Members wanderoo222 Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I've never had a problem bending on a non-compound radius neck. Whats the point? Just another gimick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 No, it's designed so that as the natural angle of your hand changes in its orientation to the fretboard as you move it further away or closer to your body AND the fretboard widens closer to the guitar body, the shape of the neck and its thickness changes to make the contour of the neck more ergonomic for your fretting. My stepson has an older Ibanez (forget which model) that absolutely feels amazing in that respect. I have maybe one guitar that's pretty good at that, but his Ibanez is damn near shocking the first time you play it, it just feels responsive to your position on the neck. And this comment is coming from someone who is generally fairly ambivalent to neck shapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 My Charvel has one and I love it. All guitars should have a compound radius fretboard. Easier chording, easier leads.. Win/win... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 My warmoth strat has a compound radius neck. It's very nice. I have had it about 13 years. The only downside to my neck in particular is the ebony board and the truss rod adjust at the heel. I'm very seriously considering replacement with a Mighty Mite maple/maple neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I have the Warmoth version and it's a big plus, especially when playing 5 or 6 sets. Wish all of my guitars had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2011 My opinion?.....It's a useful byproduct of a production consideration. Compound radius is cheaper to produce on a fretboard where the sides of the fretboard need to be parallel along the length, but the width tapers from bridge pickup end to nut....draw it on a piece of paper and you'll see why it makes sense to have 9-12" radius at nut end and 14-16" radius from the second octave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tidal Rhythm Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 My opinion?.....It's a useful byproduct of a production consideration.Compound radius is cheaper to produce on a fretboard where the sides of the fretboard need to be parallel along the length, but the width tapers from bridge pickup end to nut....draw it on a piece of paper and you'll see why it makes sense to have 9-12" radius at nut end and 14-16" radius from the second octave Very cool observation,RC. I had never considered it from a production standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2011 Very cool observation,RC. I had never considered it from a production standpoint. The first time you make a Strat or Tele neck from a pre slotted, pre radiused LMII fretboardblank you learn this;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I don't know if it's because of the compound radius or other factors but the Warmoth neck of my PAC904 is really confortable and bends clearer on the upper frets. It's a beautiful neck in all respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 My Charvel has one and I love it. All guitars should have a compound radius fretboard. Easier chording, easier leads.. Win/win... +10000000000000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 My opinion?.....It's a useful byproduct of a production consideration.Compound radius is cheaper to produce on a fretboard where the sides of the fretboard need to be parallel along the length, but the width tapers from bridge pickup end to nut....draw it on a piece of paper and you'll see why it makes sense to have 9-12" radius at nut end and 14-16" radius from the second octave I don't think compound radius is cheaper to produce. It's actually more complicated a shape to manufacture. But it is a good thing and every fretboard should be made that way. There is no downside that I can imagine and you get lower, more confortable action all along the fretboard. Lead guitar bends don't "fret out" and chording is easier at the first position. The easiest way to visualize this is the simple fact that because the fretboard is narrower at the nut than at the other end, the strings actually converge to a point in space instead of being parallel. As such, they can be looked at as lines lying along a CONE instead of a CYLINDER. For the strings to be correctly aligned with the fingerboard, the fretboard needs to be shaped like a cone surface too. Of course this wouldn't hold true if the fretboard wasn't tapered and the strings were parallel (like on a classical) In that case a cylinder or no radius at all would be best. There's really no reason all tapered fretboards aren't compound radius. (Other than they might be more complex and expensive to make.)You get lower overall action and better playability. Maybe in situations where you WANT high action like slide guitar...or those old blues guys who bend strings by getting their fretting hand UNDER adjacent strings. Other than that EVERY fretboard benefits from a compound radius and it's a lot of what PLEK shaping does to improve playability. It's more expensive and complicated. Not a byproduct of cheaper manufacturing. That's why it's not seen in most guitars. In my experience, the only major manufacturers that offer it are Carvin, Warmoth and Charvel. There might be a few custom builders.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 9, 2011 In my experience, the only major manufacturers that offer it are Carvin, Warmoth and Charvel. There might be a few custom builders.... Coincidentally ^^^^those offer unbound ebony fretboards, and I think you'll find more and more companies offering compound radii fretboards these days, it makes life much easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Carvin doesn't offer it any more. They stopped many years ago, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I have a Warmoth compound radius on my Tele and it's awesome. The playability is stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 never playeed one but I understand the use of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wanderoo222 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 Thanks for the input. It's a Charvel ds2 I'm looking at. I live about 150 miles from any music store that stocks Charvel. Are charvels consistent with reguard to quality? I would have to mail-order one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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