what is standard radius for a 6 string? what differences does the radius make, if any?

google it

There is no standard radius for 4, 5, 6 or more strings guitars. There are some radius used more often than others and everything will depend on how good you feel the guitar with one or another radius.

16" brings the fretboard down pretty thin on the upper frets, although it is very possible. Something around 16"-30" would be great.

16" brings the fretboard down pretty thin on the upper frets, although it is very possible.

How do you figure?

A larger radius like that is flatter ... so that doesn't thin down the board on the edges the way something like a 10" radius would.

I do 20" on my 5 strings. Wider necks need a flatter radius.

Some builders are doing flat fingerboards like classical guitars.

I do a 20" on 5/6 and flat on anything above that string wise.
I have a few 5/6 with flat boards and it is now my preference on fingerboards for any bass. The 9 I am building just now has a flat board.
Alan

i was thinking of building my first 4 string neck-through and giving it a flat radius... is that rediculous for a fretboard so thin? especially since i was thinking of using a Jazz-bass size nut and bridge.
if the fretboard is flat, i'm assuming i should make sure the nut and bridge are also radius free.
will i have to worry about pickups, or are they generally flat as well?

How do you figure?
I figure because I have two 6-strings with a 16" radius, it is the definite minimum for a standard 1/4" thick fingerboard. If the fingerboard is very thick, you can get away with any radius.

i was thinking of building my first 4 string neck-through and giving it a flat radius... is that rediculous for a fretboard so thin? especially since i was thinking of using a Jazz-bass size nut and bridge.
if the fretboard is flat, i'm assuming i should make sure the nut and bridge are also radius free.
will i have to worry about pickups, or are they generally flat as well?

I'm not an e´xpert. . but i bet they come flat. . . since you dont install them on the surface of the body you install them in a cavity. . . and a radiused neck doesnt affect them . . . so i guess all of them are flat oO

I figure because I have two 6-strings with a 16" radius, it is the definite minimum for a standard 1/4" thick fingerboard. If the fingerboard is very thick, you can get away with any radius.

How wide is your neck?

Here's a 3.2" X .25" thick fingerboard overlaid with a 16" radius. Still some room there. There's no reason why the fingerboard can't taper down to zero on the edge.

But still, that's a pretty low radius for such a wide neck, IMHO.

About 3.3" on one and the other is about 3.5". Your picture is proving my point, it tapers down pretty low and there is about 1/ 16" of space between the fret slot and the bottom of the fingerboard. Hopefully I'll never need to remove the fingerboard on those basses. I'll definitely be sticking with a 20" radius for 6-strings in the future.

Ah! I see. Yeah, 20 works a lot better. Or do a compound radius.

I generally do compound radii on my basses... ~10" at the nut, up to ~25" at the 24th fret... I like that taper because it allows fot a fairly consistant thickness at the edge of the board.

I generally do compound radii on my basses... ~10" at the nut, up to ~25" at the 24th fret... I like that taper because it allows fot a fairly consistant thickness at the edge of the board.

How do you create a compound radius? :confused:

I have a luthier friend who is better equipped than I... ;)

He has an edge sander with a pendulum setup that allows him to set each end of the fingerboard to have a different arc, which is quite near. He used some kind of bearing setup that pivots like a ball joint, so that the fingerboard can pivot parallel to the sander without binding.

Alternately, Cumpiano in the acoustic guitar book tells of getting a compound radius on his fretboards by tapering the board to the proper profile, then using a hand plane to set the radius, keeping the thickness at both the edges and the center the same, which resulted in a compound radius down the length of the board ("flattening out" as it headed toward the bridge...).

flabitty-flat is king!

Wilser I guess you explained once how to make a compound radius?

Wilser I guess you explained once how to make a compound radius?

yes, it's the method described by Shawn from the Cumpiano/Natelson book, but instead of handplane I'm using the stationary belt sander lately.

I don't know if I could play on a completely flat board... it just sounds like it would feel weird. On the other hand, I imagine it would make fretwork a lot faster/easier, especially the levelling part.

Flat is where it's at! :)
Dirk

I don't know if I could play on a completely flat board... it just sounds like it would feel weird. On the other hand, I imagine it would make fretwork a lot faster/easier, especially the levelling part.

try a classical guitar ...those guys have been playing on flat fingerboard for centuries. If your technique is with the thumb over the fingerboard, then you won't like it, but if you keep the thumb on the back of the neck it's comfier than a radiused board (IMHO)

I occasionally play with thumb over the top on (GASP!) guitar, but I can't think of a single time that I've tried to do that on bass... I will have to try this flat fingerboard thing.

I just wonder, because your hand/fingers naturally form a curved shape. I'm trying to picture an upright bass, for example, with a flat board. It would be unplayable. Maybe that's why I like the radius on the fingerboard. Still, I won't knock it until I've tried it. :)

I occasionally play with thumb over the top on (GASP!) guitar, but I can't think of a single time that I've tried to do that on bass... I will have to try this flat fingerboard thing.

