Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brent on April 6, 2013 at 10:36am

Also what's your favorite fret scale?

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Permalink Reply by jabes on April 6, 2013 at 10:41am

wfret .23.5"  or 25.5"

 or other ones that I fancy

 check your printer is doing what you want.

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Permalink Reply by Coppa Penny on April 6, 2013 at 11:00am

I have looked for hours for a printed template but no luck. I did get 2 templates a long time ago but cannot find them on the net now. There are plenty of fret calculators that just give the measurements. How accurate do you have to be, with all the other errors such as pencil width, saw width and just old human error. Maybe one of the better musicians can tell us

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on April 6, 2013 at 11:38am

I use Wfret all the time.I still have templates I printed out from 4 years ago, still in good shape. I just tape them to the neck, mark the fret positions, take the template off and use a square to make sure the line I draw is perpendicular.

Most of mine are either 24 or 22 inch.

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Permalink Reply by Coppa Penny on April 6, 2013 at 12:53pm

I must be using Wfret wrong because I cannot print templates !!!!

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on April 6, 2013 at 1:39pm

http://www.harpkit.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=...  been usin this chart goin on 20 years now, scale lengths from 13" - 31", just pick a scale length lay your fretboard along the line and copy the fret slots. Works for guitar, banjo, mando, bass and dulcimer.Turned alot of builders on to this chart over the years.

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Permalink Reply by Coppa Penny on April 6, 2013 at 2:08pm

Figured out how to print template with WFRET.  a very simple mistake.

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Permalink Reply by jabes on April 6, 2013 at 9:42pm

Bet you either didn't verify or you printed a chart or your printer options were set wrong.glad you sorted it. I find it most reliable.

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Permalink Reply by Brent on April 7, 2013 at 2:04am

What was the mistake you made. I just got wfret thanks to the advice given. The idea of having the software on my pc instead of using a website is great.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on April 7, 2013 at 2:16am

http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

You can print a multi-page PDF, which includes strings and tapered fingerboard.

And it is Mac friendly.  Don't think I ever got Wfret to work on a Mac, but I have not tried recently.

15" and 17" and 19".

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on April 7, 2013 at 3:40am

I just don't get it with the desire to print out fret templates - it's a sure-fire way of introducing inaccuracy right from the start. You have to rely on the stability of the paper that you are printing onto (paper is dimensionally unstable when subject to varying humidity, and it's relatively easy to stretch and distort it), the mechanical accuracy of the printer and the accuracy of the printer software to give you a totally accurate print.

I just use a steel rule and either a sharp pencil, or better yet a scalpel to scribe the fret positions, reading off the measurements from StewMac's fret calculator. I'm placing a degree of faith that their software is right in terms of calculating the fret positions, but I'd prefer to remove all the other variables and rely on the accuracy of my trusty rule and my own hand. I can easily get down to an accuracy of .1mm (4/100 inch) without really trying.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on April 7, 2013 at 3:50am

I double check the measurements on the template with a ruler, for starters.  For me a template is easier than measuring, and I can spot outliers when I measure twice, cut once.  I work in smaller scale, so my paper template is less likely to stretch or warp enough to matter.

The reliability of the paper is better than the reliability of my measuring!

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