Slanted Frets

?

 

Google "fanned fret guitar" and all will be revealed to you. Or, for that matter, actually read the Dingwall website...

 

There will be no sharp or flat notes. The board is skewed from 36" scale on the E side to 34" scale on the G side. The frets are fanned to match the scale on both sides. I played one a few years back. It was awkward in the beginning but after running the board a few times it starts to make sense. it's still not my cup of tea but some people really love them.

 

The notes are definitely in tune. And dare I add the fanned fret concept is no gimmick. It's the best thing since sliced bread. I've owned more than 60 high-end and boutique basses at one given time. Dingwall basses rate top of my book in terms of playability, ergonomics and most important, TONE.

www.dingwallguitars.com

 

The scale on a 4str Dingwall (not a Super J 4str though which is 34,25" to 32" from E to G) is 36,25" on the E str to a 34" on a G string.

The 5str goes 37"-34" from B to G string

 

Fanned frets just means a different scale length for each string. Intonation is unaffected. It gives you (arguably) better tone by allowing a longer scale length on the lower-pitched strings and a shorter scale-length on the higher-pitched strings, just like a piano. They are very comfortable to play and you don't even notice it while you're playing (unless you look down!). I think they're awesome.

 

My fan fret project bass is probably one of the best sounding basses I've ever had. It's essentially a Precision with a Novax neck on it. The neck was actually designed to drop into a standard Precision body. You can check them out at www.novaxguitars.com

 

The strings all have the same tension, which helps a lot. Also, the fret follow the natural fanning of your fretting hand (I heard this on here, not sure how true it is).
There probably will be playability issues switching back and forth, but I think most people who buy em, don't go back

 

Question for those with fanned frets.

Bends past the 12th fret on the lower strings. Does the note go flat, instead of sharp with a typical bend? Do you have to bend towards the lower strings to prevent that?

 

I was thinking about this as well...

Would increased tension sharpen the note more than the fret is lengthening it? And this would result in a 'slower' bend? You could go the other way... before the 12th bend towards the E and above the 12th pull down...

But then on the G string you are left a bit high and dry....

 

As was posted here before I went to the fanfret, it truly takes less than a minute to be comfortable with the neck. I sometimes have a minute adjustment going back to a normal neck, but I play a few of my basses a lot, and I always bring 2 to a gig, so I spend time on my normal frets often enough that I don't lose my feel. Still, the Bettie Page is my main bass by far, and I've got a few nice basses to pick from.

 

woaah that's trippy... i almost passed out O_O