I would be curious to know if the top of the fret could be made to look like the sides of the frets...as in this picture:



or is that just an effect from lighting?

Its shadow Randy....or rather, the way the photo was taken. In all the pics I've seen, the board colour blends into the frets, rails.
Cheers,
K

The sides are exposed aluminum, but the anodized surface on the frets prevents the fret from becoming worn by the strings.

Coupla years ago, I posted this.


I play a 10 string Stick and sing. It means my hands move a lot on the instrument and I sometimes really have to give a quick glance to the fretboard to know where I go. I also rely on peripheral vision. When I got my Railboard and began to sing, I noticed that I needed this reference, specially when the light was low.

But it just took a roll of car pinstripe (TRIMBRITE® 1/8") to solve the problem.







You just have to carefully leave the tip of the rails "nude" to avoid any interference between the pinstripe and the string/rail contact point. You can remove the pinstripe anytime without any residual stuff on the instrument. A clean and safe method.

Greetings from Switzerland

Olivier

That is clever, Olivier! And neatly done!

Olivier for the win! I'd think that solves this! (I'll let you all know how my stickers turn out, and if they Stick!)

interesting...I guess you couldn't easily just leave the "top" of the frets un-anodized (not the where the string contacts, but where Olivier put his stickers)?

That would be a question for Emmett himself. I know the bowls are drilled out to make the silvery aluminum become exposed, that would be fairly less labor intensive than exposing the "slope" of the fret since it likely is done with a drill press. I don't know how the side of the fret "slope" would be exposed, perhaps with a Dremel tool and a steady hand, which makes me queasy to think about. I still think the metallic silver marker is a faster/less expensive/safer option.

Or... just get good at playing! hahah ( just kidding!) Seriously, though... A violinist doesn't have frets. Nor does a cellist, or Viola, or a singer... and on my guitar or bass, I just "know where to go" but I feel like that was a thing that just developed over time... I learned a whole lot of different types of music on guitar, and paid a lot of money to be immersed in it for a few years; Maybe that's what needs to be done with the Stick... I know when I was at School we absolutely hammered sight singing, relative pitch and stuff via solfege and at the end of two years I could sight-sing better than I could sightread on my instrument. Actually I think I still can...


As per Free Hands, the hands eventually just "see" the notes. I myself am still working on this, but it's coming together. It takes time I think, and a lot of different approaches. Getting really warm and fuzzy with simple things has been the best route for me! (Power-chords) And no, I won't be challenging Bob Culbertson to a Stick-war any time soon, but that isn't what it's about is it? Simple music is okay too!

What if you just suffered with the markings, and closed your eyes while you play? I mean it might be a bit rough at first but you would take reliance on the markers completely out of the equation...

I personally just love the look of the railboards.. I hate to cover it with stickers and stuff hahaha

Good luck, guys!

Since seeing is believing, here is my Railboard before and after the silver marker applied to the bowls.