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jerseyguy
Feb-12-2008, 4:28pm
Hi everyone, I'm a long-time (but not great) guitar player with a little arthritis in my left hand. I also play some octave mando and would now like to try some mandolin. Do you know of mandolins that have fretboards that are a little wider than others? I know that Washburn makes one such model

http://www.washburn.com/products/bluegrass/mandolins/m120.aspx

and there's a Beharrel up on ebay right now that the same claim is made for (I know there's another thread on that here). Any others? Thanks.

Eric F.
Feb-12-2008, 5:24pm
Breedlove fretboards are 1 3/16, I believe. Big Muddy offers 1 1/4 as an option. Many others make 1 3/16 or offer it as an option. I think Collings offers that option now.

Lee Callicutt
Feb-12-2008, 9:25pm
You'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you get used to that skinny little neck!

cbarry
Feb-22-2008, 5:12pm
You could also look for a used Rigel. They were 1 3/16ths, too. And radiused. I tried my best to get used to a Flatiron with a 1 1/16th nut, but I just made far fewer mistakes when playing a mando with a wider nut, so I sold it. And it was a great sounding instrument! Nothing wrong with wider nuts. Radim Zenkl and Sam Bush seem to like them just fine.
Chuck

mzuch
Feb-22-2008, 8:08pm
It's not just the nut width, its the neck profile that matters. Try an Old Wave. Mine is the most playable mandolin for middle-aged hands I've yet to encounter.

John L
Feb-23-2008, 11:32am
I know a great mandolin player with hands the size of baseball gloves - you get used to the size of the neck and probably will not want a wide neck one once you do.

Siminole
Feb-23-2008, 12:57pm
I am a bit older myself, and have minor problems with arthritis, I have never found the standard fretboard to be a problem, believe me your finger will adapt. #Not really a big deal. #Good luck and enjoy....

Al # # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

JGWoods
Feb-23-2008, 2:36pm
Old oval hole Gibsons from the teens had big fat necks on them. I am not sure when they changed to a narrower neck, whether in the 20s or earlier, but my 1917 A4 is nice and wide.
Rigels mostly had 1 and 3/16" nut/necks.
Breedloves have the same.

I have stiff hands from age and profession and it took me two years before I could easily curl my index finger for the first and second fret on the E strings.

dhmando
Feb-24-2008, 8:16pm
We have several wide neck models, Bush F-5's are 1 1/4" and radius, wide neck F-5G's are the same, but flat. We also have a brand new model with a 1 3/16" nut width. It's called the Victorian F-5 and was a hit at the recent NAMM show. VERY comfortable to play I might add!