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Stew Mac Fret Calculator


spindlebox

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Had to check how the StewMac calculator works.

Apparently you've chosen millimetres but used inches as the scale length like shown below:

image.png.893e191596bee6f10090872f5644dff4.png

The scale length should have been 571.5 mm if you want to calculate the frets in millimetres.

There's nothing wrong with the calculator, you just have to give the right scale length to start with. The numbers in your chart are perfectly correct for a 22.5" scale, be it inches or millimetres or whichever unit you choose, the math there is quite simple.

Here's how it should look like in mm, you should be able to verify that by changing the unit button on your caliper:

image.thumb.png.8e9275c40d7f3e17b18560067d26c175.png

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38 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

There's nothing wrong with the calculator

Technically not. But from user interface point of view it apparently could be better. Inches are commonly used to refer to scale lengths while fret slots for the given scale length can be cut with what ever units you choose to use. 

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33 minutes ago, spindlebox said:

Well, there's obviously a flaw if it comes out like that, which is all I'm saying.

Like said it's technically correct. And it uses measurements consistently. If you choose millimetres then all the input and output is in millimetres. Same goes with imperial units. The problem is that scale length is normally indicated in inches even here in Europe. So to get the fret to fret measurements in millimetres the scale length has to be given in millimetres. If inches are chosen then the output is inches. The user interface could be done better though to guide the user and the scale length units should be independent from output units.

I believe the reason they didn't do automated scale length conversion is that some imperial scale lengths are nominal lengths (same goes with e.g. film sizes, pipe fittings etc.) I have used Gibson's 24 3/4" scale length for all my builds and I know that it's not exactly 628.65mm in all Gibsons.  

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4 hours ago, spindlebox said:

Well, there's obviously a flaw if it comes out like that, which is all I'm saying.

Yes, a scale length converter would help a lot. Something like two slots side by side, one for inches and the other for millimetres. And that if one slot is filled the other would automatically get the correct digits.

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11 minutes ago, spindlebox said:

I don't know if any Stew Mac people are members of this form.

At least there's a lot of their customers here. Registered StewMac customers have access to their Wishlist and if that very wish is repeated by many enough it might come true!

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3 minutes ago, curtisa said:

The fret position calculator in the Tundra Man website might be more up your alley. You specify inches or millimetres for the base scale length and then it spits out both measurement units in the resulting table:

Fretboard Calculator - The Tundra Man Workshop

Nice!!  Fret calculator for dummies like me.  Haha.

Talk about a 1st world problem....

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