claybanjo - Posted - 05/23/2011:  21:17:00

I was wondering what you all thought about radiused fretboards and the sometimes slightly wider ones offered at the same time. I would appreciate what ever you have to say. I can certainly see the benefits but I'd like to hear from someone with experience. Thanks, Eric

MitchellB - Posted - 05/24/2011:  05:51:24

I like a wide neck/fingerboard.  Narrow necks are a pain for me to play cleanly as my fingers can only squeeze together so much before I am touching strings I'm trying to avoid.

mandovoodoo - Posted - 05/24/2011:  06:50:48

1.  Ergonomics play into how wide a neck feels, very much.  Think about the big fellows playing violin.  Many troubles where folks seek wider necks are eliminated with a little cognizant coaching.

2.  Radius feels good to many people.  Sometimes just a little.  Again, ergonomics play into the matter more than one would initially think.

3.  I have a number of customers who insisted upon wider necks.  Then later traded for mandolins with narrower necks.  Just an observation.  

Chuck Naill - Posted - 06/12/2011:  05:09:27

quote:

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Originally posted by claybanjo

I was wondering what you all thought about radiused fretboards and the sometimes slightly wider ones offered at the same time. I would appreciate what ever you have to say. I can certainly see the benefits but I'd like to hear from someone with experience. Thanks, Eric

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 I own an Eastman 504 with a radiused fingerboard but I was not aware that it was radiused. Then, for several months I had an F5 on loan for some recording and promotion with a flat fingerboard. Upon returning to the curved fingerboard of the Eastman, I immediately recognized that is was more comfortable but did not understand why until I read that Eastman uses a radiused fingerboard.

Guitars necks come in various widths. For fingerstyle and flatpicking I have always enjoyed the wider necks which I feel gives me a cleaner sound. For strumming a more narrow neck might be preferred.

Regarding violin fingerboards, some builders leave more wood on the neck to attach the fingerboard to. I find that this rather than neck wideth is more comfortable. The same is true for mandolins in my case.

chuck

TI_USER - Posted - 06/28/2011:  21:36:14

I have a wider than normal neck on my Breedlove and I really like it. It certainly gives me more room to finger tight chords and lead playing is easier. I'm not, however, much of a fan of the radius fingerboard. I don't really see the advantage. For a rhythm chop I see it as a dis-advantage. The center strings (D&A) are higher than the outer strings and they don't all receive the same amount of power from a single stroke. I know it's minute, but there is a difference. Guitars have the radius as well but it's spread out over a greater distance. Another thing to consider is that because of the radius, the distance from the first finger to the fourth in forming a standard closed G chord is farther because of the extra distance the arch creates. Many say it mimics the violin fingerboard, but the radius of s violin fingerboard is designed that way because of bowing, not because of comfort. That's my opinion anyway.