radius board

[bluegrassdan]

Hi

I want to get a local luthier to build me a mandolin with a radius and he buys material from Stewart MacDonald. They sell a 12 " radius board. Is that the standard size. I have no way of trying a mandolin with one living where I live so need some help. Thanks

[John Flynn]

The radius on my Rigel, which I really like, is a compound radius that starts at 9.5" and tapers to 16" at the end of the fret board. So most of the time I am playing around a 12" radius, give or take. I consider 12" a "moderate" or "medium" radius.

However, a good luthier should be able to put whatever radius you want on a fretboard. There was a recent discussion on the builder's section on this topic and it seemed that the luthiers who responded did thier own radiusing. I got the impression that the StewMac 12" board was more for "do it yourself-ers."

[Brian Ray]

A 12" radius is very mild. I'm not sure there's a "standard" but the 12" is often used.

I have a 12" on my F and a 7 1/4" on my A. 7 1/4 is VERY aggressive! My next mando (an likely any future ones) will have a 9" or perhaps a 10".

As for you luthier, he could likely order a flat board and an apropriate radius block and make it whatever you want...

[fatt-dad]

I have just gone through this difficult decision and decided to go with 7 in at the nut and 14 in at the bridge. Lou Stiver did the work, the mandolin is in transit and I do not have a full report. Mr. Stiver thought that 7 in at the nut was not too radical. Apparently there are some that go with 3 inches!

f-d

[fatt-dad]

Received my Stiver! The 7 to 14 inch compound radius is great - not too radical, feels real good in the hand.

f-d

[Jasper]

Hello All,

I understand the concept of a radiused fretboard (I think)...tapered from center of the fretboard to the edges? But I don't understand the jargon concerning a 7" radius vs. a 14" radius, etc. Can someone explain this to me in relatively simple terms?

Thanks,

Jasper

[Steve Stahl]

Jasper,

Think of a radiused fretboard as a section of a cone. The 7" radius, or narrower part of the cone is at the nut. The 14" radius is at the wider (and flatter) part of the cone and near the bridge.

[fatt-dad]

Basically each fret ends up having the shape of the edge of a circle. If you can imagine a circle with a 7 in radius then the one-and-one-half-inch-long (plus or minus) fret wire would have the same shape as the outer edge of that circle. As you work your way up the fretboard, the curvature of the fretwires would gradually become less and less and less (i.e., going from the 7 to the 14 inch radius).

You can do a high-school experiment with a piece of string and a pencil. Make the string length 7 inches to the pencil and draw an arch of a circle and then make it 14 inches and draw a circle. If you want to you can draw a straight line tangential to each of these curves to "see" the difference in shape from a flat to a radius fretboard. Not too much, but something none the less.

Hope that this helped.

fatt-dad

[Jasper]

Thanks fatt-dad. I just didn't quite understand the 7" and 14" radius reference the tapered fretboard. Now makes all the sense in the world. I have never actually played a radiused fretboard, so really don't know if I would like it. Will have to give it a try soon.

Jasper

[Tom C]

Jasper,
I always played a flat. When I got my new mando I got a 12" and I am very happy with it.