*regarding the comment of repairs before new instruments, I seem to think that when I purchased a used Stickbass, which I had Grace set up the way she turned me on to a couple of years previous - the idea of two bass guitars one in 4ths one in 5ths, anyhow I am pretty sure I gave strict instructions to take their time, and to put new Stick owners ahead of me.

I do know that when it came time for an 8 string Railboard [am I the only one with one of those ??] I know for a fact I instructed - crap I forgot her name, was it Cambria ?? - anyhow I instructed this very helpful woman that Emmett was to take his time, put any and all new orders ahead of my instrument, repairs, whatever... and when time permits only then work on my instrument.

There was a good logic to this, as I was not able to afford either instrument if they were made quickly - but at the same time I was making payments when I could, and when the instruments were done, the cost was very minimal compared to if I had waited till the instrument was ready to be shipped *plus S.E. was getting a little cashflow from my end during the entire process.

I am still very tempted to order a custom Railboard 12 set up 5 bass 7 melody Crafty tuning both bass and melody sides, and again... with the same explicit instructions of taking their time, and maybe i would even suggest using a Railbeam blank that nobody wants, because the color is off or something is not right about it.

But first, my 86 Country Squire wagon is off to the shop today, as I have to keep that baby going since it is my main ride, besides my newer 1990 Jeep Wrangler.

I won't even go into what's in my garage, which I have owned since I was 21 years old [my 71 Plymouth race car!! ] which I hope to start restoring once I turn 65 *I just turned 59 today !!

But I am still seriously thinking about that Railboard 12.....

**OFF TOPIC***

[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t1vaF50Ks0[/youtube2]

I guess we NS/Stickists are in a class all our own - but we knew that already, didn't we? I ordered my NS in May of 23, choosing from the bodies and necks they had in stock with no color dyes and no high-gloss finish. Jeff at Stick quoted me 4 to 5 months and it arrived on my doorstep 5 months to the day. Maple body with Chechen neck with a custom Crafty 8-string tuning. The process to make the NS must be quite different if it can arrive so quickly. Had I chosen a gloss and/or dyed finish it would have take 12 to 18 months.

I believe Gary does all the NS work & that it has a totally separate order queue?


I guess that with all the instruments they batch up body/neck/beam production, so if a particular material or special finish is out of stock it's a matter of waiting till the next time a new batch of that aspect is prepared?

Long-time wood worker here. One of the great tragedies in woodworking is that Purple Heart does not maintain its color. Nor Yellow Heart, or Padauk, or Bubinga, or indeed most wonderfully colored woods. Alas, they are so pretty we use them anyway. Just be aware that UV will kill the color.

Here's a stick stand I made. Colors look nice now, but I don't expect them to last. It was just for fun.


From inside to outside: wenge, maple, bubinga, maple, padauk, maple, purple heart, maple, walnut, maple, and zebra wood.



And here is a lap stand I made with Bubinga and Purple Heart. I'm in love with figured Bubinga like this.

In the past,
I've used a sun tanning UV light to initially restore the color of PurpleHeart.
For the long term, the wood needs to be treated with a UV protectant.