Thread: String Spacing
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Old 03-27-2013, 07:16 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murrmac123 View Post
Nice succinct explanation, as always, Charles.
Thanks.

Quote:
Out of curiosity, on the guitars which you build, at which fret does the fretboard width equal the string spacing at the saddle ?
No idea. In the guitars I make, there is zero correlation. I don't lay it out that way or think of it that way.

In the guitars I make the layout is as follows:

Decide upon string spacing at the nut, between outside strings (first and sixth on a six string). Decide on desired string spacing at the saddle/bridge pins. Connect the two points for each string. Decide on A, B, C and D, as described previously, that are offsets from the two outside strings. Connect the points A and B and C and D to establish the fingerboard width and profile.

From my perspective, the player plays the string spacing at the nut, at the saddle (or thereabout) and the amount of clearance he has between the strings and the edge of the fingerboard. Done this way, there is no defined relationship between string spacing at the saddle and the width of the fingerboard at any specific fret. The fingerboard is as wide as it needs to be, where it needs to be, to accommodate the preferences of the player. That's how Charles Fox taught me to do it, way back when.
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