I don't have a preference, but my Vintera '60s Jazz Bass feels real fast to me. I also really love my Tony Franklin fretless....12, I believe? I dunno, man...I just dig playing bass~
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7.25" Fretboard Radius
- Thread starter douglasbass
- Start date
After many years of playing, I still can hardly notice the difference between a 7.25" and a 9.5" radius. By the time you get to something like a 12" radius, it gets more noticeable, but but still doesn't make that much difference to me. If I get to pick, I'll got with a flatter radius when possible, but my main bass right now, a CS '60 Jazz Bass, has a 7.25" radius, and I never think about it.
I will say that, in my opinion, the radius makes a much bigger difference on guitars. I feel like my hands get cramped up much more easily after a night of playing on guitar with a 7.25" radius.
I will say that, in my opinion, the radius makes a much bigger difference on guitars. I feel like my hands get cramped up much more easily after a night of playing on guitar with a 7.25" radius.
I don’t know the science, but my favorite necks are Jazz and Precision necks with 7.25” radius (and the 1.625” nut width for the Precision), with the thinner and flatter “vintage” style frets. The rounder curvature just feels right to me.
I’ve put together lots of parts basses, and I tend to gravitate towards the Japanese 80’s and 90’s Fender reissue necks.
That said, my current favorite bass is a Precision body with a Fender Vintera (Mexican) 60’s Jazz reissue neck. It has all of the specs noted above, and just feels wonderful to me. The one “downside” is its pao ferro fingerboard that has that odd light color to it. However, the Precision body is one of those honey burst ones, so the fingerboard color actually matches up pretty nicely (IMO). (See picture below.)
My other favorite basses have an 80’s Japanese 60’s Reissue Precision neck with all the specs noted above (with a more standard rosewood fingerboard) and my Sting Signature Precision (7.25” radius, vintage frets, maple fingerboard). I also have a 90’s Les Paul bass that has a flatter neck, and a Godin A5 Ultra 5-string fretless bass with a 16” radius. The latter two are so different from my usual Fenders that the differences don’t bother me. (I think my brain thinks they’re “supposed” to be different because they’re such different animals.)
As the original poster said, it’s become very difficult to find bass necks with this radius. (Up until a few years ago I never had trouble finding them on the eBay or Stratosphere sites.) That’s why I took the chance on the Vintera, as it had everything I wanted, and I couldn’t find the vintage spec necks anywhere. I haven’t been disappointed.
I’ve tried the newer Precisions with the flatter radius, and the feel difference is less pronounced than I expected. The biggest issue for me is dealing with medium jumbo frets. But I could deal with it, which is probably good because at some point I *won’t* be able find my “preferred specs” in a new bass.
I’ve put together lots of parts basses, and I tend to gravitate towards the Japanese 80’s and 90’s Fender reissue necks.
That said, my current favorite bass is a Precision body with a Fender Vintera (Mexican) 60’s Jazz reissue neck. It has all of the specs noted above, and just feels wonderful to me. The one “downside” is its pao ferro fingerboard that has that odd light color to it. However, the Precision body is one of those honey burst ones, so the fingerboard color actually matches up pretty nicely (IMO). (See picture below.)
My other favorite basses have an 80’s Japanese 60’s Reissue Precision neck with all the specs noted above (with a more standard rosewood fingerboard) and my Sting Signature Precision (7.25” radius, vintage frets, maple fingerboard). I also have a 90’s Les Paul bass that has a flatter neck, and a Godin A5 Ultra 5-string fretless bass with a 16” radius. The latter two are so different from my usual Fenders that the differences don’t bother me. (I think my brain thinks they’re “supposed” to be different because they’re such different animals.)
As the original poster said, it’s become very difficult to find bass necks with this radius. (Up until a few years ago I never had trouble finding them on the eBay or Stratosphere sites.) That’s why I took the chance on the Vintera, as it had everything I wanted, and I couldn’t find the vintage spec necks anywhere. I haven’t been disappointed.
I’ve tried the newer Precisions with the flatter radius, and the feel difference is less pronounced than I expected. The biggest issue for me is dealing with medium jumbo frets. But I could deal with it, which is probably good because at some point I *won’t* be able find my “preferred specs” in a new bass.
I love the 7.25" radius and I must have it. It just follows the natural curve of my fingers. These necks always come with tiny fret wire. My MIJ Precision has those and an oval profile. Too bad the nut is only 42mm. I wish it was the full 1.75".
My Strat also has the vintage radius and frets.
Having said that I admit that a flatter radius and bigger frets just fret better.
My Strat also has the vintage radius and frets.
Having said that I admit that a flatter radius and bigger frets just fret better.
Is it me, or is it also about how rounded the BACK of the neck is?
I find rounder necks in the back fit my hand better and are more enjoyable for me to play. I have a ‘69 Jazz neck on my ‘75 P and the 7.25” neck is so comfortable— but more due to the rounded grip on the back of the neck. I also have a 5-string MIA P (9.5”) and find that neck comfortable. I find my Warmoth fretless neck (5 string with 10” radius noticeably less comfortable and “flat” in the back of the neck, or Carvin SB5 with 12” and flat back — anyway while I can quickly get used to it — it’s just not as immediately comfortable when I first pick it up as the real Fender 5). Lastly, I have a short scale Ibanez AGB that I believe is a 15” radius, but has a very rounded and comfy back of neck.
