Compound radiused fretboard

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beemerboy
Posts: 17
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Real Name: Tom
Location: Campbellford,Ontario

Compound radiused fretboard

Post: # 4612Post beemerboy
Sat Sep 04, 2021 10:54 pm

OK ,will someone enlighten me on what a compound radiused fretboard is and the pro’s and con’s ? Is this very common on Collings guitars ? Saw it adv on OM .

Frank Sanns
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:38 pm
Real Name: Frank Sanns
Location: Pittsburgh

Re: Compound radiused fretboard

Post: # 4614Post Frank Sanns
Sun Sep 05, 2021 12:06 pm

The word compound implies that more than one thing is going on at a time but it is a bit of a misnomer for guitars.

A compound radius in the context of a guitar just means that the curve on the frets flattens out as you approach the bridge. The highest curvature is up by the nut.

The reason this is done is to optimize the fretboard for both the right and left hand. It tends to be easier to fret bar cords near the nut and with more curved frets. Since the majority of players spend most of their time closer to the nut, and for strumming, this higher curvature works great. For us right handed players, this is what the left hand is doing.

For fingerstyle guitar and playing up the neck, the curvature is not good for the right hand. Having strings that have different heights presents a problem for proper plucking of the strings. It is difficult to get a consistent pluck angle on a string especially on the back side of a curved fret where the middle strings are higher than the ones just past them. Classical guitars have a flat or nearly flat saddle and fingerboard for that very reason; every string that is plucked is in the same plane so the player can move across the strings and they all are at the same height. No uphill and downhill or eclipsed strings (a string that is lower than a higher string next to it) to deal with.

Guitar manufacturers try to optimize both hence the "compound" radius for best play of both the right and left hand. This is not anything unique to Collings.

beemerboy
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:53 pm
Real Name: Tom
Location: Campbellford,Ontario

Re: Compound radiused fretboard

Post: # 4615Post beemerboy
Sun Sep 05, 2021 1:33 pm

That’s interesting ,thanks for taking time

gemcity
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2020 11:44 pm
Real Name: Warren

Re: Compound radiused fretboard

Post: # 4619Post gemcity
Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:35 am

I have a D1ATS--compound radius 14"-26".
Capos come with fixed radius curvature.
Would a 16" still work on the lower frets? (This is the standard radius of Elliot, for example.)
I have a Paige New & Improved P6N (nickel, $21 from Sweetwater) arriving soon and I'll report back. No spec given for this particular model, but The Original is 16".
"Fits up to 10th fret for 1 11/16" neck." My Collings is 1 ¾" nut. But I don't expect to capo above 6th fret.
I'm sure it will work well as I've had no issues at all with my Planet Waves NS Pro, just going for a more traditional vibe.
I'll discuss after I try out the Paige.

Frank Sanns
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:38 pm
Real Name: Frank Sanns
Location: Pittsburgh

Re: Compound radiused fretboard

Post: # 4622Post Frank Sanns
Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:45 pm

Capos have a rubber-like piece on the bottom of the metal to accommodate a wide range of radii. If the capo can reach around the neck and across all strings, then it will most likely be fine for many capos. I can think of a few that have very little spongy material so they are probably not as versatile since the cannot conform to as wide a range of radii.

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