Pros and Cons of large radius fingerboard?

Could those in the know kindly shed some light on ordering a ukulele with a large fingerboard curvature. (ie 7.5-9.5)
Also, how does scale length figure into the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It's personal preference. I know Jonathan Dale has done some in the 7 range: http://jupiteruke.com/?s=Radius

Scale length does not figure at all since radius goes across the fretboard and scale length is down the fretboard

If you play electric guitar or cello and are comfortable with that much radius then go for it. I know a cello player here that ordered a custom uke with I believe a 10” and is very happy because that is what he is use to.

Most ukuleles with a radius fretboard are either 12” or 16”, I have both and a 14”. If you order something with a 7.5-9.5 radius it would be hard to resell it in the used market because it is very non-standard.

I've spoken to quite a number of luthiers and each has their own "standard" radius unless you ask for different. I've been quoted anything from 9", 10" and 12". My feel is that 16" is almost essentially a flat radius, but that's just my feel.

I wonder if one could cut a rounded saddle then and play it with a bow? You would have a violele.

There are no Pros and Cons.

There is only what is comfortable for you to pkay and what sounds right for you.

To give you an example.

I longed for a Fender Stratocaster so I bought one but could not live with the neck, for me it was very uncomfortable to play.

Then I went out and tried just about every other guitar.

I then picked up a Gibson SG and loathed its feel and balance,

Then I tried a Gibson Les Paul and it was like finding a long lost friend.

Now its a Gibson or nothing for me.

Hence play as many different makes and types as you can and buy what feels right, totally ignore the make.

Its what feels and sounds right that will work for you.

There is to much maker snobbery in owning and playing musical instruments since it is what works for the musician that matters.

Rllink said:

I wonder if one could cut a rounded saddle then and play it with a bow? You would have a violele.

Click to expand...

:stop: :rulez:
:smileybounce:

Straight nut and saddle are easy to find replacements in the internet (see the photo below). Radius boards require radius nuts (see the photo of stratcastor below) and saddles, which need radius curvature on the top.



Radius nut replacement is often bit hard to manage by ourselves. We can shave the bottom of the nut but we still need to file the top (see the photo below).



I prefer straight fret board for compatible nut and saddle. They are available in amazon or ebay.



If we need to see the pros and cons of radius fret board, we need to compare them on difficult chord (see the figures below). This D (2220) is difficult for me. Straight board is good for 222, radius board is good for 0, because 0 requires clearance. I do not see any advantage of large radius board on this chord.

Col50 said:

There are no Pros and Cons.

There is only what is comfortable for you to pkay and what sounds right for you.

To give you an example.

I longed for a Fender Stratocaster so I bought one but could not live with the neck, for me it was very uncomfortable to play.

Then I went out and tried just about every other guitar.

I then picked up a Gibson SG and loathed its feel and balance,

Then I tried a Gibson Les Paul and it was like finding a long lost friend.

Now its a Gibson or nothing for me.

Hence play as many different makes and types as you can and buy what feels right, totally ignore the make.

Its what feels and sounds right that will work for you.

There is to much maker snobbery in owning and playing musical instruments since it is what works for the musician that matters.

Click to expand...

You make an excellent argument for vacationing close to a specialty uke shop with a large selection. It is unfortunate that most areas have a limited selection, hampering the ability to see what works or how neck thickness, width, or uke depth affects our ability to comfortably play.

yahalele said:

Click to expand...

So you really don't own a ukulele? Your experience with barre chords on the lower 4 of a guitar won't be the same as that same barre on a ukulele because of the neck width. Add to that that most guitars have some radius on the fretboard. You need to have or use a ukulele to form an informed opinion on radius fretboards on a uke.

Radius - generally found on steel string acoustic guitars and electric guitars.
Makes it easier to play barred chords across 6 strings. Saddle/nut is also radiused to match the fretboard.

In the context of bowed string (like cellos), it enables the angles required for bowing (not very relevant to ukulele).



Straight - generally found on nylon-string classical guitars.
Along with wider fretboard and angled saddle (higher on bass end, lower on treble end) facilitates finger picking techniques.






I prefer flat fretboards on ukulele for 2 reasons:

1. It facilitates classical-guitar-like fingerpicking technique better (in general).
2. You don't need extra help doing bar chords on ukulele as there are only 4 strings and they're nylon.

I like a saddle shape on ukuleles that's similar to classical guitar. Slightly higher action at the G end and lower at the A end (I predominantly use low-G)

Hi, kissing!

It is fun to try on our ukulele or guitar in reverse position (see the photos below). In classical guitar, we normally place the thumb behind the neck. On this super big radius, classical style is hard to keep. On the other side, it is like baseball bat, rude thumb position is very good to place our fingers on the board.