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I didn't want to get dinged with copyright fees so I hope you don't mind the use of Pig Latin...

So are there any plans out there for "multi-scale" fret boards? I think I read something once by Doolin... but I'm not sure. What is the typical scale range and how do you calculate everything in between? I think I would like to do one some day just to say I've tried it and would love to see how it feels. Anybody have any input?

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

I traced one out a while back but never got around to trying it out. I just picked a big E scale, I think it was around 26.25 and a small E scale of 24.5. I figured I would use fret 9 as the straight one and then measured/register from there.

On a 26.25 scale the 9th fret is 10.642 from the nut. On a 24.5 scale, the 9th fret is 9.932 inches. I worked my way towards the nut and this gave me the angle. From there, I marked the big E and the small E with their respective scale fret measurements and connected the dots. This gives you a fanned fretboard with the straight one being the ninth. You could also use the 7th.

If you feel the angle at the nut and saddle are too severe, just decrease the difference between both scales.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Christian,

Just call it an Orpharion Tony Karol has a source of a fret calculator in this thread, and here's one I made earlier

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

The links are likely in the other links, but Mike Doolin wrote up a nice little article on making a fanned fret board:

http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/novax/

If you want to play around with where to place things, and/or want a printout instead, there's FretFind 2D:

http://www.fretfind.ekips.org/2d/

so when is there going to be a off the shelf ready slotted option for us bluffers who'd LIKE to have a go, but just KNOW that all that angled cutting would go WAY wrong!!

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My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

well Martin, I would say there is a little more to it than simply getting a slotted fretbaord. Do you have the ability to create a bracing plan from scratch ?? A std bracing plan wont work for most any FF with a scale diff of an inch or more. Now that said, someone could draw one up for a given off the shelf FF board .. but someone also has to set all the parameters for that FB, nut and string spacing for taper, whcih fret (or point onthe FB) is straight for scale reference, what are the scales, and then thats it .. change the staight fret or scales and the plan is useless again. I think there are too many options to try to create one FB for everyone .. I have built 5 or 6 different ones already (about ten total), only duplicating one of them 3 times.

not that it cant be done .....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Cutting the fret board isn't the hard part. Tony is right in that the bracing pattern will have to me customized for the angled bridge.

The part that completely stumps me, however, is how do you make the headstock angle? For an electric, I'd punt and use a Fender style co-planer headstock but it just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for an acoustic.

I went to a CO Luthiers meeting last year in which Michael Bashkin talked extensively about how he does fanned frets. He starts at the 8th fret and goes from there. He also angles his braces, and headstock to accomodate. The headstock needs to be angled back so it doesn't look crooked. So there are asthetic considerations when doing fanned frets too!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I'm having trouble visualizing this. Could you describe it in more detail? A picture or graphic would be nice. I did a google search and didn't find a decent close up of a fanned fret headstock.

Dave White's Fanned Fret is HERE!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks for all the info! What do they feel like when playing? Does it feel natural/foreign? Does having each string at a different scale make it sound much different?

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

I've played several of them, and it did not interfer with my playing at all. You will feel a little more tension on the bass strings when tuned down during alternate tunings, but not a HUGE difference. I didn't notice a difference in sound either, but I'm sure is a difference because of the tension.

Mike, here is a pic of Michael's fanned fret. Notice that the peghead is slightly cocked to the left. So the hyoid curve is smaller on the left side than on the right:
http://www.bashkinguitars.com/images/opt_fan_fret1.jpg

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

As mentioned, the fretboard is the least of your worries. If you need one cut, though, I can cut them given the proper specs (nut width, scales, straight fret, etc)

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I finished a multi-scale 8-string electric last year. It does take some getting used to...but so does 8 strings, so I figured I'd put both on one instrument.

No multi-scale acoustics yet, but one nice thing about multi-scales is that a judicious choice of string gauges will result in more even tension from string to string.

I ended up printing out a slot template, sticking it to the fretboard blank, and using a slotting blade on a radial arm saw.

Oh yeah...binding too.



For the headstock, I chose to just use an 11° tilt-back partly because I wanted a squared-off end on my fretboard, with shallow slot to serve as string retainers.



But I know some guys cut off the fretboard parallel to the nut, and in those cases it can be advantageous to also impart a sideways angle to the headstock (think "twist" on a tilt-back). I think Jammy did his that way.

BTW do NOT follow the slotting instructions on the (now-expired) Novak patent....it is patently wrong and will result in poor intonation. It is really no more complicated than choosing a scale for the outermost strings (including their taper) and connecting the dots.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....