Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey guys...

Fender made a short scale 30" bass with six strings, tuned e, a, d, g, b, e just like a reg. guitar, but down an octave, in the 1960-70's. I am building one with very similar specs, but I would like to change the fingerboard radius from the 9.5" that Fender used to 12". The main reason why I want to do this is because I have a 12" radius sanding block, but not a 9.5" one.

But also... it is my understanding that the lower the radius (i.e. the rounder the board) the more comfortable it is to play chords, but that single note solos tend to choke off notes that are bent, because as you push the string up and over the radius hump, the rest of the string gets closer to the neighboring frets until the note dies. But with a higher, flatter radius, it isn't as comfy to play chords towards the nut, but you can noodle for days as you solo.

Well... with a Bass, you aren't really ever bending notes too much or playing bar chords. So... what is the going logic on bass fretboard radii? I want this bass VI to be the best dang Bass VI ever made... so, I am willing to buy a new radius sanding block... but I want to make sure that whatever decision I make, I make it from an educated pov, and not just because I think it must be so.

Use the 12"..... At this point it's almost industry standard.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I recently did a fretless conversion on a six string Ibanez bass and its f/b radius was 12 inches.