Fretboard on the Multi-Scale kits

Hey Folks,

Our new Multi-Scale 7 string kits have been incredibly popular and we are pretty much sold-out after a month or so.

We are working on 6 string and 4 and 5 string Multi-scale Bass Kits for next year.

One comment we received, as feedback from only 2 customers, was that the end of the Fretboard (at the Headstock) looked kind of brutal.... that is, it just ended at a 90 degree angle.

Here is an image: Attachment 38157

Not that you can see it that well, but the Fretboard stops square and straight.

I wanted to ask the experts here, how we could instruct the factory to make this more aesthetically pleasing?

That is, should the end of the fretboard be "shaved" so it tapers at a 45 (or less) degree angle?

Are you not bothered by the sharp cut-off of the fretboard?

What other solutions do you have to make this fretboard end look more aesthetically pleasing?

Very keen for your feedback

Maybe it would look less strange with a square nut and an angled zero fret?

I'd say dock the fretboard just behind the nut, or do a Gibson style nut so that the fretboard ends at the nut. Is it possible to shuffle the fretboard back toward the head so that the angled nut passes over the truss rod hole at the right spot and the low string sits back a touch closer to the headstock and the high string has a touch more neck between the headstock and the fingerboard?

Quick and really dirty:

https://i.imgur.com/3rHGYgN.jpg

Fretboard angled to match the nut

Neck was a little too long and funny looking with the fretboard angled so I moved the headstock up something like half or 3/4 of a cm.

I'd say that any of the suggestions here that involve changing the templates wholesale are not going to fly. I think Chaosblades is the best aesthetic solution, but he notes he had to change the relative position of the headstock to achieve it. That would require reworking of the templates being used, which can be a tricky thing to get across/explain.

Rabbit's suggestion might work Ok with what they already have to work with. But even then there will be a funny bit of non-fret area between the zero and the nut.

I think if it was chamfered rather than a hard end on the board that would help make it look a little more cohesive.

This is what it looked like before I moved the headstock. Was going to post originally this but thought it looked funny and edited a little more.

https://i.imgur.com/0B6eojA.jpg

But, of course, that still moves up the truss rod and access since the end of the fretboard moved. It could probably still be kept in the same place with an extra long cover or something though.

Leaving the fretboard where it is isn’t a terrible look Chaos

And if the fret was cut a little longer and chamfered down like a normal F-style one it would help cover the truss rod a little more and also alleviate some of the 'long appearance' I think that could be done without any major changes.

Im certain that it would be a much easier and cheaper change to adjust or make new neck templates to alter the shape of the headstock than get a new custom-made truss rod cover tooled up by another factory in order to get one with a custom angled end. These kits are kept low cost by the ability supply parts that are mass-produced by other factories in large quantities.

Personally, I’d much prefer to see the bigger issues dealt with first, like the dodgy neck pickup routing and the lack of adjustment of the bridge making intonation of the low strings almost impossible (from the build diaries I’ve read). Then deal with the looks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Im certain that it would be a much easier and cheaper change to adjust or make new neck templates to alter the shape of the headstock than get a new custom-made truss rod cover tooled up by another factory in order to get one with a custom angled end.

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You would think so, but the communication barrier is significant. From what I can tell in my experience of providing plans to the factory, they work from old school tech drawings and hand make the templates. It's not done with a laser cutter as I initially assumed, which would allow for much easier and accurate adjustment of the templates. I agree that fresh templates would be the best option, and also useful for addressing the other issues, but getting the plans drawn and templates made is not a quick or simple process.

I agree that a slightly elongated fretboard and a Fender-style concave chamfer would be the easiest thing to incorporate to improve the looks. Changing the fretboard end to be angled isn't a huge job in itself, but it would require a custom-made truss rod cover, which would be difficult and expensive to procure IMO.

But the other elements still need to be addressed. If the bridge can't be changed either for one with more angle or else slightly longer intonation screws (the baseplate would need to be long enough to accommodate a more forward saddle position) and the bridge set back slightly, then the fret fan angle (and nut angle) would need to be adjusted to be slightly more towards the headstock on the bass side of the neck, to give the extra length required.

It's not a simple process, but it should have been done properly at the design stage.

Just doing the angle to match the nut would do wonders, even if it's longer tbh