https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:50:31 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-234675 Mon, 19 Mar 2007 05:45:28 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion sito71 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-234675 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233877 Wed, 14 Mar 2007 01:54:56 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion purple https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233877 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233740 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 06:43:37 +0000
The guy in the article says the old Fenders had a 9" radius fretboard. I always thought the older Fenders had a 7.5" radius, which would have more of a curve.

Anyhow, I've also heard something similar about ease of playing chords as opposted to bending notes. That also makes sense when you think of flatpicking; it would seem that picking 'uphill' and then 'downhill' (an exaggeration) would be more cumbersome than picking across strings that were all along the same plane.

Of course most times you don't do a lot of string bending on a classical guitar. ;)

I think for fingerpicking styles it might come in handy to have all the strings level rather than in a curved array, but then there's a lot of fingerstylists who play steel string acoustics with a radiused fretboard.

The wider string spacing on classicals is also great for letting notes ring without accidentally muting them with adjacent fingers.

I dunno, really; for certain things it feels more comfortable on a classical's flat freboard and wider string spacing, with the same being true for radiused steel string boards.

By the way, at one point, Carvin had a classical guitar with a radiused fretboard. That would come in handy if you wanted all your guitars to have a similar feel, but...it wouldn't really be traditional maybe.

Good subject.]]> Guitar Players Discussion DemoEtc https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233740 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233737 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 06:12:07 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion dazed_and_confused https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233737 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233736 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 06:07:46 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion purple https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233736 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233708 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 02:43:30 +0000
Being primarily a fingerpicker and slide player, I like a wide fretboard with a long radius. Flat would be fine with me.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Ricochet https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233708 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233692 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:40:38 +0000
I guess it's a mixture of historical design, and traditional methods of playing versus modern styles.

I did find an article here that throws some light on it:

Fretboards

Others may have more detailed info.

Cheers,

Chris]]> Guitar Players Discussion Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-233692 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-24603 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:00:33 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Number6 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/why-dont-classical-guitars-have-a-radiused-fretboard/#post-24603