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Thread: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

  1. #1
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    not asking you to qualify why or why not, its a design change I'm working on and I personally have not needed being in that FB territory as of yet. I know the jazz folks fret all over the FB, but I'd like to get an idea of how many non-jazz players ever get into that area with your fretting hand.

    I do like to play over that area(18-21) with my pick-and its becoming more regular and this mandolin sounds really good in that region, have an A style and I'm thinking of scooping that region(I think the FB has frets up to 21, maybe 22). right now with the fretted board, I have to be more careful or i'll be hitting the board-the action is really low also and that just adds to the current issue.

    and later, I'm probably going to put a small emerld diamond inlay-assuming I scoop it.

    lastly, for us mere mortals, can any of you even get a clean nice note in those fret areas while playing-they are so tight? I sure can't. I know sierra hull and Thile can, but I also know I never will-lol


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  2. #2
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Nope, get to the A on the 17th often enough, but not the 18th.
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  4. #3
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    That its unmarked territory and should be approached with caution----"monsters live here." I cannot generate a clear note that far up the neck---sounds like tinkling glass.

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  6. #4
    Celtic Strummer Matt DeBlass's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I don't think I tend to go past 17 in the course of actually playing. I may have plinked out a couple of super high notes as special effects on occasion when messing around.
    If I call my guitar my "axe," does that mean my mandolin is my hatchet?

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  8. #5

    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I can fret an A barre chord cleanly, which uses the 19th fret on the E string, I use that one sometimes.
    Some of my mandos like that one better than others, due to where the neck joins the body,
    the issue is how far up the neck can the thumb follow before being blocked by the body.

    G barre hits the 17th fret, I use that one all the time on all my mandos.

    Picking individual notes, not so much yet, my skills up the fretboard are still a work in progress.
    When I do the aonzo scales I go up to the 17th fret only, and no they are not clean yet.
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  10. #6
    bass player gone mando
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I don't play that high on the fretboard. I realize better players do. But I'm still trying to be the best I can be from 15 frets down.
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I have too much trouble with the first 17 to worry about venturing that far into uncharted territory.
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    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I don't use those numbers above 100 on my speedometer either.
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    Mangler of Tunes OneChordTrick's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I think you’re all showing off! Save for the 12th fret (to check intonation) I never go above the 7th, that’s nosebleed territory.

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    Registered User Toni Schula's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I only have 17 frets on my mandolin.
    On electric mandola this area confuses me ;-)

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  20. #11
    Registered User Mike Buesseler's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    I would pick over that scooped area much more often that I ever fret there—which is never.

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  22. #12
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    As others have noted: yes while messing around, but not in any actual playing. Cannot fathom how anyone uses the true Loar F5 design going up to, I think, 28!
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Bd is as high as I go. I don't often need that tone but the A next door gets used often. My pinky is skinny and pointed enough to get a decent tone on B and Bd the C isn't very clear ….though when I get a refret done I have the frets replaced up to that tone.. R/
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  26. #14
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    7th is high enough for me ! ��

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    Registered User Eric Platt's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Never. Then again, that's a combination of my musical choices and my preference for short neck A model mandolins.
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    My favored stage mandolins both have 24 frets. I occasionally get some pick-click. I do play that high on A & E strings. Tremolo is useful at that position.

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  32. #17
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    As it has been said before "Ain't no money past the 7th fret".

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    Registered User Charlie Bernstein's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    The nice thing about playing that high is that I can't hear my mistakes.

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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Quote Originally Posted by JimKo View Post
    As it has been said before "Ain't no money past the 7th fret".
    That depends on your genre , style, etc. I've heard this comment mostly among folk, old-time and BG players. Even a fair number of session tunes stay in first position.

    The OP seemed to want to leave jazz playing out of the discussion, but in Klezmer, Choro, classical, etc. music I use the whole fingerboard...and even make a bit of money off those frets!

    Another issue is tone color - I like the bright tone of an Italian style mandolin, many folks want a "warmer" tone and thus play sul tasto all the time.

    But like I said, it all depends on what kind of mandolin music you are playing.

    Quote Originally Posted by EdHanrahan View Post
    As others have noted: yes while messing around, but not in any actual playing. Cannot fathom how anyone uses the true Loar F5 design going up to, I think, 28!
    My main mandolin has that many frets and at times I use all of them; one has to be very careful to get behind those tiny frets, but it works. Sometimes in english Country dance I play the whole melody up an octave and use the highest frets for special effects, the last note, etc.

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  38. #20
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    There are some old time tunes that instead of staying in the first position I will play in different places on the neck. It adds a nice different dimension. I will play an A tune starting on the 7th fret of the D string. I will also then jump to the 12th fret of the A string and play the tune going up to the 17th fret. Surprisingly it can be heard in a jam and is fun to do.

    When I play up the neck I am playing the tune exactly how it is played, just in a different position. Not improvising, keeping the exact melody in a different timber of sound is the purpose and to keep it more interesting.
    Last edited by pops1; Mar-09-2019 at 12:40pm.
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    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Quote Originally Posted by JimKo View Post
    As it has been said before "Ain't no money past the 7th fret".
    No one told that to rock and blues guitarists, or their audiences. There's always lots of cheering for the high notes, though I never figured out why, other than appreciation that the musician knows his scales and chords beyond the seventh fret.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
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  42. #22

    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Well, sometimes I do but I end up sounding a lot like Wendell Mercantile.
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  44. #23
    Registered User Cobalt's Avatar
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    There are some old time tunes that instead of staying in the first position I will play in different places on the neck. It adds a nice different dimension. I will play an A tune starting on the 7th fret of the D string. I will also then jump to the 12th fret of the A string and play the tune going up to the 17th fret. Surprisingly it can be heard in a jam and is fun to do.
    There's usually lots of reason/opportunity to play either higher or lower than usual in a jam. One reason is to avoid the momotony of playing identical melody lines in unison, an even when playing a harmony or fill-in, I consider it a mark of respect to other players to avoid stepping on their toes, so I will play on the upper frets, or way down on the G string, in order to provide some space for others to be heard.

    Having said that I don't usually get much past the 12th-14th frets, beyond that my fingers tend to be a bit too big for improvising in a jam, except very rarely for an ending note, where the chosen fret will depend on whatever is a good note to add a flourish to an ending.

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  46. #24
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Quote Originally Posted by JimKo View Post
    As it has been said before "Ain't no money past the 7th fret".
    Hmmm, I don't play for money, I play for fun. For me, trying to play for money takes the fun out of music. I don't mind getting paid, but I'd play anyway.

    My main playing mandolin is my F-9 and it only goes up to fret 20, but I do go that high occasionally depending on what key I'm playing in. I'd definitely miss frets 18 and 19 if they were gone.

    Regarding scooping the fingerboard, my backup mandolin (MK) has the Florida nicely scooped, but I still occasionally hit it while playing... While the scooped Florida looks nice, I'd prefer it just to be gone altogether like with my F-9's truncated fingerboard.
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  48. #25
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    Default Re: how many of you venture up to-or beyond the 18th fret ?

    Oh yeah, quite often. I like my oldest A-style mando with it's very small fret wires for the best tone, but I play my Loar all the time up to the 21st fret. Which is where I ended my frets on my Loar. I often am playing FFcP in the range of Bmaj up there. Blessings

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