Fretboard Radius

santucci218 · #1 04-01-2007, 10:58 PM

hey guys, i messed up the radius on one of my basses when sanding, which i dont care because its a squire fender. anyways, i want to know if i can just sand it completely flat and hopefully that works?

please give me input so i dont waste my time, thank you.

Paul S.

JSPguitars · #2 04-01-2007, 11:51 PM

maybe start by telling how, exactly, u 'screwed it up'? It's probably fixable...

JimmyM · #3 04-02-2007, 12:21 AM

Ya, don't sand it flat. You can probably sand it back to the radius again. Take it to a shop and see what they think before you go off half-cocked.

santucci218 · #4 04-02-2007, 04:40 AM

well its a squire fender, aka a bass i dont care about as i said. so i dont look to put money into it or anything...why doesnt a flat fingerboard work?

JimmyM · #5 04-02-2007, 05:43 AM

Because it feels like the neck is concave when you try to play it, and you will hate it. But it sounds like your mind is made up, so sand away.

wilser · #6 04-02-2007, 06:15 AM

contrary to JimmyM I do love them flat boards and I woudln't have it any other way. Of course, this is a Fender-style neck, so it may feel strange. But IMHO a flat fingerboard is more comfortable to play, especially on wider fingerboards. Think flamenco/classical guitars.

#include <MK> · #7 04-02-2007, 08:13 AM

Paul, sanding the radius back shouldn't be a problem if it's not too bad. The thing is to ensure that you sand the board as straight as possible, from bottom to top for each stroke. However, this does depend on the problem you created. It may be possible to level the board over it's length (if that's where the problem is) by using a long sanding stick or level, then radius the board with a radius block. Again, we have no idea of how you messed it up. So, either provide a more detailed description of the problem or post a pic so we can provide suitable suggestions.

On flat boards. I personally, don't like them dead flat. But, if you go ahead and flatten it, keep in mind that if you don't like it you will have removed a fair bit of wood. This may mean that you cannot reclaim the radius, depending on how thick the fingerboard is. Also, make sure you don't remove too much so that you don't stuff up the action and need a neck shim to fix it.

santucci218 · #8 04-02-2007, 01:42 PM

Hmm thank you for all the suggestions, im a just make it flat...no better a way to have experience than to do it with your hands!

JimmyM · #9 04-02-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilser

contrary to JimmyM I do love them flat boards and I woudln't have it any other way. Of course, this is a Fender-style neck, so it may feel strange. But IMHO a flat fingerboard is more comfortable to play, especially on wider fingerboards. Think flamenco/classical guitars.

Don't even classical guitars have a slight radius? I can dig what you're saying, but totally flat? I don't know, dude.

santucci218 · #10 04-04-2007, 04:48 AM

...how do i sand at a radius anyways?

wilser · #11 04-04-2007, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Don't even classical guitars have a slight radius? I can dig what you're saying, but totally flat? I don't know, dude.

Modern interpretations of the classical guitars may, but all classical and flamenco guitars I've seen are totally flat. This is confirmed in Cumpiano's book about acoustic guitars in which he builds a classical and a steelstring. The classical has a flat fingerboard.

lemur821 · #12 04-04-2007, 11:17 AM

I've got three flat guitars here (a classical, a lowlowlow-end steel-string, and an even lower end defretted guitar) (plus a uke and a mandolin), and I have no problem with a flat fingerboard. I think I prefer it, but there's really not much difference that I can tell. My fretless bass is sanded near-flat, but I lost interest before I finished.

#include <MK> · #13 04-04-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilser

Modern interpretations of the classical guitars may, but all classical and flamenco guitars I've seen are totally flat. This is confirmed in Cumpiano's book about acoustic guitars in which he builds a classical and a steelstring. The classical has a flat fingerboard.

This is correct. I have a classical guitar that has a dead flat fretboard. Well, it's no longer dead flat because now there is a very slight upward curve at the sides. I think I read about this issue in the Cumpiano book, where he states that this is common. From memory, I think the recommendation is something like planing the edges down slightly.