Radiused Fretboard

[rgray]

[QUOTE=jmagill;930609]...., The radius is usually between 20" and 7.25" because these are the dimensions for which radius gauges are readily available, though my tech said he could make one smaller working freehand (presumably at greater cost). A 12" to 9" radius is pretty common on fretted instruments. If you take a string, secure one end and tie the other around a pencil point, you can draw arcs with a radius of various lengths. With a fingerboard the width of a mandolin, you'll find the difference between 12" and 8" is very slight, and even 7.25" is pretty modest.QUOTE]

Thanks for this info. Despite what now seems to be a fairly self-explanatory term "radius", I never did know just what the measurements meant for a radius fingerboard. Looking on Weber's site, it appears I have a 10" radius on my Gallatin. My Red Line Traveler has a flat fretboard but I've never noticed any real playing difference between the two.

[Brent Hutto]

Bob,

I started (as you know) with the Traveler. Flat. I thought it was pretty comfortable although wider might have seemed nicer at the time. Then my "The Loar" had a supposedly flat one but with a bit of roll on the edges. My buddy Lou's Kentucky was supposed to be radiused but I couldn't feel it.

Now my Mike Black A5 #5 has a definite compound radius. I think I can feel a difference there. But it's not like night and day as some people experience. The older Gibson that's on its way to me is probably flat (again) but I really doubt it will seem all that much different under my fingers.

Of course my Mike Black is 1-1/4" wide and that makes a difference. But the radius? Not so much. Then again for a couple years I switched back and forth almost daily between a classical guitar with a dead-flat 2-1/8" wide (at the nut) fretboard and an acoustic with about a 12" radius so maybe I got used to switching.

[Ed Goist]

Bob & Others:
You may find the printable radius samples available here interesting.

Here are a couple of the more common radii side-by-side for comparison:



Cool stuff, no?

[jmagill]

Bob & Others:
You may find the printable radius samples available here interesting.

Here are a couple of the more common radii side-by-side for comparison:



Cool stuff, no?

These are great, for relative comparison, but just be aware that your monitor may not be displaying them to you at 100% (mine looks to be around 150%), and that if you want to see the actual arcs, you should print them so that the on-screen one inch reference scale matches a real one inch. If it doesn't print at 1:1, you might have to adjust your print settings.

[Mike Scott]

I don't see how anyone can tell the difference between flat, radius and compound radius. I have 4 mandolins (why - I have no idea). Three are radius (different inches) and one is flat and I really can't tell the difference. Different frets make a huge difference but at the end of the day I can play them equally well or bad depending on your point of view. Perhaps me being a total hack has something to do with it, or maybe many of you have more discerning sensitive fingers than I do. Play on!

[JeffD]

One clear place the flat fretboad has a small advantage, is when holding down more than one set of strings, like double stops at the same fret done with one finger. Have to push a bit harder it seems, to get good intonation on both sets of strings.

It seems so anyway.

But its small, and the radius has advantages elsewhere, so its six here, half a dozen there.

[bobbyburns]

I have instruments with radiused boards, and some with flat boards, and like both. I think there are so many other small variables that effect the feel of the instrument, it would be hard to say that the radius alone is all that important by itself.

And also, Mike Scott, may we start calling you "Scotty" since your name is Scott, and your profile picture so much resembles the Idol finalist!

[Mike Scott]

I have instruments with radiused boards, and some with flat boards, and like both. I think there are so many other small variables that effect the feel of the instrument, it would be hard to say that the radius alone is all that important by itself.

And also, Mike Scott, may we start calling you "Scotty" since your name is Scott, and your profile picture so much resembles the Idol finalist!

I don't watch Idol, but call me what ever you want. I have had several nick names at work and have been called a$$h*le on more than one occasion so "Scotty" is fine by me-LOL!

[Cheryl Watson]

I prefer a slight radius of 16" to a flat board which feels like it is a bit concave, or to a more radical radius of 8" to 10" which makes it hard for me to play bar chords. If a mandolin has more than a 16" radius (I am OK with 14' or 12") I prefer a compound radius so that it is flat or to has just a very slight radius at the bridge so that the strings are flat across and do not have too much of a curve for my picking hand. It is all personal preference.

[wsugai]

I don't see how anyone can tell the difference between flat, radius and compound radius.

I agree with this. I have both radiused and non, and neck dimensions and fret size are much more noticeable than whether the board is radiused or not. The thing that I really got locked into using is an armrest. Can no longer get by without one.

[Brent Hutto]

I've now had a couple weeks playing on my new (to me) 1992 Gibson A-5G which has, as far as I can tell, a flat fretboard. I can not feel the difference between it and my 2010 Mike Black A-5 with a definite radius to the 'board. Then again, the Gibson is 1-1/8" or so wide and the Mike Black exactly 1-1/4". So the totally different feel due to the width and neck shape probably overwhelms any little different feel due to radius vs. flat.

[Loretta Callahan]

Congratulations on your Gibson, Brent! Exciting. Thanks also, for all the radius information. I'm learning ... studying and some of this stuff is starting to sink in.

What I am noticing, and I realize everyone is different, that the more I play my radius and non radius mandolins, my hand is much happier with that radius. Happy hands are ... well happy. I'm gonna bond with my luthier (long drive) and report back what my radius specs are on my Washburn ... and what my radius specs will be on the potential Big Muddy.

Of course, I'll provide shipping and tracking information for Ed!