The Guitar Fretboard radius

[Veenture]

For those of us like myself... , who never took the trouble before in trying to fully understand what "fretboard radius" actually means and/or how it is measured, I found this interesting site where this is descibed rather well IMO: http://www.bothner.co.za/articles/radius.shtml

Now I know

[101Volts]

Yep, That's it. There is a lot of work in a good guitar, The neck is a very critical part of it and the fretting also has a lot to do with the neck stiffness which makes for better tone, it isn't just the truss rod that does all of the work.

[socoto]

Thanks for posting the link...there's some good info there!

[Haole Jim]

Thank you. While the guitar, particularly the electric solidbody, seems a metaphorical musical one-celled amoeba to some folks, as far as complexity (or lack thereof), like the amoeba, all parts...including fretboard radius...are important to making the "animal" live and function.

[bluebill]

Fret board radius as well as fret slot sizing. Too loose of a slot and the fret board can bow forward easier. Too tight and the back bow fights the neck and can lead to a twist. If you're going to re-frett always measure the tangs to double check the size. Only takes a couple of secs.

[Veenture]

Fret board radius as well as fret slot sizing. Too loose of a slot and the fret board can bow forward easier. Too tight and the back bow fights the neck and can lead to a twist. If you're going to re-frett always measure the tangs to double check the size. Only takes a couple of secs.

Thanks, that is valuable information for any DIY person and very interesting too! It makes perfect sense

[woodchuck30]

HI guy's, just glanced through the posts on fret board radius, and thought that I should add this little tid bit of information if it has not already been mentioned. quarter sawn maple or what ever kind of wood one chooses for the neck is much less likely to bow than flat sawn material. Thats because the annualer rings are at or close to perpindicular to the fret board,which makes it extreemly rigid. the grain isn't as priety, but the stability and atrength is what one needs.

[twango the clown]

Well, that's the beauty of the high-end Mosrite necks, isn't it?
Semie took flatsawn maple, split it down the middle and bookmatched it,effectively making it quartersawn with two opposing grains that work against each other to cancel out warp tendency, as I understand it. At the end he even put a third quartersawn piece in between, and sometimes a rosewood sub-fretboard with a maple fretboard on top of that!
That's a five piece neck, and when you're making a five-piece maple neck, and then you have the truss rod... well, I'd think your neck-warp worries are greatly diminished.
That brings up a question. I read on other posts that when people have truss rod problems on a Mosrite, they can just go and pluck out the truss rod from its channel, like pulling your wallet out of your pocket. Also, Mr. Elliot's very exciting walk through building a Mark I leaves the truss rod until after the neck is effectively built! If true this is great!
On a Les Paul or a Fender, if you ruin your truss rod it's Adios Muchacho! Some of the posts here make it sound like you can shop for your favorite truss rod after you already have the guitar! Is this possible?

[woodchuck30]

yup, your rite, drop the neck take it out, put in a new one. Might fight ya a little though.

[101Volts]

Twango, I never really stopped to think of all the work that went into making a Mosrite neck, Especially for the 1988 models. That is really amazing craftsmanship.

Austin