If you are bending a lot of notes and want a low action, I find that 12” or compound is the only way to go. I love fenders but often find the fretboard radius too small
Thanks, Baxter, that was very nice and easy. I took my MIM telecaster into a local store to get set up after having let it languish for years, and now some months later I am hearing all this buzzing near the nut. "I should do something about this," I thought ... and then panicked, "What do I know? I'll break it!" But hearing you discuss these technical things about the neck and the action and such makes it all sound a bit more approachable.
Thank you for bringing this up. I am a beginner with relatively small hands and only recently realized that it's the combination of fretboard radius and neck shape that makes a guitar suitable for me (or not). For me, it's 12-13" because I can get lower action, and a modern c, slim neck that works.
Thank you Baxter for the very informative video. The first time I played a Player Series Strat I could not believe how much easier it was to play that guitar compared to my Epiphone Dot. The Dot has a D shape neck, which is annoying to try to play for very long. Shaving off about 1/8" of the shoulders on either side would make it a lot more like the Strat Player neck. But I had wondered about the radius of the fretboard. At 1:54 of your video, it is obvious that the difference between 12" and 9.5" is not that great. At about 3/8" to either side, the 9.5" is rounded slightly more. Even if I could round off the very edge of the fretboard from nut to 12th fret .... just about 1/64" ... that would not affect how lowest highest strings contact fretwire. Having just that tiny edge rounded would mean it would not be stabbing into my thumb & hand. It's amazing how slight changes can make a guitar neck more comfortable. But then I imagine the very end of the fretwire will have to be touched up a bit to match. I wish you could do a video on that modification. It would help to have contour templates to see progress from fret to fret. I have the Modern C Fender template for reducing the shoulders, making the D into a C. But I'd need a template for the fretboard to make it uniform from 1st fret to around the 12th fret. www.amazon.com/MEELYHOMEZQA-Guitar-Fretboard-Measure-Accessory/dp/B0D2XZVK13 $7.98 I'm just wondering if it is possible to simply round off the very edge on either side to make it less "stabby." Thoughts?
When explaining a compound radius to people, it really helps to describe the fretboard as a slice of a cone. Think of an orange road cone. It's skinny on top, fat on the base.
I bought a fender and a gibson this year. The difference of neck blows my mind. The fender I can actually play chords easy. The gibson is great for lead solos. Both are fantastic. I can understand the preference.
Really finding and keeping a good guitar tech or luthier if your playing a lot is a major factor on how you play and the guitars performance etc. They can keep the intonation, fret hight tuning capabilities all spot on. Yep it’s costly. Great video dude
Something I didnt think about until I did: Smaller radius isn't just more comfortable with open chords. Playing the more hendrix-esque voicings with your thumb over is more comfortable as well. Personally I dont find open chords difficult with a flatter radius but this technique is uncomfortable on them. Of course with a 7.25 my saddles look funny as the high b and e strings are just high enough not to fret out but not the low e and a (not going to do a two tone bend on "A" where I want to be able to on "B"
Great video! IMHO, fretboard radius is like swimming or dancing: active participation is mandatory to "get it". I _thought_ I understood the implications of a 7.25" radius -- and then I tried a custom-shop/vintage Telecaster. I loudly exclaimed "Oh, man!", to the surprise of others in the store.
I did not think moving from later model Deluxe's with their chunkier necks and mainly ESP's, to a 56 would make that big of a deal. Boy was I wrong. Sure after some playing I will probably adjust, but it was a bit of a shocker though. The intonation and action has to be spot on, and it took me a while to get it to where I don't have to wonder if Horse with no name will be my only song I don't screw up. I still fret out Albert King style bends, but if I play a slower/lazier it gets a lot better. Probably part of the charm of these guitars, is adjusting your playing to suit it's quirks. This was good stuff. New respect for the old guard musicians, and a better understanding of many of their slow hand styles of playing with emphasis on riffs.
I definitely prefer 7.25" radius and frets on bass or electric guitar, but I'm a 50s spec P and Tele guy. So round and chunky works for me. On acoustic that's not an option. I struggled for a long time to find an acoustic neck I liked. I ended up with Gretsch Ranchers. Not that their 12" radius isn't standard on acoustics, but the fact that they use vintage frets still and have bit fat U profiles. I find I like the smaller fret wire and thicker necks. Despite the radius, too. I can't stand thin, flat necks with big wire.
I'm fine with the Gibson and fender radius. Love my warmoth compound radius. My Wolfgang has a very flat radius kind of bugs me a little though. Baring chords makes you have to straighten your fingers more and I don't like it as much. Was a huge evh fan though so I had to get one.
