Fret Board radius

treebranch13 · #1 12-06-2007, 06:59 PM

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

JjJosh · #2 12-06-2007, 07:03 PM

google it

eleonn · #3 12-06-2007, 07:12 PM

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.

Jonsbasses · #4 12-06-2007, 09:07 PM

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

DavidRavenMoon · #5 12-07-2007, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonsbasses

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.

Skelf · #6 12-07-2007, 11:38 AM

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

bwahaw · #7 12-07-2007, 12:26 PM

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?

Jonsbasses · #8 12-07-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidRavenMoon

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.

luzceloffan · #9 12-07-2007, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwahaw

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

DavidRavenMoon · #10 12-07-2007, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonsbasses

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.

Jonsbasses · #11 12-07-2007, 01:47 PM

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.

DavidRavenMoon · #12 12-07-2007, 02:16 PM

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

SDB Guitars · #13 12-07-2007, 02:57 PM

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.

tjclem · #14 12-07-2007, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDB Guitars

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?

SDB Guitars · #15 12-07-2007, 06:06 PM

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...).

wilser · #16 12-07-2007, 09:11 PM

flabitty-flat is king!

eleonn · #17 12-08-2007, 10:56 AM

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

wilser · #18 12-08-2007, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleonn

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.

SDB Guitars · #19 12-08-2007, 08:39 PM

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.

Dirk Diggler · #20 12-08-2007, 10:24 PM

Flat is where it's at!

Dirk