Hello Stick People.

I was the original owner of stained oak 10 string model number 157. Is the latest owner here?

In 1990 I was a musician that began on guitar and in the late 80s bought a Chapman Stick because it seemed like the coolest thing ever. A car crash in 1990, caused by somebody else, damaged my neck. My thumbs, index fingers, and middle fingers stopped working normally. I sold all of my guitars amps and the Stick. Everything was gone by the middle of 2005. The stick was the last to go.

None of the chiropractors or doctors could do anything for me. Three years ago I got a ukulele and fiddled with it. Two years ago I got a better quality ukulele. I play it all of the time. My fingers still don't work normally but they're working a bit better with concentration. So I'm considering getting another Stick. That is why I'm here. There are some questions that I have. I hope to get some answers.

Go ahead

Welcome back. If Django Reinhardt could play after a fire I’m sure there are ways to get around the instrument. We are all happy to try and answer any questions

Welcome Smallwheels! The past several months have been tough for me - back problems & insurance diddlying & COVid hospital shut downs but I had an ablation Friday to kill the lower back nerves and I bought a new gaming (office) chair to start playing my Stick regularly again. So I am simpathetic to your situation because I would do anything to be able to play without pain. Ask away any Stick is better than no Stick. I got my first one in the 80's still have it...now I'm retired and stir-crazy - I just want to PLAY

Smallwheels,welcome, welcome!

Congratulations on coming back from the brink.

Buying a new stick is a very personal thing. One thing I would suggest is that Emmett made the Railboard so that it would be easier to play. My body is in fairly good shape, no obvious hurdles anyway.

I’ve just ordered my Railboard and the principal concern I have in becoming a Railboarder, is to have an instrument that is most easy on my chops.

Enjoy the sticky community here and the gas (gear acquisition syndrome ).

Thank you all for welcoming me. The prices of these things is really shocking. I think I paid just under $1100 for mine with the hard case, the Free Hands book, and shipping. My instrument was made of one piece of oak. It seems the new wooden models are laminated. Back then there were fewer models. I wanted the polycarbonate model but decided to save some money and get a wooden one.

The avatar image is from long ago. I did my best with GIMP to shrink it. Now it looks very pixelated.

I came to the forum to learn about the durability of the aluminum frets. I searched and read several posts that explain how aluminum oxide is as hard as sapphire and shouldn't be worn by the strings. I have asked some Railboard owners on Youtube how their instrument frets are holding up after ten years. I haven't gotten a reply yet. Everything wears out and I suspect the hard anodized coating will wear. Then what? Emmett won't be around forever. Is he still around? I'm just assuming he is since the web site is still there; but there are no models in stock for sale there, whether new or used.

I've also learned that the Railboard frets are a bit rough. The second generation is much smoother. Are they as smooth as well polished frets? I could keep a set of strings on my Stick for almost a year. I never broke one. They just got dirty and the thinnest ones got bent.

Does anybody know how long it takes to get one after placing an order in 2020? Please let me know how long it took to get yours and when it was.

Welcome!

Emmett has made three posts on this forum in the past week. He has a number of employees in the company, and I don't know the work flow, but I'm pretty darned confident that my instrument spent time in his hands before it shipped to me earlier this year. Feels like butter.

I'll let others chime in about Railboard frets, but all reports are that they are quite durable. Emmett has stated that they are set up to re-dress the rails on a Railboard should an owner desire, but I don't know if anyone's taken him up on it.

Stick Enterprises pretty much builds everything to order. You won't often see new instruments for sale on the web site, unless orders slow down and they have leftover production capacity to devote to 'reserve production' units. It's been a few years since I've seen that. It varies, but 6-12 months seems like a fairly safe range to expect for delivery of a new instrument. I've heard as little as two months, and my most recent purchase, delivered March 2020, took seven.

There's a lot of Railboarders out there and on this website. Inquiries come pretty quick (we like to talk) My mid-80's Ironwood was purchased@ Sam Ash NYC for $1200. My bamboo 12-string w/ PASV4 & MIDI pu in '08 was just under 4 grand. Quality cost $ but quality lasts. I love my Sticks they speak to me like no other instrument. Good Luck on yer Journey Pt. 2.

Hello Smallwheels and welcome!

Having ordered both a railboard and a bamboo stick from Stick Enterprises in the past couple of years, my own experiences have been of relatively long wait times for delivery.

I ordered my Grand Railboard in September 2018 and took delivery in June 2019 - 9 months. I ordered my bamboo stick in August 2019 and received it just last month - an 11 month wait.

With that said, I'm very happy with both instruments and ecstatic to have them as a new musical outlet.

Good luck on your return to Stick!

I hope you stay safe - Best Wishes,

Matthew