Why are fretboards curved

Our interactive gear guide, FindYour. The fingerboard radius measurement itself refers to the radius of a circle from which a small segment of the circumference equal to the width of the fingerboard is taken. For example, if you take a circle with a 9. If you take the same fingerboard width from the circumference of a circle with a larger radius, you now have a slightly flatter fingerboard radius. The lower the measurement, the greater the curvature, and vice versa.

If all this sounds like a scary flashback to high school geometry class, these calculations do serve a serious purpose. Fingerboard radius is an important spec because it impacts playability. A smaller more curved radius is generally perceived as more comfortable for playing chords; a larger less curved radius is generally considered better for single-note playing and bending. Post by Aaron » Sat Mar 05, am. Privacy Terms. Classical Guitar Skip to content.

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It seems to me that the arched would conform to the natural arch of the fingers better. Re: flat fretboard vs. In other words, the strings describe a slight "arch" in which the middle strings are higher than the bass and treble strings.

I think they do this to facilitate flatpicking, the same way radiused strings on a bowed instrument facilitate bowing. The string radius on most classical guitars is flat, which I presume facilitates fingerpicking.

I'm not sure if instruments with radiused strings also have arched fingerboards. But I think the radius of the strings is more important than the radius of the fretboard, and may actually dictate whether or not the fretboard is curved or not.

Many people agree that a radiused fretboard works best with the natural curvature of the hand. This is especially geared towards guitarists and using bar chords as there are those who argue that it is easier to keep the middle strings barred with a radiused fretboard. That said, many classical guitars have flat fretboards, while most electric basses and guitars have radiused fretboards. I had never thought about it until I bought a used Modulus 6-string a few lifetimes ago.

That was my main touring bass for quite a few years. It was the first bass I had ever owned with a flat fretboard. I felt like it was easier to play technical lines on the flat fretboard, and my right plucking hand also appreciated it because the bass had flat pickups.

This is something many builders seem to ignore. I have a pet peeve about the radius of my pickups matching the radius of my fretboard. There are two issues here:. Adjustable neck joints aren't new, but his is a pretty cool impementation.

Also, adjustable truss rods have only been around since?? So - many old guitars have either fixed support or unsupported necks. Frank Ford has some good material for free on the Internet about relief and truss rods. You get one chance to enjoy this day, but if you're doing it right, that's enough.

I thought from the first post that you were talking about the radius of the fretboard, but now I am not sure. Then my 2c on this is that I don't like wide flat soundboards - they get really hard to play - especially toward the top of the fretboard where you have weird crowded chords or thumbovers and yet the neck is at its widest and thickest The neck on my guitar a true Selmer width - but 2.

I played a flat fretboard for decades but when I built my Selmac seven string Iused a 16" radius for the fretboard. I'm glad I did. It does make some of the more twisted chords easier to play. The neck is still on the beefy side but the slight amount of radius is a help. Sign In or Register to comment. Powered by Vanilla. Home Forum Blog Contact Follow Us.