Radiuses fretboards on production ukes?

I'm in the same boat. Drives me nuts trying to get to a standard E chord. It's actually downright painful even after years of practice. I play it up the neck at 4447 even though I don't like the high voicing. I've been wondering if the radiused fretboard would help.
People's ideas here have been helpful
I do not play the 4442 E chord ever, whether radiused or not. 4447 is an option. Another (better?) is to play 444x. If on high G, the G string and the A string are playing exactly the same note, so nothing is lost and you have a complete and proper E chord.
 
… I play soprano, and haven’t found that any Pono or aNueNue sopranos come with radiused fretboards. This is after some cursory searching—I’ll keep trying.
Perhaps consider concert-sized. More space might be an option worthy of consideration, along with all the others.. Many makers of good ukuleles skip sopranos altogether. And the likelihood of a non-custom radiused soprano will be slim to almost zero.

Violins are held in a much different position than ukes. But the fingerboards are way more narrow & highly radiused. Most optimal for finger precision. Body positioning is essential to allow fingers the widest range of motion.
 
Perhaps consider concert-sized. More space might be an option worthy of consideration, along with all the others.. Many makers of good ukuleles skip sopranos altogether. And the likelihood of a non-custom radiused soprano will be slim to almost zero.

Violins are held in a much different position than ukes. But the fingerboards are way more narrow & highly radiused. Most optimal for finger precision. Body positioning is essential to allow fingers the widest range of motion.
I only play concerts. Don't like the high pitch of most sopranos and can't play a tenor. Little tiny hands and fingers to go with my little tiny under 5' body lol! I never see radiused fretboards in stores so I haven't been able to try one. Maybe one day.
 
I only play concerts. Don't like the high pitch of most sopranos and can't play a tenor. Little tiny hands and fingers to go with my little tiny under 5' body lol! I never see radiused fretboards in stores so I haven't been able to try one. Maybe one day.
In this day & age the model for purchasing is buy/try/return. For many consumer products, not just ukes.

Concerts w radiused fretboards brands/models already mentioned upthread.

No bricks & mortar musical instruments store will likely ever carry this: https://www.enya-music.com/products/ukulele-hpl-koa-mahogany-concert
 
I do not play the 4442 E chord ever, whether radiused or not. 4447 is an option. Another (better?) is to play 444x. If on high G, the G string and the A string are playing exactly the same note, so nothing is lost and you have a complete and proper E chord.
I use 4447 but don't care for the higher voicing. In key of A I'm playing A, E, D up the neck. I mostly finger pick so 444X doesn't work.
Sorry OP I didn't mean for this to turn into a hijack about playing E.
I definitely want to look at a radiused fretboard.
 
Perhaps consider concert-sized. More space might be an option worthy of consideration, along with all the others.. Many makers of good ukuleles skip sopranos altogether. And the likelihood of a non-custom radiused soprano will be slim to almost zero.

Violins are held in a much different position than ukes. But the fingerboards are way more narrow & highly radiused. Most optimal for finger precision. Body positioning is essential to allow fingers the widest range of motion.
Thanks, Wukulele. As a matter of fact, I’ve come around to that way of thinking myself. Since I first posted this thread, I’ve ordered a Barron River concert; my turn on the build list comes up in about six months! Radiused fretboard, narrow nut, and taller frets.
 
Thanks, Wukulele. As a matter of fact, I’ve come around to that way of thinking myself. Since I first posted this thread, I’ve ordered a Barron River concert; my turn on the build list comes up in about six months! Radiused fretboard, narrow nut, and taller frets.
Post up how you like it. Sounds like you and I have some of the same hand problems.
 
I do not play the 4442 E chord ever, whether radiused or not. 4447 is an option. Another (better?) is to play 444x. If on high G, the G string and the A string are playing exactly the same note, so nothing is lost and you have a complete and proper E chord.
I'll change the key of a song to avoid the E chord. I just do NOT like the way it sounds. E is for guitars.
 
So is this radiused design better on a wide or narrow board? I have ukes with very narrow and very wide fretboards and try to imagine what a radius might be like.
 
Thanks, Wukulele. As a matter of fact, I’ve come around to that way of thinking myself. Since I first posted this thread, I’ve ordered a Barron River concert; my turn on the build list comes up in about six months! Radiused fretboard, narrow nut, and taller frets.
Congratulations Patti on your purchase. A custom built Barron River will be a wonderful acquisition. Smart move on the taller frets, it makes a huge difference in ease of pay and fretting notes.

Have you picked out your woods yet? If so please share with us what they are
 
Donna- at LoPrinzi will make a uke to your specs. I'm currently waiting on African Mahogany Concert with a radiused fretboard- $695.00,
 
Congratulations Patti on your purchase. A custom built Barron River will be a wonderful acquisition. Smart move on the taller frets, it makes a huge difference in ease of pay and fretting notes.

Have you picked out your woods yet? If so please share with us what they are
Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle body & sides, spruce top. So excited! How will I ever cope with the wait? I’m on Allen McFarlen’s January 2023 build list.
 
So is this radiused design better on a wide or narrow board? I have ukes with very narrow and very wide fretboards and try to imagine what a radius might be like.
A radiused fretboard is not evenly radiused from nut to end of fretboard, like a section of a cylinder. It is more radiused (that is, rounded) at the nut end, gradually becoming less rounded at the end of the board. So it is actually conical— like a section of a cone.

Later edit: This was an assumption of mine, and perhaps not all radiuses are graduated. So I could be wrong here. Sorry. The uke I have ordered will have a graduated degree of radius.
 
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A radiused fretboard is not evenly radiused from nut to end of fretboard, like a section of a cylinder. It is more radiused (that is, rounded) at the nut end, gradually becoming less rounded at the end of the board. So it is actually conical— like a section of a cone.
Do you mean that the radius changes and is not constant? I think most people who want this think it is advantageous for barree near the nut, so I was wondering about the width of the fretboard near the nut.
 
A radiused fretboard is not evenly radiused from nut to end of fretboard, like a section of a cylinder. It is more radiused (that is, rounded) at the nut end, gradually becoming less rounded at the end of the board. So it is actually conical— like a section of a cone.
Are you sure about that? On a guitar the radius is constant up/down the fretboard.
 
Do you mean that the radius changes and is not constant? I think most people who want this think it is advantageous for barree near the nut, so I was wondering about the width of the fretboard near the nut.
The BR radius changes over the length of the fretboard... the website states it is 12" to 16". I also believe that others may have a constant radius (like they might say it has a 16" radius. (For some reason, I am getting a warning about the website having an expired security certificate)

Measuring my BR concert, nut (and fretboard width) is about 35.5 mm and g to A spacing about 27.5 mm. You may specify differently.
 
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My ukes with a radiused fretboard are all constant along their length and I always considered this the norm.

Out of interest, to those who own a Barron River, do you consider this in any way superior or noticable compared to a constant radius (and why)?
 
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