Fret Not, My Love

One of the skills I have worked hard at mastering is fretwork. You might be surprised by the influence frets have on the tone of an instrument. The art and science of installing these fine bits of wire can steal vibration — tone — from an otherwise excellent instrument, or they can elevate an already fine instrument into the realm of transcendent.

As you think about the physics of the guitar neck, realize the fretboard is the portion under primary compression. The force of the strings is attempting to collapse the neck on itself, and the humble fretboard withstands the full brunt of the onslaught.

Remove a fretboard from an instrument and it becomes a noodly appendage. Two octaves worth of slots sawn nearly through a sub-quarter-inch piece weakens it nearly on par with kerfling. Frets — tiny "T" shaped bits of wire — fill the slots, shore up the structure, and provide convenient intonation points as well.

Most kind of them.

Subtle differences become greatly amplified (or subtracted) when multiplied times twenty four. If there are any air gaps in slot-to-tang fit, or the frets don't perfectly seat against the fretboard, valuable tone is stolen. Compounded over the full fretboard, the difference becomes quite audible.

The technique I'm currently using is a combination of press and hammer. Once the fretboard is leveled to tolerance, I pre-bend each piece of fretwire to match the fretboard radius, including compound radius instruments. Slot depths have been precisely cut to match the tang dimensions — plus a 32nd or less (for changes in temperature and humidity) — so when the fret is fully seated the remaining gap below the tang is negligible.

It can be a time consuming process. The multi-scale (fanned fret) guitar shown below is an investment of nearly two days, pre-leveling and crowning, to slot and install frets. I prefer stainless steel fretwire, which lasts much longer, is non-toxic, does not tarnish, and contributes upper register harmonics to notes.

Warmoth 6100 is the good stuff.

I'd like to take a moment to introduce Simplicity, the guitar I am currently building. All other projects — including Cupid (which will get retrofitted) — are temporarily on hold, because this headless demonstration instrument will test my new hardware system...the partnership collaboration with Townsend Machine:

• Multi-scale capable string height and intonation adjustable nut
• Multi-scale capable bridge
• Multi-scale capable body-mounted tuning

The Trapezoidal Neck Profile under construction below is quarter-sawn curly red oak and hickory. The fretboard is hickory. Side position markers are walnut. All indigenous hardwoods. Frets are stainless steel as mentioned before. Abalone octave inlays. 7075 aircraft grade aluminum truss core. Click to enlarge.

LEARN MORE: Simplicity

Comments

[goran]

absolutely beautiful! so elegant and inviting. this neck is screaming: "play meeeee" =)
large side dots are an excellent choice. as the time goes by i like blank fretboard (no fret markers) more and more. it makes one more focused on creating and playing. on my acoustic guitar there are only 2 side markers: on the 5th and on the 12th fret.
large fretwire this time?

very unusual wood choice. i am very curious to hear the sound this guitar will produce.
for some reason i suspect that the body shape will be a big surprise (as always).

don't make us wait too long.

;)

[Rick Toone]

Sharp eyes, Goran!

Both oak and hickory seem like perfect candidates for 21st century lutherie. Local, indigenous, plentiful and does not involve trafficking in endangered species or with tropical rainforests.

Oak is an incredibly strong structural material, much stiffer than maple. Hickory is my new favorite wood. In my opinion, it may even surpass ebony as fretboard material for its hardness, beauty, and ability to grip frets as well as take a finish.

The large side dots make it really easy to see your hand position, even on a darkened stage. Readily visible to the player, yet invisible to the audience. I debated with myself regarding including the abalone octave inlays but found two matching pieces that are soooo beautiful in the light...

(couldn't resist)

[martin]

Flawless workmanship again, can't wait to see the whole instrument.

Oak is a great wood to work with. I've built a 2 string EUB last year from a solid piece of oak and it sounds just fine. It was my first try at lutherie and I learned a lot.

Keep us posted!

[Rick Toone]

Two string EUB of oak?! That's a must see...very cool. Send photos!

[05Ric]

Rick I am loving your work.
This looks wonder/beauty-full.

[Ciprian]

Regarding the frets, a lot of luthiers seem to have switched to Plek machines, but I don't know if they work with fanned frets. I've only heard good things about the technology. Have you had any contact with it? www.plek.com

[Rick Toone]

Ciprian — cool technology. Thanks for the link. Far beyond my current budget and production needs, but may become useful in the near future...

:)

[Kenny Thompson]

Rick, what did you finish this neck with?

[Rick Toone]

Kenny — I'm trying to remember, but I'm pretty sure it was blood and used motor oil. Heh.

[Kenny Thompson]

Ah!

That explains why it looks so...looks so...epic and brutal.

[Rick Toone]

Truthfully...I might have just wiped (tap) water on the raw wood, to get a sense of the grain. Don't tell anyone.

[Kenny Thompson]

Don't worry -- your secret is safe with me.

In fact, I might just repress this information myself. I like the mystery of these photos the most; with just the neck like this I can't keep my imagination in check!

[Lon Rago]

Awesome concept. I've been toying with a lot of these ideas for a few years now, but still haven't got around to building anything. I'm just wondering something about the fret layout. It almost looks like there is little or no offset at the first fret. Do you have a favorite layout for the multi-scale guitars and which fret typically is perpendicular to the centerline of the neck?

[Rick Toone]

Lon — it does not really matter which fret is perpendicular to the centerline of the neck. In fact, multi-scale guitars may not have any frets perpendicular to the centerline. What really matters is the degree of scale-length offset in relation to wrist rotation. I've posted a detailed article. LINK | http://www.toone-townsend.com/2010/05/multiscale-fanned-fret-fretboard-design.html