Compound radius fingerboard, worth an upcharge?

[Bill Brasky]

99+% of guitars don't have a CRF and I don't hear people complaining about their LP or whatever not having it. How does the transition feel as it goes up the neck? It is worth a $20 or $30 upcharge for this?

 

[Tone Zone]

I'm not a fan of CRF's myself. I only like TAG's 12"-14" because it is only a slight transition. Otherwise, I'd rather do without them.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I'm not a fan of CRF's myself. I only like TAG's 12"-14" because it is only a slight transition. Otherwise, I'd rather do without them.

The transition I'm looking at is from 10" to 16" which seems like it would be VERY noticeable and abrupt.

 

[Zap]

I'd say so. Aren't they more labor intensive?

 

[Bill Brasky]

I'd say so. Aren't they more labor intensive?

I doubt it. It's just a matter of selecting a different setting on their CNC milling machine.

 

[TeleBlaster]

Finishing the frets gets a little tricky. Though the fretboard is probably final sanded on a jig to retain the conical shape, the frets have to be dressed by hand.
They are OK if done right, but I've seen a lot of not so good compounds, meaning that the action was not consistent throughout the length of the board.
Straight 14" for me.

 

[Ventura]

Some of the finest most influential rippers of the past had no part in the CRF notion. They slayed.

It's just another spin on that ol' marketing 1-2 thang.

I'm sure it has some merit...to some people. But either you slay, or you fuss over shit like this. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

I'm not a fan of CRF's myself. I only like TAG's 12"-14" because it is only a slight transition. Otherwise, I'd rather do without them.

The transition I'm looking at is from 10" to 16" which seems like it would be VERY noticeable and abrupt.

It's not bad. Three of my four Warmoths have it. Basically it's done in steps down the neck. Take a 24 fret guitar, divide the length of the neck into 4 sections. With the nut-6th fret having a 10" radius, then 7th-12th frets flattening out to 12", 13th-18th flattening out to 14" and finally 19th-24th flattening out to 16" radius. It's done gradually, no abrupt changes to notice. It's really the best of both worlds, easy chording down low, fast playing with less fretting out on bends up high.

 

[Jerome Allen]

My personal preference is to flatten things out past the 10-12th fret on my SGs. I keep my action very low. I don't like to push down...I want to play my guitar like I play an iPad, just touch it to get what I want. And I like trying to break my strings by bending them. The flatter radius up top keeps the notes on the high E and B strings from fretting-out on those big bends. I've done a couple of my own guitars by hand, with the help of an aluminum 16" radius sanding block. It's time consuming. But then, I'm no luthier by any stretch of the imagination. Eventually, all of my guitars will have a 16" or flatter radius on the higher frets. But again, it's all about personal preference.

 

[JackTripper]

I have a 12"-16" on a Charvel. I like it, tansition is not that noticable (Most of my guitars have a straight 12" radius).

 

[MrDan666]

I have a 12"-16" on a Charvel. I like it, tansition is not that noticable (Most of my guitars have a straight 12" radius).

My thoughts exactly!

I have always used 12" radius guitars, and i picked up a Charvel SoCal back in January. The transition with the 12"-16" radius on the Charvel feels really natural and very comfortable!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

If i can spec it... I prefer a straight 12" radius (ie Les Paul) or straight 16" radius (ie Ibanez Wizard). The compound feels weird at first, if you are used to playing only a constant radius neck.

 

[JohnSykes]

I have a 12"-16" on a Charvel. I like it, tansition is not that noticable (Most of my guitars have a straight 12" radius).

My thoughts exactly!

I have always used 12" radius guitars, and i picked up a Charvel SoCal back in January. The transition with the 12"-16" radius on the Charvel feels really natural and very comfortable!

Same here

 

[robertkoa]

Finishing the frets gets a little tricky. Though the fretboard is probably final sanded on a jig to retain the conical shape, the frets have to be dressed by hand.
They are OK if done right, but I've seen a lot of not so good compounds, meaning that the action was not consistent throughout the length of the board.
Straight 14" for me.

I also like a straight 14 " Radius but the compound Radius necks I've played were Anderson and Suhr which both felt great and I did not notice the compound Radius-felt similar to my straight 14.

I think if you notice the compound Radius thing -it's bad.

I also have played straight 12 " Radius on the EJ Strat and Les Pauls- don't own them- and though I wanted larger frets on both, especially the EJ- the 12 felt good to me also- but straight 14 " is my favorite.