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fretboard radiusing

Posted by Ken Henry on August 23, 2012 at 4:55pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hey guys, I'm a brand newbie and I'm wondering just how critical it is to radius the fretboard and what really is the main purpose of that? I cannot believe the price that StewMac gets for their sanding blocks especially the 18" aluminum one.BTW what is the most common radius for a 3 string and a 4 string? I'm working on ways to make my own and maybe even sell a few.. Thanks for your help guys. Rock on!!!

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Tags: fretboard, radius, sandingblock
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Replies

  • Glaze January 28, 2013 at 7:57am

    50's Fender electric guitars had a 7.25" radius fingerboard which was comfortable to play chords on, but would fret out on big string bends with low action.  This is why most modern Fender electric guitars have the 9.5" radius which solves the problem of notes fretting out on big string bends and is still comfortable to play chords on.  Most Gibson guitars have a 12" radius.  Fingerboard radius is a personal preference.  Most of my guitars are between 9.5" to 12".  I am not a big fan of too flat on an electric guitar and something like 16" is getting to flat for me on a six string electric.  A 16" radius feels too flat and is not as comfortable to play chords on for me personally, but some players prefer flatter radius necks because bending notes is easier on flatter radius necks.  I have played guitars with the compound radius on them(Warmoth and a few other companies do this) and that is very nice.  

    Does a CBG neck need to be have a radius?  No.  Should it have one?  That is up to you and really depends on what the player is going to do on the CBG.  A slide only CBG does not need a radius at all.  A 9.5" radius on a not as wide three string CBG neck will not be as noticeable as on a six string electric that you will fret complex chords on all night.  Some kind of a radius is going to be more comfortable to play chords on the neck and will feel better than flat.  I have a classical with the almost flat fingerboard and I can play on it just fine, but it just does not feel as good as a guitar with a radius on it.  The classical is uncomfortable to play chords on with the big wide neck and the almost flat fingerboard radius.           

       

     

       

     

     

    • David McQueen > Glaze January 28, 2013 at 8:48am
      On guitars a tighter radius is used for ones where a lot of bar chords are going to be used, a la Fender Telecaster. A rythm player can go all night without fatigue.As you get to more and more lead playing, the tendancy for most players is to get closer to a flat surface. Classical guitars mostly are flat. Some of the newer ones have a radius.

      I am finding on my cgb's, I am not needing anything tighter than 12". I originally was also going to make a 9.5" block and just never saw the need. I am making predominantly four strings. The tighter the radius, the harder to set and dress the frets without prebending them.
  • David McQueen January 24, 2013 at 3:49pm
    I made two sanding blocks, a 12" and a 16" radius out of scrap pieces of 2"x3". Make a convex paper pattern of the radius you want and mark it on the end of both ends of a piece of wood. Then I used a belt sander to make myself a positive. Once I had that, I glued some sandpaper on it, clamped down another piece of wood and used the positive convex to sand out the concave, negative profile. Glue some heavy grade sandpaper on that and Bob's your uncle.

    I have used them to do 12" and 16" radius, but I have also made combinations. Start with 12", then go 16" further up. I made some that went 12-16-flat.

    Hey, they are not perfect, but the price was pretty good, and they work.
    • RTZGUITARS > David McQueen January 25, 2013 at 1:11am

      well we can do whatever we want, radius 4string might be cool. I been thinkin about a stand up bass and a fiddle I will need to make a radius neck for these.

      • David McQueen > RTZGUITARS January 25, 2013 at 7:05am
        The first cgb I built was a flat and fretted four string. It seemed a little harsh on the hand. That is why I went for the blocks. I am finding I like 16" at the nut going to flat above the octave.

        I built a 12 string and used a commercial nut. The nut was radiused at about 12", so I used a 12" right to the top. That also worked well. It seems that the fewer strings, the less radius needed.
  • Michael Fred Johnson January 24, 2013 at 7:10am

    and this is the fingerboard305959033?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

  • Michael Fred Johnson January 24, 2013 at 7:07am

    This is the radius block I made305959152?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

  • Wade January 23, 2013 at 10:25pm

    Some one here made their own radius block by carefully layering masking tape along the length of a wood block and then attaching some sandpaper

  • level6 January 23, 2013 at 6:52pm

    Does giving the fretboard a radius drastically affect using a slide with it?  I could see that if the radius is super small, it would, but I mean the larger 10/12/16" radius..es.. ii?  I loved how my slide held all 4 strings down on a flat, fret-less fretboard, but it sure was weird to finger.  I am just wondering whether giving it a [very slight] 12 or 16" radius would ruin the ease of keeping the slide on all of the strings?

    Also, Ken, here is an awesome video on easily making your own radius sanding blocks: 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWN5AqNeDfE

    Raymond.

    • rusty case > level6 January 23, 2013 at 9:07pm

      radius of the fingerboard should make no difference when using a slide unless it is quite peaked and there is a very close string clearance, and you wish to press down on your slide aggressively.

      Small radius on the nut and bridge will definitely make a difference, though!

      You will get to some point where a slide will only make contact with 2 strings!

      ...agreed..  I don't quite care for a flat flat fingerboard!  

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