Hi all,

I’m a lute player located in Rhode Island and really enjoy listening to stick. I’m interested in picking one up and have been eyeing rail boards as I understand that they are very stable and easier to play?

Welcome! I grew up in the Boston area and visited Rhode Island regularly to visit family. I also love to hear older instruments like the lute and theorbo (just went to a festival here in Scotland that featured a solo theorbo player, quite amazing!)

I don't know that Railboards are necessarily easier to play - the setup on Sticks is critical so any instrument with the latest adjustment options which is set up properly should be perfectly fine. The feel of a Railboard is very different with the very thin neck profile and the sensation of fingers on metal. Some people here have commented that the tuning can take a few minutes to stabilize as the aluminum warms up. The Railboard does have the advantage that the setup is sort of "baked in" to the instrument, the frets are precisely cut by machine to minimize fine tuning later.

A lot of it boils down to personal preference - some people really like the sound and feel of the Railboard, I tend to be one that prefers hardwood instruments and the sound of the Stickup and PASV-4 pickups, which are only available on wood instruments. I'd recommend checking out recordings/videos of players and see what sound inspires you the most, as the pickup choice will have the biggest influence.

Hey I grew up in the RI area and used to visit Boston...
back when the Sox weren't so hot.

I got my first Stick on consignment from RI Music in Pawtucket. Ironwood 10 string.
Even after a truss rod retrofit from SE, it just wouldn't behave, tuning-wise.
Beautiful looking instrument though.

Newer Sticks are much more behaved and well thought out.

You might want to check out the Alto Stick if you're inclined towards that tonal area.
It always strikes me as the mandolin'ish variant of the Stick.

Yeah think about this. Never played a Railboard but have been (other than upright bass) an electric player of stringed instruments since the beginning and was attracted to the Stick sound in the '80's and that was the Stickup-the only pickup available and "the Stick Sound". So now I own two Sticks, an Ironwood mid-80's with a (new) Stickup (because the original went microphonic) and adjustable truss installed '07 by Emmett and a 12-string bamboo '08 that has PASV/4 (original) and ACTV2 AND I will order a Stickup eventually so I can have EVERY tonal variation on one Stick. NOW...
I love the fact I have an Ironwood. But the Bamboo 12-string Grand has gone thru every iteration of tuning (except 4ths/4ths) and is the instrument I play every day. And is VERY stable (unlike the owner) and FEELS GOOD WHENEVER I PICK IT UP. It's bamboo. I'm also a cook and I notice when my metal utensils are cold to the touch and I like a wood handle better (even though metal is easier to clean). But you don't have to put a Stick in the dishwasher.
All this makes sense to anyone who went to school for music and has been cooking in the restaurant bizniz evr since to pay for their HABIT.

Thank you folks. I really like the sound of both the Railboard and wooden ones. I had aspirations towards one of those hard metal plasma finished Railboards, but alas, it looks like that is not being offered anymore. Wood is certainly a great option too, but looks to increase the price a fair bit too.

Re the Railboard. I first started down this road as a luthier. I was looking into building my own stick. The more I researched the matter, the more I came to appreciate that it wouldn't be simply a luthierie project, but an engineering project as well. Looking at all the refinements and improvements that Emmett made over the years, and how he believed that upgrading old instruments to incorporate those later innovations was simply the Right Way to do things, I saw the Railboard as the instrument that all brought all of Emmett's innovations together in a single instrument.

I really never considered anything else.

But as for that second Stick...

Hey, I’m in Connecticut…. If you want to try one out let me know.

I’ll be playing in Middletown CT on Dec 4th!

https://www.buttonwood.org/product/admi ... hern-trio/

Ah. You too!

I'm months behind you in the queue, so still a long wait till that first one, and then there's proving to myself I can do useful things with it.

But then...

Howdy and welcome to the Stick community! I have nothing but praise for both the machined aluminium and laminated hardwood Sticks, I personally have a laminated rosewood 10 string, and though wooden instruments will always require a little more maintenance, and aluminium vice-versa, a wooden instrument will reward you with what I would only describe as a slightly richer, warmer sound. Transients formed by the Railboard tend to sound much sharper to my ear however which can be a very good thing for various applications. The Railboard is certainly going to be much more stable in tuning and setup, from what I've heard anecdotally, Railboards virtually only require a single first setup without any noticeable drift, even over years, likewise I've also heard tuning is unnaturally solid on Railboards, with little to no drift over the course of weeks or months. Pretty remarkable feat of engineering in my opinion, but either way you go with a Stick, you'll be happy, no two Sticks have ever quite been identical, but they are all unquestionably some of the finest instruments of any kind ever made. As an aside, I'm a Stick player who has pined away at owning a theorbo for many years now, who knows if that will ever come to pass though, the Stick very much has my heart. Again good luck upon your journey with the Stick and keep us updated when you acquire yours!

I have a 1978 Stick and newer Railboard. Both instruments are excellent. I can't recommend one over the other. The Railboard is easier to play but the 1978 Stick is warmer to the touch. Each instrument has a very different tone from the other. I like them both equally.

My only recommendation is to consider pairing them up with the Line 6 Helix Floor. It's a game changing amp modeler. Definitely worth the investment.
https://line6.com/helix/