Instruments Railboard® new 8-string version
(this version of the Railboard has been discontinued)
A new version of the Railboard for 8-string players
Built to the same overall specifications as our 10-string Railboard model, the new 8-string version offers wider inter-string spacing and more familiar 4ths bass tunings, as well as our other standard 8-string tunings.
As with our 10-string Railboards, the fret profile is machined prior to the hard-anodizing or metal plasma coating being applied to match the 4ths or inverted 5ths tuning the player requests, for a very low-action setup.
Railboard construction (10-string version shown)
5 anodized colors
The Five hard-anodized colors, plum, bronze, blue, black and maroon
Railboard parts.
All of the parts that make up the Railboard.
Black anodized beam closeup
Black hard anodized surface shows the traverse lines pattern between the frets, and the exposed fret ends.
Rear view
The belt hook pedestal mounts on the beam, and the R-Block module wraps around it.
Optional very hard metal plasma vapor deposit coatings
Whereas our regular Railboard productions are hard-anodized to build up the thickest possible layer of rock-hard aluminum oxide on all aluminum surfaces, this zirconium-based plasma coating is even harder and is commonly used on drill bit tips to prolong work life. The front fretboard surface is brushed before vapor coating to diffuse the shine and create more of a glow. The Rails themselves are mirror finished and contrast nicely with the brushed spaces between them. The feel is very smooth for string bending and vibratos. Rear and side surfaces and fretboard marker cavities are also mirror finished. This metallized finish adds $300. to the price of the Railboard. It's a costly four-step process of building layers onto the machine cut aluminum neck beam, starting with copper, then nickel, then chrome and lastly the very hard plasma coating.Inlays
A variety of linear or dot inlays are excavated and then filled with colorful materials or left as exposed aluminum, and are spaced in our familiar trademark pattern of five frets apart, indicating major 2nd, perfect 5th, octave and upper 4th positions along the fretboard. The 45-degree beveled Rail edges are also exposed and act as small, silvery triangular markers at every fret position. mora about Railboard inlays...
Gold metal plasma Railbaord
Gold metal plasma Railboard with black and gold tuners and black glitter inlays.
Tail section of plum anodized Railboard
The channel for adding a MIDI pickup is already machined by the bridge.
Plum anodized rear view
The rear of the beam holds the truss rod in its "keel".