the TRUTH about Fan Fret Guitars. 

Great video Tom and a subject close to my heart. Never quite understood why they haven't captured more hearts and minds of fingerstyle guitar players. I almost always play in alternate tunings often going as low as a B. Fan frets definitely sound sweeter for these lower tunings for all the reasons you highlighted. I guess some don't like the look of a Salvador Dali guitar with the frets melting off each end of the fingerboard. Still others think they are difficult to play or that playing one will disrupt your muscle memory when you switch back to a traditionally fretted guitar (neither is true). I love them. And honestly I was only thinking a few days ago "why doesn't Tom Sands make a fan fret"!

Fascinating insight to a fan fret guitar. Thank you for the info, I’ll be watching a few more of your videos. Cheers

Just outstanding. Thanks!

Thanks for the vid! Enjoy your channel.

Oh man the back and forth was rad on the audio!

This is a great explanation. I have a 7 string bass guitar with 35"-33.5" fanned frets and play it in the regular B,E,A,D,G,C,F tuning. I enjoy the more even feel of the sting tensions being closer together giving the best of both scales. The other thing is it puts the elbow pivot and hand at a better disposition to access the frets because they are pointed towards the elbow- so you don't have to move your arm around as much. Upper fret access is a little easier.

Basically necessary for 7 string acoustics. I have a fanned fret by Michael Kennedy that was built around CGCGCD tuning, using a 13 gauge set and swapping out the low string with a .059. Sounds great and I'm occasionally tempted to order a "light" baritone tuned B-b down the road if I can figure out a light set, scale length, and less "overbuilt".

That was an education. I always thought that fan frets were purely for ergonomic comfort. Makes total sense now that the string tension and how it affects the sound of the instrument is a major reason why they were developed. Thanks - this was illuminating 👍🏻

I enjoyed the demo by Henry and found it helpful. I can definitely hear/see him playing differently with each guitar. The unanswered question for me is "does a fan fret design make sense for smaller guitars?" - such as a Model S? I have a fan fret Baritone (Italy's David Serracini) and I love the comfort and tone. My Sand Model M is NOT fan fret but it seems to handle lower tunings perfectly. Thanks, John Gig Harbor, WA

I've been thinking of making lutes... this could be a way to innovate on the old lute designs and keep gut strings.

I had a fan fret baritone which sounded great in lowered tunings. But it was deep and heavy and I found it ergonomically difficult. I now have a good compromise. A straight fretted 25.3” scale guitar with heavy gauge strings and tuned D to D. I can easily lower the low D to C or put it into a DADGAD equivalent but C to C. Pop a capo on the 2nd fret and it becomes a short scale std guitar. It’s working well for me. But, I’d love to try one of those Taran fan fret 25” to 25.5”. I’ll think about getting one from Tom. Might possibly be affordable.

The fan fret configuration helps with 7 and 8 string guitars. Just as you pointed out, the lower strings benefit from this setup. I have two 8 string nylon string guitars. One has fan fret configuration, and the other standard fret configuration. The difference in play on the lower 7th and 8th strings is very noticeable.

Great overview Tom - how does your approach to bracing and fret cutting differ for the fanned fret instruments ? Are you using a CNC for fanned fret positioning or hand cutting ? I am going to try this on an electric build next year for lower end tunings

I have a Lowden( sorry) fan fret. I am very comfortable with the ergonomics of the fret board maybe because I practice a lot but I felt good from the get go. The bass responses are great but I still have issues. I play almost exclusively in Dadgad on this guitar and the B string dropped to A still doesn’t quite cut it( still slightly floppy) I use medium strings and find it frustrating, I asked a luthier to fix it but still not quite right. I am a perfectionist about these things so maybe I am asking too much? Love your guitars, hope to be able to buy one at some point before I am too old to be on a long waiting list.

Use a heavier gauge string - just as you say - problem solved. "Messing about with the gauge of your string" is a much simpler intervention than fanning the frets. Indeed that's pretty much what sets like the D'Addario "True Mediums" do, which are optimised for DADGAD. Try the demo again, using beefier gauges for the standard scale guitars, depending on the degree of tuning down. I've had both types of guitar and ultimately concluded fan fretting is a fad. YMMV.

Any builds started with the Bois De Rose?

I have plans to build a fan fret electric. Do you have any views on which fret should be square to the strings? On yours it looks like maybe it is the seventh fret. What influenced your choice?

Fan frets make perfect sense......most of us can't afford one offs so the ordinary guitars we buy are a compromise because they're made in factories.

The true enthusiasts for such instruments may become overheated watching this video. There is a cure and it will make the perfect stocking filler this Xmas: a fan-fret fan’s fan!

Fan Frets, and String Length have been a topic of experimentation for centuries. Here are some interesting resources and recordings that are surprising, to say the least. Reverse Headstock - RU-vid Video: "Luthier Builds - A 19th Century J.G. Stauffer/Legnani Model Romantic Guitar | Schramm Guitars" Does that headstock shape remind you of anything, Bigsby, Fender? Fan Frets - RU-vid video: "Holborne: Prelude (1596) played by Richard MacKenzie (Bandora)" Internaet article on the history: "Wired for sound: the bandora and orpharion" According to Edmund Howes’ 1631 revision of John Stow’s Annales, originally published in 1580, “In the fourth yere of Queen Elizabeth, John Rose, dwelling in Bridewell, devised and made an Instrument with wyer strings, commonly called the Bandora, and left a son, far excelling himself in making Bandoras, Vyoll de Gamboes, and other instruments.” Theorbo - The lengths they went to for getting good sounding low notes, an excellent example both visually an tonally in this RU-vid Video: "The rarest theorbo - Allegro by E. G. Baron played on the German Theorbo by Chris Hirst"

Alright Tom. Now you need to build one with microtonal fan frets just to see if a genie comes out of a bottle and makes the angels sing.

A quick question.... Are there benefits to having a fan-fret guitar playing mostly in standard tuning?

Is that a fan fret guitar?

I am a ukulele (very very short)

Will order McDonald's after this. I am hungry.

So if you aren't using alt tunings... fan fret is essentially useless on 6 string acoustics :/ ?

there is no secret, you either like it or dont.

Is music art or sport ? All this shit is like sport development. Like all the instagram guitarists that are better than Steve via Ingvee and all the other virtuosos. Doesn’t mean the shit they play is good music. Adding more and more notes and using every technique known to man in every one of your songs doesn’t make it good to listen too. It’s becoming sport and sport sux.

No they are shhhhhhite. It is NOOOOT easier to play. Your hand won’t feel like “ah yes it fits the way my fingers spread apart” your hand will go “I can’t even span three frets to even make a chord. I own one and it’s the least played of my guitars. The dudes that love them also usually make shit un remarkable music.