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Permalink Reply by Keith on April 21, 2016 at 5:57am

I have only seen this recently, from the guys at Andertons in the UK, Rob Chapman had a low buck build on contest between him a the other guy that calls himself the captain, anyway that was the first I had heard of it and while interesting I am a very tactile player and my finger usually goes all the way to the wood while fretting.  Don't know if I could play a scalloped board.. never held or tried it though...

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on April 21, 2016 at 6:35am

Scalloped necks  take some  getting used  to  , without  getting  the cheese cutter effect.   they  require only  a feather light touch  compared  to  a regular  neck  , and are  more-so  beneficial  for speed  metal   or very  fast  playing  . 

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Permalink Reply by J.D. on April 21, 2016 at 10:45am

They do look uncomfortable to play ,but I have never played or come across anyone else that plays them.They are rare.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on April 21, 2016 at 10:59am

most scalloped  guitars  you see  are done at home  by their  owners  with a  rasp  /  file   .

but  it has to  be  done carefully  .

very very  few  manufacturers   include  this process  .   i  believe  the  ibanez  jem  ,  has   the  first  4 frets scallopped  ,  but   very  slightly

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on April 21, 2016 at 10:50am

Had one. LOVED IT! If the guitar already has low action it's like playing on air. Most people never realize they're pressing down on the fretboard of a guitar to hard. Playing on a scalloped fret board on a well setup guitar is a great way to find out.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on April 21, 2016 at 4:12pm

Fender makes scalloped guitar necks. 

Personally I think most manufactured scalloped necks are cut in to deeply. It doesn't take much to remover the necessary wood to make it work. Possibly done for show? Because it looks cool I guess. 

If you do plan on making one for yourself remember the frets need a strong base to sit in. And don't go as deep as you see in the store bought necks. All your doing is removing the 'landing' wood for your fingers. Remover 1/16 and start from there. 

I had no trouble at all playing any song I knew. Very comfortable to play. However string bending did take a bit of getting used to. 

and for something completely different, but on topinc,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eEB-vJic_o

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 21, 2016 at 7:52pm

Richie Blackmore - guitarist for 70's Rock band Deep Purple and Rainbow played a Strat with a neck that He scalloped with a file.

Benefits are fretting with less pressure and bending sharp with a little pressure. If you use tall frets like jumbo or super jumbo, you can get a similar result.

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Permalink Reply by J.D. on April 22, 2016 at 4:06pm

I cab see where it could be beneficial "cause the blue rat" ,but I would just have to play one and like you said "it doesn't take much filling or cutting ,but I have seen some that look like they filled down half the neck or more between frets " I want to play on one now ...lol can't believe I just now read a article on Scalloped necks "very rare" and it said there wasn't many making a variety of "Scalloped necks" ,I've never come across one or seen one until I picked up that book and I thought I had seen it all ...lol

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 24, 2016 at 3:41pm

Here's probably the ultimate in scalloped-type neck designs:

http://gittlerinstruments.com/gittler-guitar

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