I just wonder, because your hand/fingers naturally form a curved shape. I'm trying to picture an upright bass, for example, with a flat board. It would be unplayable. Maybe that's why I like the radius on the fingerboard. Still, I won't knock it until I've tried it. :)

I am curious to try a flat board too, but as for upright is mainly the bow that would not work, finger stile would probably be fine.

I like a 20" radius on a 5 and a 6. Never liked the feel of flat boards on these.

16" on all of my 6 string basses. I don't really like my fretboards that flat though. I do like them more towards 9.5"

Why did people start with the radiused fretboard in the first place? Flat is my favorite..
(sorry a bit OT)

Why did people start with the radiused fretboard in the first place? Flat is my favorite..
(sorry a bit OT)My guess is that it's because a bowed instrument needs it in order to bow each string individually.

My guess is that it's because a bowed instrument needs it in order to bow each string individually.
I googled it ;P

How does fretboard radius affect playability?

It’s a matter of string-bending ability and fretting-hand fingering comfort. The lower the radius number, the easier it is to wrap your hand around the neck. A very old Fender Telecaster would have a 9" radius, which is very curved, and comfortable for playing closed chords up and down the neck. But you can’t bend strings worth a damn without fretting out unless the action is set very high. On the other hand, it can be difficult to grab a clean barre chord on a nylon-string guitar, and that is partly because classical fretboards can be so flat that they appear concave.

People are hipper to fretboard radius now, and there are more options. Andrés Segovia would never have gone for even a mildly arced fingerboard, but that might be right for someone else. Some even prefer a compound radius, where the neck is more arced at the nut, and flatter in the upper register. There is no correct radius, and it requires a high level of sophistication to understand that fretboard radius is only one aspect of playability.

I find it hilarious that it takes "a high level of sophistication to understand that fretboard radius is only one aspect of playability"...

I would think that it would be obvious... string action, string gauge, string spacing, scale length... all of these things affect an individuals comfort level with an instrument, or the individual's perceived "playability" level when referring to a specific instrument...

It's interesting... the Warmoth bass necks are listed as having a 10" radius (even the 5 string and 8 string necks), which sounds MUCH tighter than the builders here are recommending. It doesn't seem right, either, because they list the standard Fender guitar radius these days to be 9.5", and the standard Warmoth guitar necks are compound radius from 9.5" at the nut to 16" at the heel.

So what's Fender using these days? Are J- and P-basses coming from the factories with 10" radius necks, non-compound? I can't really tell from my Geddy Lee model. I don't see a lot of difference between it and the one Warmoth neck I have (that I bought off a guy on Ebay, so I don't have the precise order details)...

16" is pretty standard for steel string acoustics. Some electrics go as low as 7". 10" while a tight radius does not seem outrageously small to me. I imagine that a contra bass FB would be perhaps a 4" radius at the nut. Does anyone know?

Greg N

There are patents for fretboards with concave radii, also. I've never run into an instrument built that way, though.

concave radii

Sounds painful. :rollno:

Greg N

Sounds painful. :rollno:

Greg N
The patent I remember showed the fingerboard basically flat by the treble strings, and rising or getting thicker towards the bass strings.

While in one sense it does not make sense because the finger pressure is no longer directed toward the thumb or palm (unless you're a thumb-wrapper), in another sense it works well because the fretboard follows the sweep of your fingertip as you gradually straighten your finger.

It's interesting... the Warmoth bass necks are listed as having a 10" radius (even the 5 string and 8 string necks), which sounds MUCH tighter than the builders here are recommending. It doesn't seem right, either, because they list the standard Fender guitar radius these days to be 9.5", and the standard Warmoth guitar necks are compound radius from 9.5" at the nut to 16" at the heel.

No one at Warmoth play an instrument, and you can tell.

I know several people who play Warmoth basses, and they like them... Of course, they also like how many Fender basses play, when properly setup... I, myself, like Fender basses. I find them very comfortable to play for extended periods of time.

The only fender i have played is an Original 1972 P bass, it is good, but for me the neck is so thin that i can play with bad technique and I don't like finished maple fretboards

The patent I remember showed the fingerboard basically flat by the treble strings, and rising or getting thicker towards the bass strings.
Wow, exactly the opposite of what my understanding is. Action is necessarily higher at the bass side because the string vibrates in a wider arch. In most modern guitars this is accomplished through saddle adjustment. In classical guitars the FB is actually planed thinner on the bass side from 0"at the nut to -1/32" or so at the 12th fret.

Greg N

A standard compound has a radius that varies linearly with length along the fretboard, i.e. a surface section of a cone. You need a good jig to do this properly (one that will swing the fretboard along a conical surface) or lots of patience and persistant checking with radius gauge and straightedge.

The advantage of a compound radius is that it follows most closely the shape of the surface defined by the strings themselves. Even if the nut and bridge both have the same radius, the neck taper will cause the strings to define a surface that is closer to conical than cylindrical.

This is not so much an issue for bass guitars....electric guitarists tend to pick up on this much more (shredders especially).

Wow, exactly the opposite of what my understanding is. Action is necessarily higher at the bass side ...Yeah, in this case, this is describing the shape of the fretboard profile--as always, the action above the fretboard is still at the user's discretion.