Fanned Frets

Dove has fanned frets: 25.5" bass vs. 25" treble strings.

I'm exploring the ergonomic aspects of fanned frets, in particular as a means of reducing the amount of forearm rotation required. I became interested in this topic after breaking the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) in my left wrist while rock climbing. For more than a year, the break was excruciatingly painful whenever I attempted to rotate my forearm, and made it extremely difficult to play even basic chords.

The break also made me aware of how much pressure is placed on the human wrist under conventional fretting conditions.

The concept of slanting frets has existed for at least six hundred years. Out of respect for intellectual property rights, I wrote to Novax Guitars — the most recent patent holder of this technology — and asked for permission to use the idea. Mary B. was kind enough to acquiesce:

"No, we don't sell Fanned-Fret fretboards. However, if you go to our web site and then to Links-Resources, you'll find a link to luthier Mike Doolin's article explaining how he cuts a Fanned-Fret fingerboard. And our patent has expired, so you are free to build as many Fanned-Fret instruments as you wish."

In studying how contemporary luthiers are applying fanned-fret technology, I became concerned by the amount of over-rotation required to play this technology. Although there might be sonic advantages, the ergonomic disadvantages more than negate. I want an instrument that not only sounds better, but is easier to play.

So the premise I'm experimenting with on Dove is to use a (conventional) perpendicular nut, and to mathematically compensate only toward the bridge. The wrist begins in a neutral position, and the index finger progressively rotates toward your navel as you move higher up the neck. So far, I love the way it sounds and feels.

Try it — play some air guitar in front of your computer!

Next we'll discuss Dove's compensatory bridge design.

DOVE SERIES:

Dove Takes Flight
Dovetail
Hip Hole
"Black & White" vs. "Shades of Gray"
"Explosive, sustained action!"
Fanned Frets
Fanned Fret Compensating Bridge

Comments

[Ola Strandberg]

Love it as always! It looks like you've got only 18 frets? Will the bridge sit towards the rear edge like on a bass?

I am working my way ever so slowly to my first prototype ergonomic instrument and am tempted to go "all-in" and use a fanned fret design in addition to the twisted neck. The issue that one would run into is that string bending downwards (towards the floor) is not possible with a twisted neck. Without having tried it, I believe that the fanned fret layout would counteract string bending upwards. What are your thoughts?

The solution might be using a scalloped fretboard and bend strings into the fretboard....

[John]

Rick,
absolutely love the no holds barred approach to the design. I've been thinking of doing something like this made and you've come up with all the innovations I had in my head, fanned frets, twisting neck, erg body etc.
so well done for both approaching this creatively and actually doing it.
Really interested in seeing how the finished product plays.

[Alberto Muti]

I already knew this article, but recently a doubt rose in my mind about fanned-frets layouts; as far as i saw, Dove's frets are in a way less "fanned" than other f.f. guitars i saw, i suppose it's because of the different approach you have to it in order to make it ergonomical, though this is just my speculation, anyway, i use a lot of natural harmonics in my playing, and like to use a Slide too (even if i''m not really a slide player, so i do pretty bassic things with it): how does this kind of fretboard design interact with this two elements? does it require some adjustment and use to be able to play that way, or is it outright impossible? (i'm mainly thinking about slide...)

[Mats Eriksson]

I love this! However, there's a question I asked long ago in the other forum www.buildingtheergonomicguitar.com that came into light with the following statement:

"Although there might be sonic advantages, the ergonomic disadvantages more than negate. I want an instrument that not only sounds better, but is easier to play."

Which is: How much would you go, in order to sacrifice one or the other? Like, how far could you go with ergonomics before it would impact negatively on the actual sound or intonation on the guitars? Or the other way around, how much could you go - at lengths - to produce a great sustaining guitar (i.e., weight for example) or great sounds, while sacrificing playability or ergonomics? Is there a dividing line?

Also, on those Fanned Frets instruments I've played so far, which have huge multi-scale range (i.e., from lowest string to highest) I feel a greater lack of inharmonicity which is good for intonation. The less inharmonic they are, so much the better for intonation and tuning. The longer the strings, the less inharmonic they seem to be. Which means that you can tune by using the dreaded 7th harmonic node mode, which is a no-no on most regular guitars due to the difference in build ups by a couple of cents each time.

I'm wondering why you've settled on this particular multi-scale span?

/Mats

[Mats Eriksson]

Also, I do have some kind of suspicion of "too fanned" — when playing guitar, especially electric, one's used to doing string bends, even at the first few frets, when playing country and blues bends. Say, if a fret goes the other way it might not bend at all, or might not bend in pitch as much as on a regular straight-fret guitar.

Way up high, when you bend you just have to bend the string a little, and then the pitch goes way up, because it is helped by the fret is slanted the other way, which raisies in pitch more quickly. All of which leaves you to adapt your bending technique to go with how much or not the pitch will bend — as it used to — on a fanned fret guitar.

I think on bass, with wound strings and given that you really don't bend that much at all, the fanned fret thing will prove more beneficial.

[Rick Toone]

/Mats — thanks for all your thinking, and comments. Multi-scale (fanned fret) design is currently an area of interest for me, and I am exploring the topic in depth.

My favorite offset at the moment is 1.5" for guitar. That seems to be an effective balance between harmonic tonality and ergonomic comfort.

I plan to write more about this topic in the future.