Do you prefer smaller or larger radius?

[Paul New]

Larger because it is closer to double bass.

Backwards

 

[coy garcia]

7.25"...but I can get used to any radius if I like the instrument.

 

[MD]

Don't know what it is...

 

[GTHintz]

Hello mates!

Tell everybody WHAT, WHY and also HOW MUCH RADIUS?

Radius isn't as big a factor as string spacing and getting the right string height.

 

[J Wilson]

For me, the flatter the better.

If I'd have ever had money to burn, I'd have had somebody build be a bass as a 'what if?' with a fingerboard like a classical guitar: NO radius, and no taper from nut to last fret.

My Alembics had what they call their 'classic taper' which on my fives was 2" at the nut, and 2.5" at the fingerboard end. The strings were almost parallel from nut to 24th fret, and I liked that a lot.

 

[Pings Bass]

On DB I like em rounded (the only way they come) so I can play with a bow.

On BG I don't really care, but I can't imagine much benefit with smaller radii. Flatter seems better for 6-strings for sure.

 

[ThaCoast]

Most of my gear ranges from 9.5"-12". I got two with 7.25" radius (a pbass & a short scale), & one 16" (4 string bb bass copy/homebuild).

I found that if the neck width is wider, i prefer a rounder radius. If its narrow a flatter radius does nicely.

 

[funkifiedsoul]

You forgot to include compound radius as a poll option. That would be my choice.

I have two basses with compound boards, and love them! A 9x12 on a jazz, and a 6x8 on a Precision. Nothing extreme but feel great. (obviously not Fender's.) I don't know why more builders and companies don't offer it these days. Easier to set up, takes a low action more easily, strings are more even where the right hand lives, and is super comfortable.
Otherwise I'm good with most, generally preferring 9.5 to 12ish.
A very flat board would only matter more to me if I were playing a fancy extended range bass which is needed for that kind of fancy playing.

 

[funkifiedsoul]

I found that if the neck width is wider, i prefer a rounder radius. If its narrow a flatter radius does nicely.

...also agree with this.

 

[Joebone]

12" and 10/13" compound, like Sadowsky and Lakland 5-strings, both work. I really like the 19" boards on old Yamaha TRBXP basses, especially for 5 or 6 string. I do a fair amount of triple-stop/chordal stuff and soloing on the upper frets, with some string-bending, and simply prefer flatter radius for those things. 7.25" is truly not for me.

 

[10emmanuel]

well alrighty then!

i generally like a smaller radius, but: the radius + the fingerboard thickness + the width of the fingerboard work together (for me) such that i'd consider some to be comfortable, and some, not so much --- no matter the specific radius of a particular instrument's fingerboard.

most of my fingerboards are ~9.5, some are flatter. but flat+thick+wide, for example, is not my favorite. TBH/FWIW: i've played plenty of 'exceptions'.

Agree . Thickness is in my case crucial

 

[Ductapeman]

I learned guitar first, on a Sears Danelectro with the amp in the case-- to this day fifty years later I prefer a neck like the Danny that is dead flat and dead straight. So instead I play Fenders. Go figure.

 

[Discount Bassy]

ERB with compound radius, nice and thin where the neck is the widest...courtesy of a carbon fiber/graphite neck.

 

[vindibona1]

I think it depends. IMO the width of the fingerboard can make a difference in the feel of radius- or not. As an example, my Ibanez BTB675 (48mm nut) has a 16" radius, which feels flatter than my Yamaha TRBX, 24" radius and a 43mm nut. My 2010 Fender MIM Jazz 5 has a 9.75" radius with a 48mm nut and I can feel a huge difference with that one. I guess if I have to choose which radius I like "best" it would be the flatter Yamaha with the BTB in close second. However, the difference in feel of the Fender 5 is a matter of practicing for a few minutes for my fingers to understand there is a slight arch across the strings, so the approach would be almost like plucking a shallow arched string bass, across and a bit around.

 

[Nuage420]

16" give or take with 18.5-19mm spacing on a 5 string.
12"-16" on four strings

 

[okabass]

Does not matter much. Old 7ender 7,25" is fine. I played a lot with WAL which has probably 14" radius.

 

[truand85]

My palms are longer than my fingers, so flatter is harder for me. Ultimately thickness and nut width matter more to me though.

 

[HardNHeavy]

gotta ask my wife something i'll get back to ya....


never occurred to me have only played J's and P's

 

[ThaCoast]

I don't know why more builders and companies don't offer it these days. Easier to set up, takes a low action more easily, strings are more even where the right hand lives, and is super comfortable.

As someone who works with a local guitar maker in my area, Compound radius is a little trickier to do overall vs the single radius. Say you wanted a 10 to 16 compound, we'd start with the flattest first (16) working the whole fretboard, then move to 12 for the top-mid sections, then finish with 10, making sure each step of the way has blended with the other.

This is my assumption if every builder doe the work manually. Certain there might be a method to "cheat" i.e. have the overall work flow easier when doing compounds. Though wouldn't know what, unless you utilize a router in a jig (which would still have to be swapped for the different radius degrees, & then blended between each by hand as the router would simply rough out the bulk necessary).

Hopefully this answers perhaps, why not many builders offer compound radius on their custom builds & stick with 1 set radius for the whole board itself.

 

[lomo]

I'm not that concerned with FB radius, but prefer 12 or 14" if I can choose. I am far more sensitive to/ concerned with string spacing and scale length.