Northfield Fretboard Radius

[Stevo75]

Has anyone noticed the fretboard radius on Northfield's seems to be more pronounced than normal?

I have a 2014 Northfield F5S that I have been playing for a few months. I love the sound of it, but I can't get used to the feel of it. I have had it professionally set up, and it plays with a nice low action. Not quite as low as my Summit, which I have really dialed in, but it's less than 2/32" at the 12 fret, which seems to be standard.

I'm thinking it might need a small truss rod adjustment. I can see a bit or relief in the neck, so maybe that will help, but yesterday I noticed that the radius on the fretboard is way more pronounced than on my Summit (which does have a radius board, but it seems mild).

I don't know a lot about the different levels of radius boards, other than the fact that I can see a difference on my two mandolins and I know I like them better than flat boards. I'm thinking this is why I can't get used to the feel of it.

Any thoughts?

[FLATROCK HILL]

To the best of my knowledge, Northfield offers 2 basic fretboard styles.
One is what they call a 'traditional'... very mild radius with relatively small frets.
The other style they refer to as a 'modern' ... a smaller (more pronounced) radius with larger frets.

That's the way it was with the Master Model series anyway. Don't know about the others.

[Stevo75]

I believe mine is the modern. It has the large frets, 1 1/8" nut, and has a very pronounced radius.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Looking at the Northfield website: https://www.northfieldinstruments.com/artist-series Looks like the Artist Series comes standard with a compound radius. 5.7" at nut, and 7.7" at the 20th fret. That is a very pronounced radius in my opinion.
I don't see any info re the 'S' series radius.

[Stevo75]

Thanks for the info. I couldn't find anything about the S series on their websites either. And I don't know enough about the radius measurements to know what is on the more extreme side and what is nearly flat.

Also, I'm curious to hear what other Northfield players think about how the radius feels. I know it's personal preference, but I'm curious.

[NursingDaBlues]

Looking at the Northfield website: https://www.northfieldinstruments.com/artist-series Looks like the Artist Series comes standard with a compound radius. 5.7" at nut, and 7.7" at the 20th fret. That is a very pronounced radius in my opinion.
I don't see any info re the 'S' series radius.

I agree. That is a very pronounced radius.

Here is an illustration of the curvature of three representative radii that might give the OP a little help identifying where his radius falls.

[BrianWilliam]

[edited] Is the fretting uncomfortable on the northfield?

[Stevo75]

Thanks, that really helps. My Summit (which I love the feel/playability of) looks more like the 12". Looks like the Northfield is on the extreme end of the spectrum. THis could very well be the issue with me not getting used to how it plays.

I"m going to do a more general search on fretboard radius to see what people think of them in general.

[Drew Streip]

5.7" seems like it's getting close to violin territory! I changed my old flat board to a simple 12" radius when I refretted my backup instrument, and it's certainly noticeable, but very comfortable.

I'm sure it'd get used to 5.7" but I can see how it'd be an adjustment, even for your right hand, especially if you do much cross-picking.

[Stevo75]

[edited] Is the fretting uncomfortable on the northfield?

I'm not sure about other people's experience, most of the reviews I've read indicate that Northfields play very well.

For me, it's the fretting hand that is bothering me, not the right hand. It's not a physical discomfort, it's just that I have a hard time fretting and getting good notes. It feels like the action is too high, but I have had it set up and I have measured myself. The action at the nut is as low as it can get, and the action at the 12th fret is 2/32" or less.

[Mandoplumb]

The action is not high, you are having to reach around a rod to note it. Even a mild radius seems to me like the strings are strung around a baseball bat, I can't imagine a 5.7 radius just my opinion.

[Chris Daniels]

Checking the ol' Wayback Machine, as far as I can tell it appears by at least by 2012 NF was already referring to their 'modern vs. traditional setup options' for both MM and S series, but I don't see an exact definition of the modern's radius until last year. I would assume it to be the same or similar for all models.

As for comfort, I personally enjoy it and a good radius is one of the reasons I looked at Northfield when upgrading from my previous flat-boarded mando. I do make sure to occasionally play my KM-270 with a much wider radius and the Flatiron with none to keep from getting too complacent about it.

C.

[onassis]

I also have a '14 NF5S, and the radius doesn't seem that extreme. Certainly not 5.7" at the nut. A luthier looked at it a few weeks ago, and we thought it was closer to 9.5" than 12", but I can't recall exactly what it was. For me, it seems very comfortable.

[devildog]

Just as a reference from the Collings site (I have an MT):

Fingerboard Radius 5 1/2" - 11 5/8" compound

I like it (a lot). But I've never really played a flat fingerboard so only used to various radii (Collings, Eastman, Weber, Breedlove)

[Lane Pryce]

I have a 2015 NF5S wide nut, large fret wire and a radius. Feels like a #12, could be a 9.5. It’s comfy to play, action is great. However it’s needing some fret work and tweaking to the setup. Still very happy with it. Lp