As most of you know by now, my new Railboard model saves me a lot of tedious personal work, especially the fret work (dressing the frets). After hard anodizing, the CNC top cut of the Rail tips with bass relief is (as I like to say) "set in stone". The precision and stability is there and I need not touch it (or put a file to it).

The Railboard is, however, not less expensive in overall costs and is in fact a bit more costly in materials and fabrication than our exotic hardwood and bamboo Sticks, that is, unless my own labor is included in the calculation, which it never is. (I hope my grammar hasn't gotten away from me here.)

So as of today, I must announce a new selling price of $1900. for the Railboard model, still substantially lower than our other Stick models. This price includes our regular Stick stereo cable, a 6-foot XLR adapter cable for the R-Block's phantom powered active mode, and a short splitter to connect to a mixing board's phantom powered mike inputs.

I'd also like to "level the playing field" across the oceans by offering a shipping discount of $200. for all Railboard purchases going overseas. Customs and so called "Value Added Taxes" are high, often over 20%, so the field will never be level, but I'm trying put this new integral aluminum beam model out into the world with the best incentives possible.

It seems a shame that there aren't any special categories of innovative musical products at lower duty rates. I'd argue that The Stick creates jobs in foreign lands, not just for performing musicians and bands but also in the guitar effects and sound systems industries. In many players' hands, the Stick is an electronic effects guzzler!

The new issue of the German Bass Quarterly magazine is just hitting the stands and has our half-page Railboard ad on page 43 announcing our $1900. selling price with the $200. overseas shipping discount.

Our stick.com Website price list, Railboard page and order form all show the new price as well as the overseas shipping discount.

Also to balance our costs with prices, we need to raise the selling price of the hardwood and bamboo 10-string Sticks by $100. as shown on our revised price list. All other Stick models and accessories remain at their old prices.

All the Best, Emmett, with a dose of reality.

Emmett, you are still very fair. Most exotic/boutique instruments cost lots more than your $1900+ starting price. Your mission to get The Stick into players' hands is extremely noble. Potential buyers should know this music-for-all vs business attitude. The bottom line is The Stick will change people's lives and enrich their existence. This is priceless. You are more than fair. Big time kudos to you for putting music first.
Steve A
BTW..there's a TV reality show called Shark Tank that attempts to connect innovative businesses like SE with a panel of wealthy investors. Could SE have Marc Cuban as a minor partner?

This puts the Stick out of my reach again, but I cannot complain about a price list which reflects reality (particularly the inflation which our government seems to pretend is not happening). The Stick is at the top of my list for things to purchase if a significant amount of money were to come my way; after all, custom instruments were never intended for the poor.

I am happy as long as sticks continue to be produced. It is still a very fair price.

Although there are other tapping instruments, no one else considers quality and innovation the way Emmett does in this market. I'm just glad that the price is within my reach. I am thankful for this community's willingness to share and instruct. I am thankful for being able to work on learning this new instrument during times when I needed something to hold on to.

Bodes well, this initial support by those of you on this thread, tho by Monday it might get feisty. Many thanks for your reactions and especially to my long time friend Steve the Tipper for his generous overview of what we do - very gratifying.

I should mention that all existing Railboard orders will be held to the old price and that the $1900. instrument price kicks in as of today. The same applies to hardwood and bamboo 10-string Stick orders.

Shark Tank, along with Kickstarter and some others, might be heralding a whole new institution in the financial world, where successful older people interface with innovative younger people who have dreams that might be useful for the world.

Well, I'm not so young any more (but still innovating), also not so rich (but still subsidizing the business), and I've never known how to deal with prospective investors. There was never much interest and above all, I wasn't interested. The point seemed moot (a mind numbing experience). Couldn't focus.

In the late '70s a European importer sat across the dinner table from Yuta and me and said, "How about 100 Sticks?" Designed to blow my mind and it did. I could only picture the amount of work I'd have to do, the complications of packaging and shipping, and the uncertainties of expanding Stick production without sufficient coaching and culture to back it up from across the seas.

I never wanted to hold back the business that Yuta and I created (Stick Enterprises, a California Corporation since 1975) and it was always the unusually detailed nature of the product itself and its manufacturing process that kept it from expanding exponentially. Real wealth is created in today's world economy by way of replication - pills, plastic parts, paper products, publications, programs (and that's just the "P"s). We're all Xerox machines, consumers and producers alike.

The new Railboard model Stick may of course change our business and allow it to expand, to be a real business instead of a "labor of love". Either way, it's a worthwhile life.

Amen to that. And thanks for your hard work, sir!

Yes! Thank you so much for your contribution to the musical world! Now I feel fortunate I got in on the Stick game before the price increase.

Is the $100 increase on 10 string wood/bamboo sticks to encourage 10 string purchasers to lean towards the Railboard?

...Emmett, I can't but underline what Steve Adelson just wrote: you are still very fair...

...let's compare with some electric guitars, it's easy to spend over than 3000$ for six strings...
...let's compare with other productions of industry, they can realize a decreasement of production costs and put this completely in their own pocket, you're sharing the benefit of lower costs with your customers, very noble indeed...

...and finally have a look to Oscar Wilde who once said: "Today people know the price of all things and of nothing the value."

...thank you very much, Sir...

The overseas shipping discount is an honourable gesture! By pure luck I happened put in an order by phone about a week ago Wondering if I was the last customer on the old price list?