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Thread: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

  1. #1

    Default Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    Please forgive the undoubtedly amateurish question, but I am new to the mandolin. I played fiddle for many years and their fingerboards have such a steep radius it's unmistakable. The radiused fretboards of mandolins I've seen are so shallow by comparison that I often miss it. I am trying to determine if my Kentucky 272 Artist has a radiused fretboard. I recently learned Kentucky made some with flat fretboards (about 1 in 10).

    The fretboard on mine looks to me like it has a slight radius. Can anyone more experienced tell from these photos?
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    Last edited by Cliff Seruntine; Jan-15-2018 at 8:35am.

  2. #2
    Registered User Frankdolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    It looks like it has a radius to me. Enjoy playin'

  3. #3

    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    I just got a new mando and I had the exact same question... and I've been "fiddling" (ha ha, dad joke) with this instrument for 7 years. The radius is so slight that, if it is there, I barely notice it.

    My goal is to do the opposite of you - move to fiddle someday. But right now kids/job/wife I need to focus on 1 instrument... or 3. Definitely not fiddle.
    ---
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    It looks like it has a radius to me. Enjoy playin'
    Yep, that is radiused.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  5. #5

    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Harris View Post
    I just got a new mando and I had the exact same question... and I've been "fiddling" (ha ha, dad joke) with this instrument for 7 years. The radius is so slight that, if it is there, I barely notice it.

    My goal is to do the opposite of you - move to fiddle someday. But right now kids/job/wife I need to focus on 1 instrument... or 3. Definitely not fiddle.
    I played the Celtic wire harp for many years before getting into the fiddle. Odd as it might sound, it made me more apt for the mandolin than the fiddle. Plucking a harp is similar to picking a mandolin. Bowing a fiddle is a different beast altogether.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    I regularly work on (and test) fiddles, and it is surprising at just how little fretted technique transfers over.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  7. #7
    Registered User Ausdoerrt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    Quote Originally Posted by Folkmusician.com View Post
    I regularly work on (and test) fiddles, and it is surprising at just how little fretted technique transfers over.
    Yeah, works much better in the opposite direction

  8. #8
    en kunnskapssøker James Miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    How do you like the radius fretboard in comparison to a flat one?

  9. #9

    Default Re: Is My Mandolin Fretboard Radiused?

    Quote Originally Posted by James Miller View Post
    How do you like the radius fretboard in comparison to a flat one?
    Honestly, after years on the fiddle, I find both so flat I don't really notice.

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