Excuse my ignorance

[Trey Young]

So I've been playing mandolin for about a year and a half now and I have no idea what the fretboard extension on a mandolin is for. To me it just gets in the way, what exactly is their function?

[Celtic Saguaro]

Mostly decoration. I think you've discovered why brave souls sometimes cut off the extention or scoop out the last few frets. #That spot is usually a better place to pick than to try to fret notes. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Chris Biorkman]

There are some people who insist that it changes the tone of the instrument. The only purpose it serves for me is to drive me crazy by causing pick click.

[Jim Broyles]

It's for clicking your pick against when you are playing single notes, for the purpose of providing rhythmic self-accompaniment. In other words - nothing. Especially if it has been scooped. I suppose if the frets are still on it that a player could purposefully play a note up there every once in a blue moon, but many's the big name player with no extensions on their mandos, including Sam Bush, Doyle Lawson and Adam Steffey, all of whom have signature Gibson F models.

[JEStanek]

It's really like an appendix for most mortal players (looks nice but not used). It was present on the Loar F-5's which serve as "the" design for most mandolins. It is used, as said before, by a few in all sorts of music. The pick click comes because the extension sits under the sweet spot for plucking the strings and your pick hits it as you pick.

Scooping the extension means removing the frets and taking out about 1/2 - 3/4 of the material so there is more clearance for the pick (eliminating pick click). Other folks either build mandolins without the extension or choose to remove it entirely.

The debate as to the affects on tone by the added mass (if any affect) of the raised extension are probably negligible unless you play a very fine mandolin very well.

Welcome to the cafe.

Jamie

[Eugene]

When Loar (via Gibson), L&H, Calace, Embergher etc. were building mandolins fretted to 24, 29, or even more, they were built because people were writing and playing music to go that high. Most American mandolin production is a knock off of that era's Gibsons. If the player doesn't intend to use it, I don't think there's much point to buying a mandolin fretted that high.

[glauber]

I always assumed that the higher frets were put there to match the range of the violin.

[red7flag]

There is the Sam Bush and Weber answer where the fretboard is cut off at a right angle. Sam's version has a little indent at the top, not sure why, however. I personally like the angled look of the Collings and many other makers. It angles down from the top at roughly a 45 degree angle. Personally, I think this fits more with the scroll look, or even the A styles. That is my take.
Tony

[Jim Hilburn]

I lost one of my earliest sales to a classical player who wanted 24 frets.
I had made an abbrieviated fingerboard with 21 frets and when he saw the photo of it, it was a deal-breaker.

[fredfrank]

It seems I heard that Dave Appolon used one of the notes on that extension for one song that he did. He is rumored to have removed the fret just before the one he used so it would be easier to hit cleanly.

[tattiemando]

I think Andrew Mowry's stubby fret board extension looks terrific. i also beleive it looks elegant and classy