flamenco guitar fretboard width

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>General >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

rafapak

Posts: 271
Joined: Aug. 9 2015

flamenco guitar fretboard width

most flamenco guitars I saw have pretty wide fretboard at the neck. This one on the other hand seems to be a bit narrower. Looks like you can ask luthier to build for you guitar with not that wide fretboard at the neck

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6166322256783054&set=a.547129065369096

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 15 2023 21:27:50

Stu

Posts: 2538
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

Hi, not quite sure what you mean.

'Thin at the neck'

That picture doesn't look a particularly thin neck to me.

But yes you can specify with a luthier within reasonable parameters.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 15 2023 22:48:26

orsonw

Posts: 1941
Joined: Jul. 4 2009
From: London

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

quote:

This one on the other hand seems to be a bit narrower. Looks like you can ask luthier to build for you guitar with not that wide fretboard at the neck

This looks standard width, e.g. around 52mm. This is a Hermanos Sanchis guitar and they are usually 52mm.

And as you know from luthier replies in other threads of yours, you can ask a luthier to build a narrower width. Just don't be surprised if you find that a narrow width can be harder to play.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 11:18:47

devilhand

Posts: 1608
Joined: Oct. 15 2019

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

You should be less concerned about the width of the fingerboard. A wider neck can be even desirable for flamenco playing. Average hand size and finger length can handle the standard 52mm.
Imo the important factor for playability is the distance between frets. But we use capo.

_____________________________

Say No to Fuera de Compás!!!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 12:12:08

Morante

Posts: 2184
Joined: Nov. 21 2010

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to orsonw)

quote:

This looks standard width, e.g. around 52mm.

Mine is 55 (

) . Don`t bother me or any pro tocaor who has played it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 15:54:20

rafapak

Posts: 271
Joined: Aug. 9 2015

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

thanks for replies

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 16:10:17

Ricardo

Posts: 14845
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

It is not just the neck and fingerboard but the slots carved into the nut. The skinny neck guitars are for cross over players that use a pick and want the feel of the steel string acoustics or even electric guitars. Perhaps even the thumb goes over top for bass notes on certain chords.

But for serious fingerstyle players it is surprising but the guitar is more difficult to play if the strings taper down that way. My student had a Sanchis and I measured it and realized the only reason my Conde felt better (by his opinion not only mine) was the slots brought the strings closer. He purchased a new nut blank, measured my conde string spacing, and carved a new nut. The guitar magically turned into butter smooth play ability. I don’t know why but I feel the top builders are aware of this but deliberately make nuts that way for lower end instruments, so that there appears to be this imagined gap between price points.

Felipe Conde jr brought what had the superior instrument tone to Sanlucar once and I was baffled by his ridiculous nut, not unlike what I described. Maybe his dad made him do that so people would think papa’s guitar was more valuable? I told him WTF with this nut??? He quickly said he could easily make a new one, but I said don’t ever do that again!!!

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 17:10:24

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

quote:

most flamenco guitars I saw have pretty wide fretboard at the neck. This one on the other hand seems to be a bit narrower. Looks like you can ask luthier to build for you guitar with not that wide fretboard at the neck

what guitar are you used to playing? I guess not any kind of spanish/nylon guitar, flamenco or classical. 52mm is standard, I had one that was 54mm for a long time, it was a touch wide, but ok. I prefer 53mm and have two made like that by Stephen Eden.

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 17:23:12

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

for serious fingerstyle players it is surprising but the guitar is more difficult to play if the strings taper down that way. My student had a Sanchis and I measured it and realized the only reason my Conde felt better (by his opinion not only mine) was the slots brought the strings closer. He purchased a new nut blank, measured my conde string spacing, and carved a new nut. The guitar magically turned into butter smooth play ability. I don’t know why but I feel the top builders are aware of this but deliberately make nuts that way for lower end instruments, so that there appears to be this imagined gap between price points.

confused, what does "strings taper down that way" mean, was the conde or sanchis string spacing wider?

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 17:25:41

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to rafapak)

quote:

This one on the other hand seems to be a bit narrower. Looks like you can ask luthier to build for you guitar with not that wide fretboard at the neck

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6166322256783054&set=a.547129065369096

looks standard to me, if anything the scale is maybe short.

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 17:27:34

orsonw

Posts: 1941
Joined: Jul. 4 2009
From: London

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to Morante)

quote:

Mine is 55

When I commissioned Jeronimo Perez to build me a guitar, I asked for 54mm and a 670mm scale. I have average/medium size hands.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 16 2023 18:10:40

Ricardo

Posts: 14845
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to mark indigo)

quote:

confused, what does "strings taper down that way" mean,

Take a guitar and compare width at bridge between strings, to the string spacing at the nut.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 17 2023 14:36:35

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

Take a guitar and compare width at bridge between strings, to the string spacing at the nut.

yeah, I KNOW the strings are wider at bridge than nut, like, on all my guitars present and past... what I meant was, how were the guitars referred to different?

quote:

The skinny neck guitars are for cross over players that use a pick and want the feel of the steel string acoustics or even electric guitars. Perhaps even the thumb goes over top for bass notes on certain chords.

But for serious fingerstyle players it is surprising but the guitar is more difficult to play if the strings taper down that way.

if these guitars have narrower necks, I assume they also have narrower bridges too? And have similar ratio between nut and bridge to a standard spanish classical or flamenco guitar (are we talking 42mm nut or something for these guitars?). Or do they not? is the nut wider compared to the bridge, or narrower? I know guitars "taper", just not clear what exactly "that way" is in this case.

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 17 2023 21:09:14

Ricardo

Posts: 14845
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: flamenco guitar fretboard width (in reply to mark indigo)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mark indigo

quote:

Take a guitar and compare width at bridge between strings, to the string spacing at the nut.
yeah, I KNOW the strings are wider at bridge than nut, like, on all my guitars present and past... what I meant was, how were the guitars referred to different?

quote:

The skinny neck guitars are for cross over players that use a pick and want the feel of the steel string acoustics or even electric guitars. Perhaps even the thumb goes over top for bass notes on certain chords.

But for serious fingerstyle players it is surprising but the guitar is more difficult to play if the strings taper down that way.
if these guitars have narrower necks, I assume they also have narrower bridges too? And have similar ratio between nut and bridge to a standard spanish classical or flamenco guitar (are we talking 42mm nut or something for these guitars?). Or do they not? is the nut wider compared to the bridge, or narrower? I know guitars "taper", just not clear what exactly "that way" is in this case.

The issue is yes, if the string spacing is closer overall, AND, surprisingly when it is “normal” like a Conde let’s say at the bridge, there are guitars out there whose nuts have string slots that are deliberately cramming the strings together, not taking advantage of the wide enough neck/fingerboard design….and there must be some mentality that lower end or student guitars “need” this situation, yet these instruments are much harder to play. When a student “graduates” to a more expensive instrument, it is often the case the nut allows a string spacing much wider than the lower end equivalent guitar, and to me it is likely deliberate. Simply cutting a new nut might turn a lower end student guitar into something that feels like a concert guitar “magically”.

The OP is an admitted lower level student and is already operating under the assumption that he might need a narrow neck model guitar, and I felt a need to remove that from his mind.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 18 2023 16:20:32