Fret size, tonewoods, pickup magnets, nitro finishes — all these and more combine into whatever “mojo” means. Close your eyes and point to a random part of your guitar, and you can find pages and pages of not-so-polite online discussion about why it is staggeringly important or completely irrelevant. Fingerboard radius is one of the usual suspects when it comes to guitar-forum flame wars, but does the minute change in a fingerboard’s curvature make much of a difference?
Radius 101
What is fingerboard radius anyway? Fortunately, Sweetwater’s own Don Carr has an excellent article titled “What Is Fingerboard Radius?” that covers the ins and outs of fingerboard radius, but here’s the abbreviated answer.
The radius is simply the curvature of the surface of the fingerboard. If you put a point on a piece of paper and use a compass to draw a circle with a fixed radius, say 16 inches, then the curve of a section of that circle would be the equivalent of what we call fingerboard radius. If you need help visualizing this, then here’s a neat diagram from Don’s article below.
As you can see, the higher the radius value, the flatter the fingerboard.
Generally, vintage-style Fender guitars have a 7.25-inch radius; modern Fenders have a 9.5-inch radius; Gibson guitars have almost always sported a 12-inch radius; PRS lands in the middle at a 10-inch radius; many pointy metal guitars often boast a 16-inch or higher radius. Funnily enough, the endless discussion of radius is mainly limited to the world of electric guitar — acoustic guitarists and bassists tend to be a little more pragmatic about this subject, and the radius of classical string instruments has been codified for centuries.
Does It Matter?
While researching this article, I tapped into Sweetwater’s most valuable musical resource — our employees — to gauge the general opinion of how guitarists feel about the importance of radius. Unsurprisingly, a company full of musicians who have dedicated their livelihoods to the minutiae of gear nerd-dom almost unanimously agreed that radius is critically important. Responses were relatively consistent, ranging from “It’s one of the main things that contribute to how a guitar feels in hand,” according to Sales Engineer Craig Edgar, to “Fretboard radius is absolutely critical to the feel and playability of a guitar” from Stephen Bolock, a tech and luthier from our Guitar Workshop. However, I ran across one comment that went the other way, arguing that radius is more or less an afterthought.
“I have never thought about neck radius. I believe most guitar players don’t think about neck radius when they’re playing . . . it’s not in the discussion.”
Wait, that’s no Sweetwater employee. That’s 7-time Grammy Award–winning guitarist John Mayer! While he’s not a Sales Engineer or a Guitar Workshop tech, his disbelief in the importance of radius offers a rather stark contrast to all the feedback I received from Sweetwater employees. So, what’s the deal here? Why do some guitarists feel that radius is critically important while others discount it entirely? Does radius matter, or is it just another one of those topics that guitarists love to argue about endlessly?
To gain insight into these difficult questions, I spoke with Sweetwater’s Chad Fitzpatrick, the training lead in our Guitar Workshop, who has two decades of experience in guitar luthiery, restoration, and instrument setup. In the simplest terms, Chad said that “radius sets the feel of an instrument.” Both tight radii (smaller number) and flatter radii (larger number) have their own unique sets of advantages and limitations. There are no set standards for what constitutes a tight or a flat radius, so keep in mind that the qualities described in the next section are amplified as you go in either direction.
Radius Types
Round
7.25 inches to 9.5 inches
First, we discussed tight radii, such as 7.25 inches, and Chad told me that “a tighter radius is more fitting to the natural ergonomics of your hand.” That’s why rhythm- and chord-oriented players sometimes prefer the more pronounced arc of a rounder radius — it’s simply more comfortable to bend your hand and fingers around the curve when chunking out cowboy chords and multiple-finger barre-chord shapes.
An important myth to debunk here is the decades-old belief that an old-school 7.25-inch-radius fingerboard chokes out when you bend on the higher frets. Chad (in addition to several other Guitar Workshop techs) assured me that this is more indicative of a poor setup than anything else and that, with the right skills, a 7.25-inch fingerboard can be set up to play just as easily and buzz-free as a more modern radius. After all, every Fender-slinging guitarist from the pre-1980s era cut their classics on a 7.25-inch radius!
Flat
16 inches and up
These radii are at the other end of the spectrum, found primarily on Gibson-style guitars and pointy, shred-oriented axes. According to Chad, “People like flatter radii for shredding because they don’t have to go over a hill and back down a hill to get to their spot.”
That’s a somewhat tricky concept to grasp without a guitar in your hand, but this visual exercise may help. Imagine that a guitar’s frets are shaped like a mountain peak with a high triangular point in the center. That would require significantly more hand movement since you must go up and over the peak to travel from the low E string to the high E string.
That nightmarish setup is an exaggerated version of the “hill” described by Chad found on tightly radiused fingerboards. Quick movements are critical for shredders; and, since a rounder radius requires more movement from your hand — however small that action might be — a flatter radius will almost always be preferred by guitarists who value speed and efficiency over all else.
Medium
9.5 inches to 16 inches
Many modern manufacturers prefer this sweet spot. Current Fenders usually have a 9.5-inch radius, Gibson sticks with their trusty 12-inch radius, and PRS blurs them together with a 10-inch radius. For most players sticking within these boundaries, the difference isn’t drastic. Give a 10-inch-radiused guitar to a guitarist who generally plays on a 9.5-inch radius, and it’s unlikely they’ll even be able to tell you which is which; give a 20-inch-radius-playing guitarist a 7.25-inch-radius vintage Strat and watch the tears flow. If you’d rather split the difference, then modern compound-radius fingerboards provide a rounder radius on the lower frets (near the nut) and flatten out on the higher frets for more effortless bends and faster movement.
What Does It All Mean?
Now that we know about the different radii and why specific specs are (generally) preferred for certain applications, can we finally answer the original question posed by this article: does fingerboard radius matter? Well, the truth is — it depends.
For the most part, the more particular you are about the feel of your instrument, the more fingerboard radius will matter to you. Plenty of highly skilled players spend a lifetime without questioning the radius they’re playing on, and there are just as many six-string virtuosos who require a particular curve to play at their peak.
Most players will honestly get along fine with the middle-of-the-road radii that modern manufacturers are shifting toward. Still, if you’re dead set on optimizing the feel of your instrument for your playing style, then fingerboard radius is an important spec to research and consider. Will picking the correct radius for your style make you a better musician and help you create better music? Probably not. Will it make for a better playing experience? Yes, most likely.
Round and Round
One last point: just because a particular genre or technique prefers one radius, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t play a specific style on a different radius.
No one will stop you from shredding Yngwie licks on a 7.25-inch radius, but you’ll probably find it easier to play on a flatter board. Tighter radii are generally more comfortable for playing chords, but you must consider technique, hand size, hand shape, and a million other factors found on your guitar. The ideas presented here are a starting point for you to discover your preferences or that you don’t have a preference. There are no strict rules, and, frankly, guitarists aren’t much for strict rules anyway.
So, if you’re looking to audition an axe with a new radius, then call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700! They are the most highly trained in the music industry and would love to contribute their extensive six-string knowledge to help you find the right axe!