What problems do you see with radius fretboards?

[dancephoto]

I am in the process of ordering a slightly customized tenor and I need to decide which fingerboard to request. I have read many posts by people who are convinced that radiused fretboards enhance their performance, but only a relatively few by people who disagree. I have no experience with radiused fretboards. I am a former performer on classical guitar and a folksinger before that (1960s!), and I expect that I eventually will be able to play in a few different styles. Do you think radiused fretboards make playing (or certain types of playing) more difficult Thank you for your input.

 

[vcs700s]

I am in the process of ordering a slightly customized tenor and I need to decide which fingerboard to request. I have read many posts by people who are convinced that radiused fretboards enhance their performance, but only a relatively few by people who disagree. I have no experience with radiused fretboards. I am a former performer on classical guitar and a folksinger before that (1960s!), and I expect that I eventually will be able to play in a few different styles. Do you think radiused fretboards make playing (or certain types of playing) more difficult Thank you for your input.

I love the radius fingerboard especially for bar chords.

If I ever order a custom uke that will be a must have especially for my old hands/fingers.

 

[Patty]

I can’t imagine a radius making any type of playing more difficult. In fact, guitar fretboards are usually radiused.

 

[man0a]

The main problem with radiused fretboards is that if you have already mastered flat fretboards, the radius can mess up your technique, especially if you regularly play different ukuleles.

 

[DJ Mango]

Is there a recommended radius for concert scale ? 12 inch ?

 

[Kenn2018]

It depends on the radius of the board. But the more common 12" is pretty subtle. I like them, but it's not essential.

The only thing I think of that might be a downside is that if you ever have to get a replacement nut or saddle you may want to get them from the maker. Since they are normally curved to position the strings the proper heights from the frets that are also curved.

If you played classical guitar, you may prefer a flat fretboard.

 

[vcs700s]

The main problem with radiused fretboards is that if you have already mastered flat fretboards, the radius can mess up your technique, especially if you regularly play different ukuleles.

I play both and have never had an issue going from one to another.

 

[vcs700s]

I can’t imagine a radius making any type of playing more difficult. In fact, guitar fretboards are usually radiused.

Exactly. I’ve gone back and forth between electric, acoustic, classical and ukulele for years without issue.

 

[Cadia]

I play both, and don't have an issue with either. However, my preference is for a slight radius.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I love the radius fingerboard especially for bar chords.

If I ever order a custom uke that will be a must have especially for my old hands/fingers.

I'm a fairly new ukulele player and my tenor uke has a radiused fretboard. Made learning barre chords for my small hands easy.

 

[Tomthebaptist]

I am in the process of ordering a slightly customized tenor and I need to decide which fingerboard to request. I have read many posts by people who are convinced that radiused fretboards enhance their performance, but only a relatively few by people who disagree. I have no experience with radiused fretboards. I am a former performer on classical guitar and a folksinger before that (1960s!), and I expect that I eventually will be able to play in a few different styles. Do you think radiused fretboards make playing (or certain types of playing) more difficult Thank you for your input.

It depends on the radius of the board. But the more common 12" is pretty subtle. I like them, but it's not essential.

The only thing I think of that might be a downside is that if you ever have to get a replacement nut or saddle you may want to get them from the maker. Since they are normally curved to position the strings the proper heights from the frets that are also curved.

If you played classical guitar, you may prefer a flat fretboard.

Good advice. I prefer a flat fretboard over a radius, especially for FingerStyle playing. I suppose it comes down to what “pops your corn.”

tom

 

[Tin Ear]

I play both, and don't have an issue with either. However, my preference is for a slight radius.

agree if it is radiused , a slight radius is better than a moderate or aggressive one.

But its all personal preference when it comes down to it. Flat fretboard or very slight for me.

Has a lot to do with your hand size, shape and technique.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Radius for sure. As Patty said, if only for making barre chords far easier.

 

[dancephoto]

People sometimes say radius is better for barre chords (left hand), others say the radius makes it harder to strum all the notes (right hand). Some say radius for strumming, other say flat for finger style. Is there general agreement on things like that? Are there specific reasons-why/situations-when you would discourage the use of radiused fretboards? (I have heard [COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Pete Howlett speak on the subject, for example.)[/COLOR]

 

[perep]

When I first started play a radius, picking ,my finger kept slipping off fretboard, mastered that in hurry

 

[Arcy]

Tighter radii are easier for chords but can get in the way of bending strings. Flatter radii don't help with chords (but don't hurt) and are better for individual notes. You can pick an extreme if you only care about one type of playing, or have a compound radius which is tighter by the nut for chords then flattens out for melodic playing. A compound radius probably is more useful on a guitar where you have more room for the transition.

Vintage Strats had a radius of 7¼". Most modern Strats are 9½" (Ultras are 10-14" compound). Most Les Pauls are 12". Martin and Taylor Acoustics are 15" and 16" respectively, and classical guitars are flat.

I suspect string type and tension affects this as well as playing style: a nylon string is going to wiggle more than a steel string, and so needs more room for wiggling without buzzing. You may not be able to get away with a vintage Fender radius with uke strings and low action. From previous threads here, 12" and 16" seem to be common on radiused ukes.

Mya-moe discusses their choice of 12" at https://www.myamoeukuleles.com/design philosophy.html . If you're getting a custom build, talk over pros and cons with your luthier.

Mya-Moe ukuleles have a 12" radius on all fretboards (with the exception of the lap steel). This slight radius has a tremendous affect on the player's ability and speed when fretting, especially when doing bar-chords higher up the fretboard.

 

[ripock]

I always let the luthier decide and never worry my head about stuff like zero frets, radii, nut width. My stance to the luthier is knock yourself out; do whatever you want. And then I adapt to whatever I am given. So what do I think of a fretboard with a radius? Big shrug. Meh.

 

[bbkobabe]

I have a Pono with and a Pono without... I prefer the radius fretboard personally...

And: Why am I always being told that fretboard is misspelled here on UU?

 

[Arcy]

And: Why am I always being told that fretboard is misspelled here on UU?

It's probably your local browser / system, not UU. You may be able to add it to the spelling dictionary.
Both Safari and Edge on Mac Ventura 13.0.1 are happy with my use of fretboard. Fretboard fretboard fretboard fingerboard. Safari gets annoyingly aggressive with auto-incorrect, making it difficult to enter words that it doesn't know. Edge just flags the unknown word and lets me decide if I want to leave it or correct it.

Alternatively, your system wants the slide and thinks you should pull the frets and use a fingerboard.

 

[bbkobabe]

Alternatively, your system wants the slide and thinks you should pull the frets and use a fingerboard

So going fretless will solve this problem... no, fretless is also mispeled...