds/Toshi/Whenever.mp3
More??
http://www.leoagosselin.com/index.html
http://www.stickcenter.com/MP3Collection/
Gawd, I had one and I sold it
…for a set of pipes.
What was I thinking?
t
At least you saw the error of you ways, and made a good ‘saving throw’.
..thanks alot Lewis..now Joe’s gonna be surfing ebay every night looking for one of those blasted git-sticks, AND probably master it in an evening
Jon Anderson of Yes plays one of those in concert. Pretty cool gizmo.
PR
Davey wrote:" ..thanks alot Lewis..now Joe’s gonna be surfing ebay every night looking for one of those blasted git-sticks, AND probably master it in an evening. "
Naw, I think this one will take two evenings…'sgot bass strings on it too…two instruments, two evenings. But, I’ll only get one if it has mounting craddles for kazoos and nose whistles. 
Oh yes, the “stick” and the UP have some similarities - they seem to have both been inspired from Hades as a way to frustrate mankind. 
I didn’t realize Jim Rementer was also a piper… I’ve only seen him play mandolin! 