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A fret board isn't 100% necessary

Posted by Kirk on May 17, 2018 at 9:14am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

You *can* fret directly onto your neck piece of wood.  Notice Shane's fretless builds, he burns fret markers directly into the neck wood, and strings her up!  Frets aren't going to weaken the wood.  If you use a round over bit on a router to shape your neck, then put on a fretboard ... and 3/4" thick neck, with a 1/4" fretboard makes a big fat 1 inch thick neck!  Not everyone likes baseball bats for necks. 

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Replies

  • Jamie O'Grady May 19, 2018 at 1:27pm

    I actually use both methods, cutting frets directly into the neck, and cutting into fret boards. I've had no problems with bowing or twisting thanks to laminating the neck. I think it's easier cutting accurately into a fret board using my jigs, however I love the look of the fretted neck.

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  • JP Lace Master May 18, 2018 at 6:11pm
    I've never seen the need for a fretboard on a CBG, most of the ones I've made are with broom handles or lengths of 2x1, rigidity is never an issue and all that is needed is a slide to actually play the thing. the only time frets and a fretboard come into play is when I use a second hand 6 string neck for one of my builds and even then, the slide is still a good option, it just suits the style of guitar.
  • Taffy Evans May 18, 2018 at 5:43pm

    Hi, couple of things not mentioned yet.

    It depends on the timber used for the neck.

    A fingerboard timber is normally denser than the neck and can provide provide stability and better holding power for frets.

    Im not sure if adding a fingerboard adds more depth to the neck, making it clubby, because I would have to add that much more thickness to the neck timber, for stability.

    And maybe less than firm fitting frets in their slots or, a soft neck timber, could allow the neck to compress under string pressure and bow up, over time.

    Just things I weigh up before building.

    Taff

  • darryl kernaghan May 17, 2018 at 11:04am

    A fretboard is rarely a necessity on a 3 or 4 stringer, but along with rigidity, it presents options re action  height, and much more, you can play with the contrast of different timbers etc, but overall ,it gives you the best chance of minimising distortion, and a better chance of sitting for a few months and just needing a tuning tweak to play, Shane's fretless builds are as you say fretless, with enough height it could be a banana, and Shane could make it sound ok, but it's nice to pick up a guitar that's been neglected for a few months, tweak the tuners 1/2 a step and play

  • Korrigan May 17, 2018 at 10:08am

    No, it's not necessary but two or more pieces laminated together should be much less likely to bow or twist than a single piece of wood.

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