So, I always chalked it up to flatter fretboard radius being less comfortable to me — but I think it’s the back of neck profile I’m really sensitive to…
Does this make sense?
I find rounder necks in the back fit my hand better and are more enjoyable for me to play. I have a ‘69 Jazz neck on my ‘75 P and the 7.25” neck is so comfortable— but more due to the rounded grip on the back of the neck. I also have a 5-string MIA P (9.5”) and find that neck comfortable. I find my Warmoth fretless neck (5 string with 10” radius noticeably less comfortable and “flat” in the back of the neck, or Carvin SB5 with 12” and flat back — anyway while I can quickly get used to it — it’s just not as immediately comfortable when I first pick it up as the real Fender 5). Lastly, I have a short scale Ibanez AGB that I believe is a 15” radius, but has a very rounded and comfy back of neck.
So, I always chalked it up to flatter fretboard radius being less comfortable to me — but I think it’s the back of neck profile I’m really sensitive to…
Does this make sense?
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That's another thing, fret-size, but a different thread I suppose. Nonetheless, between the medium jumbos and the narrow talls, I prefer medium jumbos. So perhaps I'd like vintage-style frets even more, something like the Lakland Darryl Jones DJ-4? That has a 10" radius though. Man, all these variables! If my assumptions are off and I need "go flatter" to get that smooth reggae style that I'm after, well, that's good to learn! I'm definitely not going for a slap technique, pulling and plucking hard, and so on.
Great looking bass!
I don’t know why, but I much prefer a thicker neck (long fingers?). The necks with a U shape and or a 1”~ (rather than 0.9”) thickness at the first fret just feel much better and more natural. (I play Fender basses.)
Besides the comfort aspect, which is a personal matter, I'm mostly interested in how fretboard radius impacts on sound. I have no scientific data on this, but to me it sounds like a 7.25" radius on a J bass has a distinctive slap tone. In my experience a flat fretboard does not slap the same, resulting in a thinner sound, lacking some harmonic content. Maybe it's the way the strings hit the frets.
I'd like to try the very same Jazz bass, one curved, one flat radius to confirm this.
I'd like to try the very same Jazz bass, one curved, one flat radius to confirm this.
Thanks. I almost bought one of these new when they first came out (about 10-15 years ago), I liked the color so much. I ended up buying a used one last year, and swapped out the plain looking ("too white") satin maple fingerboard/neck with the Vintera, which I think looks a lot better (and plays better for me as well).
Yes, I've struggled with intonation (especially down toward the nut) when playing some of the jumbo variants of frets. I'm sure I could get used to it, but I guess I press down hard on the fingerboard by default, so I'd have to change my approach with non-vintage frets.
Doesn't matter to me much on bass, I prefer 7.25 but can work with anything if the width and depth is comfortable for me. Different story on guitar, my style incorporates some wide bending and I just don't like 7.25 at all. I'm sure if you are a set-up master this can be alleviated to a degree but for me there's no reason to fight it, I just play guitars with a flatter radius.
Sweet!! I was unaware that they made one. Is that a USA or a MIM bass. Fender Jazz basses with that 7.25" radius were pretty readily available from their Mexico factory for quite a while.
It does -- there is the other side of the board, so to speak, which I hadn't been thinking of.
MIM as far I have found. I do wonder about the quality, but I've never played or handled a MIM, so I can't say for certain.
They are excellent players and some years the fit and finish was superior to USA build. They usually use different pickups than the USA, but they are good sounding pickups and you can always buy and drop in pickup upgrades if you wish. I remember when the MIM basses were typically $400 and then crept up to $500. Now they are around $900 to $1000 and are certainly as good as other basses in that price range.
Has been said before, but I’m one of those who prefer 7.25 for playability, due to small hands and being a double bassist. I recently had my 80s ESP redone to 7.25 (from the original 9.75-10) while at the same time getting new frets, and it really is a lot nicer to me.
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Sidecar
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Sidecar
Fender Aerodyne has 7.25" radius and I find it very comfortable. No where near upright radius, they are much different for arco access.
But for me the 7.25 is a very "at home", easy playing feel for a 4 string bass.
Have bought and sold 4 stringers with flatter boards, but the Aerodyne sticks around.
You need to buy something and play it yourself to find out what works for you.
But for me the 7.25 is a very "at home", easy playing feel for a 4 string bass.
Have bought and sold 4 stringers with flatter boards, but the Aerodyne sticks around.
You need to buy something and play it yourself to find out what works for you.
(couldn't find a tongue in cheek smiley...)It does.
I hate Jazz necks, they're too cramped for me, but if they are thick they feel better.
Precision necks are much wider and I prefer the oval aka D profile because it almost feels like the neck is wider than the fretboard. The rounded shoulders really support the hand and the neck feels full even if it's not necessarily very thick.
A C profile has sloping shoulders and to me feels more like a blade. My Vintera P neck, which is 1.75" at the nut, is such an example. I wish it was thicker.
An Aerodyne has a 7.25 board radius, maybe it’s just me but the board radius on either guitar or bass is ok, I don’t really notice much difference at all.