If you replace a nut with a pre-slotted one, make sure you match the nut with the radius. Otherwise, you'll have probably have intonation or fretting out issues in the first through fifth frets.
Regarding steel acoustic guitars... are there any manufactures exploring modern radius designs. For the most part, they are still designed like classical fingerboards. Great topic, by the way! Thanks!
Fender American deluxe 9.5-14 is my go to. Looks like the new Ultra series are is 10-16? I don't mind anything form 7.25 to 12, neck shape is usually the deal breaker for me.
really good video...for a really important topic, I have a USA peavey strat 14 radius, a nashville tele 12 radius.... I play both and enjoy so much the neck....so easy to play .... two months ago I bought a great fender Duo Sonic HS 2020, amazing and unique tones..BUT I HATE THE 9.5 RADIUS ...i cannot play....its like my playing gets really poor.... I don understand why its impacting so much on my playing... very likely I will have to sell my Duo Sonic....sniff...sniff
Fine a good 9 out of 10, now neck shapes! A U shape, a soft C, a light V, what's all that about then? I have no idea, if it feels right, it's right. I pick up my Martin or my Tele, both different but have no clue what the shapes are. Please explain
I prefer a smaller radius. 9.5 feels the best to me. And I also like a 1-5/8 nut. I would definitely be described as a fast lead player, but put me on an Ibanez or Jackson neck, and I’ll quickly be struggling.
Hrmm, this really makes me wonder why on acoustics Gibson uses 12" and Martin uses 16", if the bigger the radius the harder fretting chords becomes. Then Gibson makes their Studio acoustics all 16" and that confuses me even more. I've tried to search for it, but getting a solid answer online is...well it's online :D
Me personally never care about the fretboard but the radius on the back of the neck. That is the most definitive factor of purchase. Is really what makes a guitar fell good or bad. I have huge hands but cannot stand those round backs like baseball bats. For me has to be thin (again thin not for width of fretboard but distance between the fretboard and your thumb in the back of the neck), and also flat not round like a bat. A matter of personal preference but definitely what makes a guitar feel the way they do (more than fret radius, materials... maybe weight distribution comes next)
I was hoping that you would speak about the difference radius makes in choosing string gauge, I bought a 2019 Gibson sg and was told that I should use tens instead of nine's, the tens don't sound as good to me and because of some hand arthritis are a little harder to bend, the D, A, and E are the same as nines so why does high E, B, and G, make such a difference. I just subscribed.
I think you're confusing radius with scale length. Gibson necks typically have shorter scale necks than say a Fender. 24.75" vs 25.5" which is typical on a Fender. The longer the scale length, the tighter the strings. On the shorter Gibson necks, you can afford to get slightly heavier strings than you would on a longer neck.
I ordered a 10-14 soft V in 2007 for my personally designed (from scratch) body. Haven't found anyone willing to take it on - even though I have full size prints of my AutoCad drawings.
Question: If, for cording, a more curved radius is important why do most Jazz guitars have such flat necks? My DOT is 12" and my Washburn hollow body is 14". I don't find it too hard to make difficult jazz chords, but I'm just wondering why that's the case.
Sorry to bust the clock theory - 11 to 1 will always be the same. The way you should look at it is that you take the top 6mm of the circle (avg thickness of a fretboard), and the larger the circle, the flatter these 6mm are.
it's funny cause radius is one of the things you dont notice... til you do. i learnt on classical (flat fretboardl then got a yamaha electric (13.75 in. radious) by the time i got my "dream strat" (9.5 radious) i just couldn't put my finger on why i wasnt enjoying it as much... even my "bad les paul" (r=12) felt easier on the fretboard... then i looked at the specs (i didn't even know radious was a thing until i noticed how it influenced how much i enjoyed playing a guitar)
I've just bought a Yamaha Pacifica 112j and i'm struggling to make chords with this, specially 7th . I 'm thinking of sending it back and buying a squier, with 9.75, because i had a Fender Mex years ago. It feels like Pacifica is easier to bend and play notes, but it's so complicated to make some chords. In other hand, the fender i had was so good to play chords and gig... I don't know what to do... Yamaha looks so beautiful and seems so nice.. will i ever get adapted to that? I'm something betwwen begginer and intermediate player..
YES, vintage 7.25" radius fingerboards tend to FRET OUT, why, because those vintage fingerboards were never designed to for BIG BEND's, they were designed for country western style picking.
