Which guitar radius is best?

Which guitar radius is best?

A rounder radius of 9.5 to 10 inches is popular for open position chords. A flatter radius of 12 to 16 inches is popular for guitar soloing and bending notes. A compound radius offers both, starting rounder in open position and flattening out as you move higher up the neck.

Does fretboard radius really matter?

A more rounded fretboard makes playing barre chords much easier, at the expense of making bending more difficult. The higher action required requires more left hand effort to play, but in many instances is preferred by fingerstyle and slide players.

What is the radius on an acoustic guitar?

Acoustic guitars generally have a flatter fretboard, Martin and many other brands often have a 16 inch radius. Gibson also offers a J45 with a 12 inch radius.

What is Gibson radius?

Each manufacturer has a different standard fretboard radius and some even differ by model. Many vintage Fender guitars have a radius of 7.25″, whereas most Gibson guitars tend to have a flatter 12″ radius.

How do I choose a fretboard radius?

If you want to sum it up simply… the flatter the radius, the more it is suited to lead playing, and the rounder the radius, the more it is suited to chords. Smaller the number, the rounder the radius. Pick up a few of your favorite guitars and try to figure out what the fretboard radius is on them.

What fret size is best?

Short frets like the 6230, 6150, and 6130 are good for people who really like to feel to fingerboard when they play chords. Whereas, jumbo or medium-jumbo frets feel smoother, provide extra sustain, and can let you bend without exerting as much force.

How much difference does fretboard radius make?

Other common sizes for fretboard radius are 9.5″, 10″, and 12″. The higher the number, the flatter the fingerboard. From a guitarist’s viewpoint, fingerboard radius has to do with feel and playability and is completely subjective; no radius is better or worse.

What is guitar neck radius?

If you look closely at the neck of your guitar, you’ll notice a slight arch between the high and low E strings. Manufacturers refer to this arch as the radius. Fretboards for electric guitars usually have a radius between 7.25″ and 14″.

How does fretboard radius affect playability?

Fingerboard radius is an important spec because it impacts playability. A smaller (more curved) radius is generally perceived as more comfortable for playing chords; a larger (less curved) radius is generally considered better for single-note playing and bending.

What is fretboard radius?

Fingerboard radius is the curvature of the fingerboard across the neck, from the lowest string to the highest string, and just like the radius of a circle, it can be described by a number. The exact shape of that arc, from rounder to flatter, is expressed numerically in inches or millimeters.

Are wide neck guitars easier to play?

Wide-neck guitars can be easier to play depending on your circumstance and the style you want to play. There are some benefits to a wide-neck guitar if you have larger hands and thicker fingers. Overall, the difference is quite negligible for beginners and best discovered through experience with that instrument.

Can you change the radius of a guitar neck?

So it is a bad idea to re-radius a neck. If you tried to go to a 12″ radius from a 7.5″ it would take so much wood off the fretboard it may ruin it altogether. You can put big frets on a fretboard and flatten them out for an effective radius change but that is another story for later. Just get another neck.

What is the guitar neck fingerboard radius?

The guitar neck fingerboard radius, or neck radius as it’s sometimes wrongly called, describes the height of the arc of a guitar fretboard. To understand the term, look at the picture on the left. You’ll see that, contrary to what you might have thought, the fingerboard isn’t flat. It’s curved.

What do the radiuses on a guitar Spec Sheet mean?

Common radiuses (radii) include: 7.25″, 9.5″, 12″, and 16″, just to name a few. Though the measurements are commonly found on just about every guitar spec sheet, it is rarely explained what these measurements actually mean.

Is there a right or wrong degree of guitar radius?

It’s a subjective measurement though; there’s really no right or wrong degree of it but there have been several established measurements that players can choose from to suit their personal preferences. A smaller, more curved radius is generally thought of as being more comfortable for playing chords.

What is the radius of a Fender guitar?

For historical perspective, u000bFender guitars from the 1960s had a 7.25″ radius, and solidbody Gibsons from the same time had a 12″ radius. In the 1980s, “shredder” guitars like Ibanez, Charvel, and Jackson had adopted a 16″ radius. In that same time period, Fender added a 9.5″ radius, and PRS guitars were mostly 10″.