fanned frets.. what the freak?

[reddavid]

I have to admit that I did find it a bit of a challenge to go from a fanned fretted (or is it fretted fanned) bass to a 'normal' fretless.

So, I got a fanned fretless. Problem solved.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Do the side dots help on a fanned fretless on the higher strings? I've still not had the chance to play a regular fretted Dingwall (which I'd like to), but I thought the side dots would be of more of a vague reference point as the intonation spot on the high C would be different than the low B.

 

[megadan]

It seems much more useful for guitarist than bassists. Unfortunately guitarists are even more stuck in the past than we are.

I don't see the advantage unless you're all ready an ERB kind of person, doing solo work, playing ultra clean ultra modern amps ultra light cabs and neo drivers, etc.

The average 4-string Fender fan isn't going to get anything out of it.

For guitar I can see it being much more useful since your chords will be much, much clearer and suffer from far less of the intonation problems that electric guitars (and the western musical scale in general) have.

 

[metalmariachi]

Read here

http://www.edroman.com/techarticles/fannedfrets.htm

MM

 

[reddavid]

For intonation on the fanned fretless. Fretlines get me in the ballpark.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Very pretty. Is the headstock actually white, or is that just a strong reflection?

 

[Stanley Design]

Played one, want one, not in the foreseeable future yet.

It's not hard at all to get used to, if I picked it up easily, anyone can.

I can see problems with chord work, I can also see advantages for other chords.

It's absolutely no doubt that multi-scale is an advancement in bass building technology.

The reason it's not more common is it "costs more" for mass production companies to fret instruments at more than one angle. Also, people are scared of it. More or less, Fenders are the most popular basses, and they aren't being made any different now than 40 years ago despite the MANY advancements and advantages in bass building.

For anyone looking for more consistent string tension across their fretboard without buying a new bass, there are ways to calculate individual string tension according to diameter of your string, scale of your instrument, and note it is tuned to. Store bought string sets for bass AND guitar do not have equal string tension or anywhere close to it. If you just spend some time, you can have that equal string tension even if you don't have the advantages of ideal scale lengths for each string.

 

[fullrangebass]

For intonation on the fanned fretless. Fretlines get me in the ballpark.

Fretlines get me in line as well

 

[reddavid]

Thanks.

Maple.

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Bump with another curious question: It seems that all Dingwall basses have a 0.75" scale difference from string to string. Is that the standard or are there basses with more extreme/subtle fanning?

 

[spade2you]

Bump with another curious question: It seems that all Dingwall basses have a 0.75" scale difference from string to string. Is that the standard or are there basses with more extreme/subtle fanning?

Dingwall seems to be the most extreme. KR builds 4-5 strings that are 35"-34". I know Conklin's usual fan is 35"-32" and that fan is spread over however many strings you order.

 

[Human Bass]

There are more subtle fanning. I've seen basses that has a 34/35 fanning, you cant even note at first.

 

[Human Bass]

Actually I think 34" is overkill for the G, I've always dreamed of a 32/34 fanning.

 

[Jjango]

Actually I think 34" is overkill for the G, I've always dreamed of a 32/34 fanning.

The Dingwall SJ4 is pretty close to that, 32/34.25.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

http://www.dingwallguitars.com/html/products_superj.html

 

[Thunderitter]

KRG 34/35" fan: from a playing point of view I don't notice it at all, but sonically the E string is superb, and if I drop to D or C with the Xtender it is way stronger than a D on a 34". I don't like a C on a .105 34" at all and I don't go there.

 

[BassistFreak416]

that's what she said

hahahahahahaha
very nice

 

[The Insane]

Bump with another curious question: It seems that all Dingwall basses have a 0.75" scale difference from string to string. Is that the standard or are there basses with more extreme/subtle fanning?

Here's mine with a 0.6" difference per string (34"-37"). I think that more than 0.7-0.8" diff.p.string could get a bit difficult to play but that's not based on personal experience yet.

 

[spade2you]

KRG 34/35" fan: from a playing point of view I don't notice it at all, but sonically the E string is superb, and if I drop to D or C with the Xtender it is way stronger than a D on a 34". I don't like a C on a .105 34" at all and I don't go there.

35" scale certainly adds a nice dimension to dropped D, although I use a .110 just to get a tad more consistency between the other strings. I've found that expecting strings to sound good with more than a 1 step drop is somewhat unrealistic. I know it can be done, but consistency goes by the wayside.

Actually I think 34" is overkill for the G, I've always dreamed of a 32/34 fanning.

I just picked up a 33" scale (all around) Stambaugh and I gotta say the G sounds good and plays really well. I can't say I dislike the G on my 35" scale basses since I often change out to a .040, which kinda lends itself to that hi-fi sounding soloing tone.

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Bump again: Are there any problems trying to play string bends on the upper register of a fanned fret fingerboard?

 

[Jazz Ad]

String bends tend to be easier to get out because the higher strings aren't as tight as on a regular 34" bass.