cherokee6 Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 I'm new to the building aspect as much of the work I've dabbled in is in repair, soldering, set-up, etc. I have a mid-80's squier strat (Japanese made) that has a maple fingerboard. Anyone who has picked it up has offered to buy it as it's got a great feel to the neck. I finally mentioned to a friend of mine from Toronto that I would profile it and make a neck (and the body) for him. It'll take me awhile to get started. Anyway I'm doing a lot of research and noticed in siting the Strat's and my LP Recording's curvature at the nut that the nut is lower on the high e end than the bass end. My Epi es-335 seems to have an even curve. So, my question is: are the LPR's and Strat's necks compound or is the nut shaped so that the high e and b strings are closer to the board and the top of the nut at that point sits closer to the board? I would have thought in a compound, it would start off cylindrical and flatten out at the body end. More inportantly, how would I be able to copy that fretboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 If it's a production guitar, paticularly that age, it's a fixed, cylindrical radius. The position and location of the strings, how the nut is cut, are completely irrelevant; a straightedge and the neck/fretting surface is what you want o be looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 I agree with Mattia that the fretboard will defenatly have a cylindrical radius. The fretwork might have been done in such a way that makes the radius slightly compounded however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee6 Posted December 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Thanks. I just downloaded the free radius guages from Brian's old link. I'll put them together this week and try them out on the various finger boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Sounds like the nut was filed by someone that really knew what they were doing. Yes it's a constant radius board. The frets *could have been* levelled that will make it more of a compound.... But the high E is lower, because it CAN be. The thicker the string, the more it moves when it vibrates. High E can be lower than any other string, and each larger string must progressivly be higher than the last thinner string.... So Low E is the highest, high E is the lowest and everything else is somewhere in between. This is not uncommon, it just sounds like it was setup by someone trying to get the lowest possible action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingfelder Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Thanks. I just downloaded the free radius guages from Brian's old link. do you happen to still have that link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee6 Posted December 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 Thanks to all for the help. It seems Fender and Gibson shaved the nuts (get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't say their nuts! ) to get a lower action on the e and b strings. It was so well done it has you guessing about the raduis. Anyway, I found Brian's link for the gauges. Just laminate them, cut 'em out and you're ready to go! Make an extra set and put notches in them so can get your radius with the strings on. http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguardian/I...us%20Gauges.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.