1.1/8 vs 1.3/16

[NotDoneYet]

Hi All,

No doubt the subject has been done to death elsewhere but just to compound my confusion what are your thoughts about nut widths?

I should say I'm primarily a guitar player and happily play a number of different instruments with nut widths between 1.11/16 and 1.13/16.

All contributions welcome!

Al

[dang]

For playing less then 2-3hr I can manage on a smaller fretboard, even 1 inch is ok for an hour or so. But my fingers of my left hand cramp up unless I have at least 1 3/16” on any playing session longer then about the 2.5 hr mark. I have pretty big hands and not particularly long fingers. We regularly do 4hr gigs so it is an issue for me.

If you have long, slim fingers I think narrower is preferred. Narrower fretboards also have the advantage of easier coverage of two courses (4 strings!) on the same fret by one finger - like the barre chords of guitars.

It certainly varies by player and there are no rules to it. I know a couple people with larger hands that like the smaller fretboards, and my buddy always loves playing my larger fretboards though his hands are small, says it feels like he has so much space.

A radius always helps, for me at least, and that is another factor here... I traded a great Gibson A-9 because of the narrow flat fingerboard. Thought I could handle a 1 1/8 radiused fingerboard on a Collings MT but had to get rid of that eventually also. I have reluctantly accepted I prefer the 1 3/16 with a radius.

Just my opinions, YMMV, you may have to experiment to find what you like!

[UsuallyPickin]

Well ..... the shape of a mandolin neck has a greater impact on a mandolin neck than the fingerboard width. I have 1 11/16" and 1 7/8" fingerboard width guitars that I play regularly. When I first pick up one I have to pay more attention to my right hand than my left..... it is possible I suppose that this may effect your mandolin playing but I have not noticed any impact from the thinner neck A5L to the standard widths on my F model instruments....... Let us know what you think... R/

[Pittsburgh Bill]

My preference is for 1 1/8" as that is what I was accustomed to. My Stiver, was built with a 1 1/16", which I had not anticipated in my build. I have grown to like the 1 1/16". But, it took a little time.
I have never played a mandolin with a 1 3/16" nut but think I would grow used to that as well. Since I am often transitioning between mandolin and mandola I often wonder if a mandolin nut closer in size to my mandola would allow me to play cleaner. ( any advantage is welcomed)

[mandroid]

<guess> As a guitar player you probably would like the wider, a Violin player may prefer the narrower..

[pops1]

I have 1 1/8, 1 3/32 and 1 1/4 and I can play all without problem. I do prefer the first two. Because of the difference of the rest of the neck, I don't notice them being different. I do notice the 1 1/4, as it is my old Gibson, and it has a substantial neck to go with the width. I played that for many many years until I went to ff hole mandolins with more real estate on the neck. I don't play it much these days, but when I do I really don't have a transition time to feel comfortable.

[Ray(T)]

I play everything from 5 string fretless bass to a narrow necked snakehead and can’t really see what all the fuss is about - I just get on with it. Do luthiers really worry about building their instruments to such close tollerances?

[Chuck Leyda]

I play guitar, mandola, octave mandolin and bouzouki. Nut width doesn't seem to make much difference with these instruments.

With mandolin my left thumb gets tired playing a 1 3/16th or wider nut. I don't know why, but it's consistent.

[Eric Platt]

The shape of the neck, more than the nut width makes the biggest difference for me. Maybe my guitar background. Have discovered am not a fan of wider 1 3/16 fingerboards with really sharp v necks. For some reason those make my hand cramp after a while. Then again, am also not a huge fan of the mid 1930's Gibson guitars with the wider fingerboard and sharp V neck. (Love the sound, just can't play them for long periods of time.)

[Jcdraayer]

I’m in the same camp as Eric and UsuallyPickin, and I’d also throw in fret wire size as another factor. I find my 1 1/8 Northfield F5 to be extremely comfortable to play due to the neck shape. My Calhoun had a C shaped neck with 1 3/16 width. I enjoy the spacing quite a bit but the chubby neck causes some hand pain after a bunch of playing. My Eastman is 1 1/8 and a very deep v neck. Comfortable to play but the fret wire is of the smaller diameter variety and doesn’t play nearly as easy. The nut width doesn’t seem to play much role in it for me

All this to say, try out a bunch of different mandolins with different neck profiles if you can. If you can’t right now like most of us, I think v shaped necks are the most commonly enjoyed

[lowtone2]

I play everything from 5 string fretless bass to a narrow necked snakehead and can’t really see what all the fuss is about - I just get on with it. Do luthiers really worry about building their instruments to such close tollerances?

Me too, including double bass, but I'm pretty sensitive to neck size and shape on mandolin. 1 & 1/16 was too small, 1 &1/32 is a little large and puts my thumb in a bind because the V is proportionally deep, although I am coping with it. I have one ordered that will be 1& 1/8 and I hope that will be just right. Some of it might be age. 20 years ago I might not have even noticed a difference.

[Ray(T)]

Me too, including double bass, but I'm pretty sensitive to neck size and shape on mandolin. 1 & 1/16 was too small, 1 &1/32 is a little large and puts my thumb in a bind because the V is proportionally deep, although I am coping with it. I have one ordered that will be 1& 1/8 and I hope that will be just right. Some of it might be age. 20 years ago I might not have even noticed a difference.

I suppose I should have added that I don’t have the slightest clue as to what width the necks on any of my mandolins actually are - I just pick ’em up and play ‘em!

[sblock]

Well, it's complicated. I agree with many others that the neck profile shape (deep or shallow, V or C) and the fingerboard type (flat or radiused) play at least as large a role in individual playing comfort as the nut width. Furthermore, the nut width, per se, may not be nearly as important as the inter-course spacing, which sets the gap between the A and D pairs and their outside neighbors, G and E. That gap counts quite a bit more than the overall nut width, in my opinion!

Some of the famous Lloyd Loar era Gibson F5's are easily playable, and those had nut widths closer to 1", or up to 1-1/16". A lot of modern mandolins run closer to 1-1/8". Today, so-called "wide nut" mandolins start at 1-3/16" and go up from there. Even a 1/16" difference can afford a different feel, so these distances, although all quite similar, can mean a lot to some players -- but not to all. It really comes down to personal preferences. Unless they have giant, hammy hands with wide fingertips, most folks should be able to handle a mandolin nut width as small as 1-1/16". Conversely, most folks with smallish hands can still get by at 1-3/16" -- provided that the inter-course gaps are about right for them.

It is true that folks crossing over from guitar are used to larger string spacings, and therefore many of them are inclined to think -- incorrectly, in my opinion! -- that they are better off with a wider nut. (And the converse applies, but to a smaller extent, to folks crossing over from violin/viola.) But the left-hand hand positions for the mandolin are less "guitar-like," and more "violin-like," making the narrower nut widths a better choice in many cases.

That said, it's always down to a matter of personal preference. You really don't know what you work best with until you try. And even then, your opinion about the optimal nut width/string spacing for you may evolve after a few months, or even years, of playing! You will find that some folks on this Cafe will declare narrow nuts to be "unplayable." But there are others who will declare wide nuts to be "unplayable." Whenever you read such broad pronouncements, always add, in your head "well, maybe for THEM, anyway..."