flat vs rounded fretboards

[bf0502tr]

recently i've had the opportunity to try the ibanez rga 32. it has the wizard ii maple neck on it and when i 1st tried it out, i instantly felt wierd. i didn't realise what was different from my ltd f100 till i had a closer look at the fretboard. the fretboard is totally flat for the wizard neck! my ltd on the other hand is slightly curved outwards. are all wizard necks fitted with flat fretboards? also does the flat fretboard mean it's easier to speed up playing or is it just preference?

 

[faekildare]

Not all wizard are flat. It has to do with the radius. Wizard II has 400 radius while super wizard and jem necks has 430, which is SLIGHTLY curvier. Depends on liking i guess.

 

[Phil]

When you say curved outwards, I assume your mean it has a slight 'hump'.

Well, it's all about fretboard radius.

Your fretboard radius determines how low your action can be while still being able to bend the first and second string without 'bottoming' out i.e a dead note that has 'fretted out'.

To quote an example, the vintage Fenders usually have a 7 1/4" radius while the Gibsons with a 12" measurement. Simply put, the more exaggerated Fender radius follows the hand's natural curve and facilitates barre chords. However, the same tight curve may cause the aforementioned problems when the bent strings run into the slope of the fretboard, hence, 'bottoming' out.

To digress a bit, many Fenders today have a flatter radius but the vintage replicas still retain the 7 1/4" radius.

On the contrary, Gibson's 12" radius has always facilitated bending with no 'bottoming' out, even with very low action.

So you can reference your LTD to my example of the vintage Fenders, and the flatter wizard neck to the Gibsons' 12" radius.

It is all about preference. But I hope my reply has helped you better understand the reasoning behind some of these specifications.

 

[subversion]

fretboard radii differ for different guitars. one with a more rounded radius is not better than the other with a flatter profile, vice versa.

 

[bf0502tr]

When you say curved outwards, I assume your mean it has a slight 'hump'.

Well, it's all about fretboard radius.

Your fretboard radius determines how low your action can be while still being able to bend the first and second string without 'bottoming' out i.e a dead note that has 'fretted out'.

To quote an example, the vintage Fenders usually have a 7 1/4" radius while the Gibsons with a 12" measurement. Simply put, the more exaggerated Fender radius follows the hand's natural curve and facilitates barre chords. However, the same tight curve may cause the aforementioned problems when the bent strings run into the slope of the fretboard, hence, 'bottoming' out.

To digress a bit, many Fenders today have a flatter radius but the vintage replicas still retain the 7 1/4" radius.

On the contrary, Gibson's 12" radius has always facilitated bending with no 'bottoming' out, even with very low action.

So you can reference your LTD to my example of the vintage Fenders, and the flatter wizard neck to the Gibsons' 12" radius.

It is all about preference. But I hope my reply has helped you better understand the reasoning behind some of these specifications.

hmmm i dun really get the bottoming out

 

[keiith]

well, after i switched to a guitar with a contoured fretboard, when i played back an ibanez its totally weird simply because we are already used to the contoured one.Ibanez's wizards are all flat btw.

I prefer having my fretboard contoured because you can do fast actions slightly easier compared to a flat one and when you do things like sweeping it lessens out the chance of hitting the next/previous string by accident i guess.. Contoured fretboards ftw!

 

[eclipze]

ok this is the easy way to understand
every guitar have different fretboard radius

if u found a guitar with a tight radius like on fender neck (about 9.5" )
... u can play chords easily .. very comfortable on your hand when u r chording

when on ibanez fboard (wizard I/II neck)... it facilitate 18" radius.. greater radius but its not flat... u can play shred easily on this fboard... its shredder heavens

got what i mention? :mrgreen:

 

[bf0502tr]

I prefer having my fretboard contoured because you can do fast actions slightly easier compared to a flat one and when you do things like sweeping it lessens out the chance of hitting the next/previous string by accident i guess.. Contoured fretboards ftw!

when on ibanez fboard (wizard I/II neck)... it facilitate 18" radius.. greater radius but its not flat... u can play shred easily on this fboard... its shredder heavens

got what i mention? :mrgreen:

erm...kinda contradicting though i can understand both of u perfectly well

 

[Phil]

Bottoming out means that when you bend past a certain point, the note dies out.

Don't get too engrossed in just discussion. Take all our pointers here and then go experience it for yourself. That way you'll learn far more.

 

[bf0502tr]

ok thx guys i'll go see if i can try out the diff again

 

[jazzcat]

does the flat fretboard mean it's easier to speed up playing or is it just preference?

no, flatter fretboard doesn't mean to be played faster nor easier...there are many fender players out there that can play lightning fast...while there are also many ibanez players that prefer to play "slower" on their flatter fretboard

IMHO, yes, it's just personal preference and playing style

the differ of each fretboards radius means easier to do bendings or chording (comping) or speed passages (legatos, speed pickings or sweep arpeggios)...my suggestion would be try to play as many guitars you can find & choose whatever suits you best

 

[bf0502tr]

hmmm i recently tried measuring my fretboard, and well i cant seem to get how to calculate neck radius...where do u measure from?? =/

 

[jazzcat]

hmmm i recently tried measuring my fretboard, and well i cant seem to get how to calculate neck radius...where do u measure from?? =/

you need a measuring tool actually, i just drawn on autocad (and convert to a pdf file) a handy tool to help you figuring out your guitar fretboards, please download attached file - print it on a thick paper (page scaling=NONE) & cut it
hope might help

fretboard_radius.pdf

 

[bf0502tr]

hey cool thanks alot dood!!