Fanned Frets

[601210]

I came across this while avoiding schoolwork:

http://buildingtheergonomicguitar.com/2008/03/fanned-fret-electric-guitar.html

Kinda interesting. What would fanned frets do to a guitar? I'd expect it would create intonation problems, and I don't see how it would be an improvement. Would anyone care to explain?

 

[guitarzan13]

Now that is different!!

 

[bluesy]

I believe Rickenbacher had a similar model with "angled" frets in the late 70's

 

[KevinB]

Rickenbacker's frets were angled - to allow a more natural playing position - but not fanned.

Mostly I see fanned frets on basses where they allow very accurate intonation. Basses typically have large differences in string gauges (say from .045 to .130 on a 5 string PBass) compared to regular guitars (.009 to .042 on a Strat) and consequently have more issues with intonation across all frets.

 

[Gaber_771]

i saw John Mayer play a guitar with fanned frets this past summer in Birmingham AL. I didnt look like that though... body more looked like a guitar i guess. the fretwork was of the same shape though...

 

[KokoTele]

Fanned frets are both a little more ergonomic and function to give you different scale lengths for each string. Intonation is just as good as any other style of frets.

 

[Vizcaster]

Funny, I came across this while avoiding work work.

Isn't there a downside to the fanned frets? You've got a very long scale on one string and a short scale on the other (can't figure out if its the treble E with the shorter scale, looks that way, though) so there will be an exaggeration in the tension differences for the strings. It would be like having a light-top really-heavy-bottom string set. Easier to reach but then harder to press down or bend?

 

[Rob DiStefano]

Fanned frets have been around for a long time - too long, IMO. Kinda like the non-QWERTY keyboard. No thanx to either, for me.

 

[chaddukes]

Robert Irizarry's website (buildingtheergonomicguitar.com) is a great one.

Funny, I came across this while avoiding work work.

Isn't there a downside to the fanned frets? You've got a very long scale on one string and a short scale on the other (can't figure out if its the treble E with the shorter scale, looks that way, though) so there will be an exaggeration in the tension differences for the strings. It would be like having a light-top really-heavy-bottom string set. Easier to reach but then harder to press down or bend?

The differences in tension is a big part of the reason for a multi-scale. But, a question that I have is does the angled frets make bending impossible. On the lower strings if you have to bend down you might actually shorten the length of the string?

 

[KokoTele]

Funny, I came across this while avoiding work work.

Isn't there a downside to the fanned frets? You've got a very long scale on one string and a short scale on the other (can't figure out if its the treble E with the shorter scale, looks that way, though) so there will be an exaggeration in the tension differences for the strings. It would be like having a light-top really-heavy-bottom string set. Easier to reach but then harder to press down or bend?

You're right, but there are trade offs with every design decision. A longer scale length feels and sounds different than a shorter scale length with heavier strings.

 

[marshman]

Every fan-fretted instrument I'd seen prior to that one had two significant differnces--

1) the frets came to 'normal' or 'perpendicular to the strings' at some point and actually began to fan the other way eventually, and

2) the bridge allowed for much greater variation of length, or was a set of individually placed bridges a la the Ibanez 'Mono-rails'

It also looked tough for me, because it made the stretches even longer at the headstock end of the neck...a '4 fret reach' with your index finger on the 2nd fret was now about the same as a 5 fret reach on a 'normal' guitar, at least if crossing strings was required...imagine trying to play "Message in a Bottle" on one of those jewels.

Serious bonus points for thinking outside the box, though.