Flat vs. radius again.

[357mag]

Just when I think I have found a niche in some aspect of playing these things, something comes along to nullify it, and I have to re-examine everything.
I have been happily playing my two MKs with predictable progress for the time I spend practising.
Friday night I picked up my really low end Pacrim F and to my amazement, I played it better than I do my MKs. The first thing I thought of was it has a flat fret board and that really is turning out to be my preference. But the action is happening with my RIGHT HAND!! Im hitting the target strings faster,cleaner and resulting in much better clearer tone. What the heck is going on? Anybody have any ideas?

[jim_n_virginia]

it just depends on which one you get used to. Some people can play both. I prefer a flatboard and I think I am faster and pick cleaner on a flat. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[John Flynn]

Radiuses seem to be a tradeoff between the left and right hands. To me, the radius seems easier on the left, but takes some getting used to on the right. Bill Bussman told me that he can hear when a player is playing a radiused board, but is not yet used to it.

That is why I am convinced the gold standard is the compound radius, which allows for a lot of curvature for the left hand, but a fairly flat plane for the right hand. Rigels are 9.5" at the nut, 16" at the end of the fretboard and 20-something at the bridge. While I much prefer my Old Wave for tone, I can learn tunes and techniques more quickly on the Rigel.

[sunburst]

Two things:

1. It might not be the radius vs flat thing at all.
Check the string spacing at the bridges, between the unisons as well as between the coarses. That can make a big difference in right hand accuracy.

2. Almost all steel string guitars, acoustic and electric, have radiused boards and coorespondingly radiused saddles, and I very seldom hear of anyone having trouble with the picking hand with the radiused saddle on a guitar. I don't know why so many people want the strings flat under their picking hand on a mandolin, and so few want them flat on a steel string guitar.