Stick Rails® Precision Tapping Frets

Stick Rails® Precision Tapping Frets

For all Stick and Railboard models

Medium-Sized Rails® Now on All New Instruments

— Click to zoom

Frets and inlays of a Chapman Stick tapping guitar
Ten string Bamboo Chapman Grand Stick showing 5/32” frets
5/32” Rails of a NS/Stick guitar
Traverse line pattern between the frets, of a Chapman Stick Railboard

We are now producing all of our hardwood and bamboo “Stick” fretboard tapping instruments with new medium sized Rails®.

We introduced our patented “Rails” precision tapping fret system in 2000, originally made from 3/16” (0.48 cm) square stainless steel bar stock and rotated 90 degrees, points up. These made our very low action fretboards easier to build, setup and to maintain. Rails provide plenty of room for your fingers between the frets, and a fast playing surface. Then in 2010 we replaced the jumbo bass guitar frets on our NS/Stick necks with smaller sized 1/8” (0.32 cm) Rails, which gave a precision tapping feel without being noticeably different in height from traditional electric bass guitar frets. Then in 2013, these smaller Rails became the standard on all our hardwood and bamboo models.

Their smaller size made for a more attractive instrument with less wood replaced by the Rails, and with a simpler diamond shape as seen from the side (replacing the 5-sided truncated shape of the larger Rails). There was also more fingertip contact with the fingerboard surface, preferred by many players over the larger Rails, but which some players didn’t like as well.

Now we’ve split the difference. Our new “Goldilocks” Rails are made from 5/32 inch (0.4 cm) square stock with tips slightly higher off the board.  Overall weight is reduced. The diamond shaped profile is preserved.  As a standard feature, all new beams of all Stick models will be machine cut with grooves to allow these new medium-sized Rails to slide in from the side.

Gallery — Click to zoom

Side view of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick
Close view of the neck of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing White Pearl recon stone inlays and frets
Rear side angle view of rear of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing 3-D Adjustable Bridge and ATV-2 Tuner
Close view of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing the ATV-2 Tuner
Side angle view of the belt hook of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick
Close view of the neck of a Maple Ten string Chapman Stick showing Turquoise recon stone dot inlay and frets
Close rear view of the head of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing the Chrome Hipshot Tuners
Front view of the neck of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing Chrome Hipshot Tuners and White Pearl recon stone Inlay
Close view of the neck of a Tarara Ten string Chapman Stick showing White Pearl recon stone inlays and frets
Side view of a Maple Ten string Chapman Stick

And on all Railboard® models

Integrated Frets and Beam

On our newest model, the Railboard®, the rails and the beam are integrated into one structure made from one piece of machined aluminum, which is then protected with a hard anodized oxide or metal plasma coating.

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This Railboard's black hard anodized surface shows the traverse line pattern between the frets, and the exposed fret ends.

Ordering Your Stick

Choose your Stick, select your options to calculate your quote, place your order.

Order An Instrument

Instrument orders placed on Stick.com today are placed immediately into our request queue. There are no commitments or charges at the request queue stage—we want to ensure that we have your order 100% right before we start your custom build. Your satisfaction is always our top priority.

Once an order request is received, a Stick Enterprises representative will be in touch to discuss and confirm your order customizations and to provide our terms and deposit policy for your build. Payment of your deposit will enter your instrument build immediately into the production queue.

If you prefer to order your instrument by phone, call 818-884-2001, M-F 10:30-6:00 US Pacific Time. Delivery time depends on materials selected and where we are in our production cycle, but is usually only a few months.

Add To Your Kit

Accessories and gear are available for immediate purchase on the Stick Store. Consider adding a Stick hard or soft case, a stereo cable and an instruction book.

For more information on the books and DVDs by Greg Howard, Steve Adelson, Bob Culbertson, and Emmett Chapman, please refer to our instructional materials.