Conference napalm::guitar

        Tom,
        
        If you  drew a circle on a piece of paper, and the circle had a
        radius of, say,  12 inches, and then you took a segment of that
        circle and made a  fingerboard  to  match  the curvature of the
        segment, then you would have  a 12" radius neck, once you glued
        the flat underside of the fingerboard to the neck.
        
        Hope that makes sense to you...
        
        Andy
        

    The larger the radius, the flatter the fingerboard.
    
    For string benders, flatter/larger radius boards are usually preferable
    so the string doesn't fret out as you move it across the neck.
    
    On basses, players used to uprights often prefer boards with a smaller
    radius.
    
    							Brian

       Tom,
    
       As best as I know it: Most guitars/basses have two radii: 
    1)the neck, and 2) the fretboard.  A crude example is if you 
    were to take a 6-inch wide wooden dowel (looking down lengthwise).
    if you marked the exact center of the dowel, and measured the
    center point to the outside; this would be considered the radius.
    ie; a 6-inch wide dowel would have a 3-inch radius.
       As it applies to necks... you are basically looking down a slice 
    of that dowel for both the neck and the fretboard. The fretboard has
    it's own radius which is much larger than the neck radius.
    
          
       *  |  *
     *    |   *
    *<----|    *     This is supposed to be a circle  showing 
     *    |   *           the radius as it applis to guitar necks...
       *  |  *
          
    
    
    John

Johns right.

There are two Neck radii and if you get really hip, there is a compound
radius neck available too....Thats where the radius of the fretboard changes
as you move closer to the nut (or neck joint).

Charvel calls it a conical neck going from 16" at the 21st fret to 12" 
at the nut.  Other companies do this, but I just happen to have the Charvel
book here.

jc

    They say that a fretboard with a smaller radius (more curved) is easier
    to play chords on.  
    
    Greg

    
    
    Thanks guys, it's pretty clear now.
    
    Know that I know what radius means, it seem that it's just another
    "spec" that doesn't really mean anything. The radius of a fingerboard
    or neck isn't going to be the deciding factor. If the neck feels good, 
    who cares what the radius is?
    
    Thanks again,
    
    -T
    

    Well, it's not *totally* meaningless.  Particularly if you want to
    order a new neck!!!  
    
    Do companies really spec radii these days?  I've only seen it mentioned
    on replacement necks....
    
    							Brian
    						

Some do.  Charvel and Yamaha jump immediately to mind.

RE: .6

Well, say you know you've got a neck with a certain radius...
When you read the specs on a new guitar that caught your eye,
you'll say "Hmmm, same radius as X brand...Must feel similar!"

jc

I'll put in a pitch for compound raduis necks. My warmouth is pretty nice!

dbii

    Fender quotes fingerboard radius figures for the Strat+ (12 inch) and
    HM Strat line (don't remember).
    
    Greg

    
    
    Both Fender and PV state radii for their basses. 
    
    

    By all means call me Dozy, but I've read replies .1 to .11 and I'm
    still not clear as to what is the neck radius! I guess .1 threw me off
    a little; admittedly, I don't have a guitar in my hand at this moment,
    but I don't see any relationship between a guitar neck and the
    curvature of a segment of a circle.
    
    I dunno, it can't be THAT complicated...
    
    Dom (who's feeling rather embarassed today)

        Dom,
        
        Picture taking  a guitar and cutting the headstock off the neck
        at, say, the  first  fret.  Now hold the guitar and look at the
        cut  end  of the neck  end-on  -  especially  the  fingerboard.
        You'll see a slight curve to  it,  little  bit  higher  in  the
        middle.  Now imagine that piece of  fingerboard as a tiny slice
        off the top of a big log which  has a diameter of, for example,
        24 inches and therefore a radius of D/2, or 12 inches...
        
        Any clearer?
        
        Andy
        

Or.... 

  Take a small tree.
  Cut a 26 inch log. (No jokes here...)
  Look down it lengthwise.
  The radius is referenced from the center. It's one half of the thickness of 
    the whole log. "Center to the outer edge".
  Now cut the log lengthwise from end to end.
  If you look down it legthwise now you now have a semicircle or roughly
    a half moon shape.
  The radius is based from the origininal center (which had been now cut away
    and is only imagininary).



Klem

I think that I just repeated myself... Oh well...


The Odder Klem

    re: .13,14
    
    Thanks, I *think* I've got it now - maybe I was looking for something
    too complicated before.
    
    So, can someone give me an idea of typical measurements for the
    radii(?) of guitar necks (e.g. Strat, Les Paul) ?
    
    Thanks, 
    
    Dom

    re: 12 inches seems enormous!!
    
    Remember, they're talking about the radius for the fretboard, not the
    (back of the) neck, which is much less.
    
    Dave

>    So, can someone give me an idea of typical measurements for the
>    radii(?) of guitar necks (e.g. Strat, Les Paul) ?
    
    Some typical fretboard radius', just off the top of my head...
    
    Old Fenders (Strats, Teles) = 7 inch
    Most Gibsons = 12 inch
    Current Am.Standard Strat = 12 inch
    "Modern" guitars (Jackson, Ibanez, etc.) = 16-20 inch
    
    Greg