Anyone else not fond of 14"-16" radius fingerboards?

[Nedmundo]

I prefer flatter fretboards generally, and the flattest I've owned was a 14" radius on a DiPinto. On four-string J-basses, I'm OK with Fender's usual 9.5" radius, but on fives a flatter fretboard is essential because I dislike reaching over a "hump" to access the E and B strings. I love my G&L M-2500 with its 12" radius, but I'd happily go with 14" or 16" on a five, maybe even flatter like some Yamahas I've tried. Plus, IME flatter fretboards allow slightly lower action, which is a plus.

 

[Stinky_Fingers]

I generally prefer more of a curve. My Caprice has a 7.5" radius and I love it. I've got a fender with a 9.5" radius and that's perfectly fine to me and then I just picked up an ultra which is 10"-14". It's ok too, I can do everything I need to. In the upper part of the register where the neck is the flattest I think it helps in some regards because I feel like my left hand just has a little more room, but there are some things up there that I like the 9.5" better for

 

[Mytola]

I'm picky about my fretboards. 12" and maple - NO exceptions! Anything else just feels weird.... :S

 

[Thumper]

I love the flatter boards. In fact, it's one of the things that helped improve my technique. The flatter radius lends itself to more precise fretting and takes unecessary beef off the neck, which also helps with hand fatigue.

I gotta say I don't agree with this. After almost exclusively playing 7.25 to 9.5 for over 50 years (gigging bands 30 years), I know a thing or 3 about hand, finger and body fatigue. On a 7.25 (especially with rounded fretboard edges), you don't have to completely straighten your fingers to fret multiple strings. After 10's of thousands of times doing it, your fingers will thank you. After doing it on flatter boards, I experience pain quickly, those basses are all gone. Just a bit of advice from a 69 year old...

 

[BluesBassFreak]

I gotta say I don't agree with this. After almost exclusively playing 7.25 to 9.5 for over 50 years (gigging bands 30 years), I know a thing or 3 about hand, finger and body fatigue. On a 7.25 (especially with rounded fretboard edges), you don't have to completely straighten your fingers to fret multiple strings. After 10's of thousands of times doing it, your fingers will thank you. After doing it on flatter boards, I experience pain quickly, those basses are all gone. Just a bit of advice from a 69 year old...

I have to agree with Thumper here. While trying to get used to the 14" radius, it just felt like my fingers were having to reach into the back of the neck to fret a note ! Hand fatigue was an issue.
NOW- with that being said, I realize that other factors come into play like instrument height (on your strap) and proper fingering position (wouldn't know that if it hit me in the head). Of course, I'm a self taught old guy that has 40 years of bad bass playing habits.
Sorry, no love for flat boards.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

@woodyng2
Rics are 10" radius. My first bass was a 78' 4001, so that will always feel "right"

 

[ThingsAbove]

I'm a flat earther.

I have a problem with round fingerboards... I'm enjoying my 23.62" radius Yamaha
I also played a flat 10 string Chapman Stick along with a 8 string NS/Stick for many years.

I think my Player Precision is 9.5" but that's about as curvy as I can stand. Recently sold my Jazz because the neck was too narrow and "round"

I even bar chord better on flatter acoustic necks (but then I am double jointed so my knuckles bend backward)

 

[Beej]

Funny I read the title and thought "no way, those are way too tight". I like a flatter board as I play 5s and 6s as someone else mentioned too. Most have a 20" radius or metric rough equivalent, but I have a couple basses with flat boards and they are really comfortable too - in my hands they feel kind of like a classical guitar neck.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

On a 7.25 (especially with rounded fretboard edges), you don't have to completely straighten your fingers to fret multiple strings. After 10's of thousands of times doing it, your fingers will thank you.

I noticed very soon that a 9.5" / 10" radius fretboard allows my forefinger to roll its weight from fretting one string to the next very naturally.

I can see that getting a really low action is nice, but allowing my finger to stay in the shape it wants to be in seems to me an even greater degree of comfort, the one to prioritise. Happy fingers aren't in need of ultra-low action to cheer them up.

 

[amper]

I am a self-confessed gear whore and have been looking at or bought some new basses recently. It seems that a lot of the newer basses out there in the $1500-$3000 (maybe others) price range are going to the flatter fingerboards. I recently received a new Bluesman Vintage build and John "accidently" put a neck with a 14" fingerboard on it and I just cannot warm up to it. This isn't the only bass I've played with the "flat" fingerboards.
I CAN'T GROOVE A FLAT FINGERBOARD!
Anyone else with me?

9.5” or the highway.

Actually, my Warwick has a 20” radius, but it’s fretless and short scale, so it doesn’t bother me as much. For some reason, I didn’t even think to investigate what radius Warwick normally uses, and this being a Custom Shop bass, I could have ordered any radius I wanted. If there are two things I could changer about my Warwick, it’s the radius and I should have ordered the piezo option.

 

[NinjaPyrate]

Coming from classical guitar and banjo, flat makes much more sense to my fingers.

 

[ctmullins]

I could have ordered any radius I wanted.

You still can. Since it’s fretless, all you need is a radius sanding block and some attention to the nut slots.

 

[Root 5]

I love flat/flatter radius fingerboards. I think the aversion people have is because of familiarity with Fender’s rounder profiles.

I’d toss every compound radius fingerboard into a volcano.

I like 16+”(but 14 is ok too). CF Martin guitars are 16” radius, classical guitars are dead flat, most 6-string basses have ~ 40” radii and no one complains.
Flat is better!

 

[incommunicado]

I must say that the Cort C5 (I guess the same goes for the B5 and the A5 models) I recently bought has the best combination of fretboard radius 15.7" (400 mm) and string spacing (18mm) for me (my hands are kinda small)! Of course, the neck profile matters a lot too - don't know what type it is, but it is just perfect! The Ibanez SR505 which I have has an amazing neck too (300mm fretboard radius), but the 16.5 mm string spacing proved to be too tight for me for fingerstyle playing (for picking style - it's perfect!). On the other hand, I've had the chance to play around with basses with a 600mm fretboard radius (18 mm string spacing) and I can feel the difference and the slight discomfort compared to the 400 mm radius. If any of you guys knows other brands which have the same specs (400 mm radius + 18 mm string spacing) - let me know so I can check them out!