Still waiting for the 2L2R machine heads to arrive, so I can't finalise the headstock redesign... But whilst the DingoTone is curing on the body (photos in the DingoTone forum) I have been toying with an idea...
Scalloped frets from the 13th fret!
I like the idea to assist bends in soloing (yes, I'm one of those bass players!) but before I launch in headlong has anyone had any experience with scalloping fretboards before? Any pitfalls to avoid? Any hints for young players?
"Music is in the air; it's my job to pull it out."- Jaco Pastorius
My old drummer has a nice collection of custom shop type guitars from Fender and Gibson that includes a Strat with a scalloped fretboard that I seriously didn't like, I guess the biggest problem is touch because it doesn't take much pressure to bend notes that you want clean.Originally Posted by Bass Guy
On bass I often play on the fret with a bit of finger pad in front of the fret to provide damping so scallops wouldn't be an issue in this case.
Have a look at Tal Wilkenfield's work, she bends a lot and doesn't have scallops. ( might add she's rather pleasing to the eye too)
Ultimately we build what we want to and with a kit a neck swap won't cost the earth if you don't like it.
Yes I figure that the majority of the most guitaristic playing occurs above the 12th fret (makes sense) so I wouldn't scallop the whole fingerboard- slap playing would be problematic with scallops, I'd imagine.
Worthwhile doing the experiment, methinks. And as you rightly point out- if I make a total hash of it, I could always source a replacement neck.
"Music is in the air; it's my job to pull it out."- Jaco Pastorius
And wouldn't you know it, what should appear in my letterbox this afternoon?
So I have a set of Gotoh-esque 2L2R tuners- pretty good quality for the few dollars I paid for them, and nice and light.
How light? Well, the supplied cloverleafs clock in at 78g each. The newbies are a mere 52g each. A weight reduction of exactly one third even before the drastic headstock shaping. Adding the 50g mass increase to the bridge I'm anticipating a far better balanced instrument with tremendous sustain and "ping".
Last edited by Bass Guy; 22-07-2015 at 09:49 AM.
"Music is in the air; it's my job to pull it out."- Jaco Pastorius
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