Neck Width at 12th fret

[drbrucet]

Hi Guys,

I'm working my way through my first Falcate build which is the cutaway straight from Gore's plans. I'm ready to cut the body mortise, and he calls for a centerline 29 mm from the cutaway corner.

This gives the neck a 58mm width at the 12th fret body join. This seems big to me. My previous builds have a width of 55mm at the 12th, as does a Taylor I own.

Does this sound right?

Thanks,

Bruce

[JohnParchem]

58 mm is not an error and not atypical for a 12 fret steel string (for ex. 1906 Martin Parlor. It is what I used for my Gore Medium size SS. I use 54-55 at the 12 fret for14 fret  OMs. If you make it narrower make sure you adjust the cutaway if you want to maintain a flush cutaway. Also check/change the bridge pin spacing as it is calculated for the wider neck.  The 12 fret fretboard width should at least be as wide as the spacing between the 2 E pins. 

As a finger style player I prefer the wider spacing at the bridge. It could be that I came from the classical world. 

[Robbie O'Brien]

I do the same as John.

Robbie

O'Brien Guitars obrienguitars.com Keep track of the changes going on now at O'Brien Guitars by signing up for my newsletter

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Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2022 08:13
To: Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum <obrien...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Neck Width at 12th fret

 

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[JohnParchem]

Also if you have already assembled the body and have followed his plans for the bridge holes when gluing on the falcate braces you will want to follow if plans for the neck. 

On Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 6:45:59 AM UTC-7 drbrucet wrote:

[drbrucet]

Thanks guys - that clears it up - I was worried that the fretboard would be too wide at the soundhole, but that won't be an issue now. I am following his plans so I've already located the bridge pin holes, so 29mm to the centerline it is!

Thanks again - this board is super helpful.

Bruce

[wjguitars]

For my SS acoustic guitar builds with a 12 fret body joint / falcate bracing, I reduced the width to 56mm and adjust the bridge pin spacing slightly to suit.  I also adjust the cutaway to suit the 56mm width.  Reducing the 12th fret body joint down to say 55mm could be difficult for spacing the bridge pins to fit the primary braces. The nut width also needs to be considered. 

Wayne

WJ Guitars

Australia

[Ralph Nord]

Hey John,

What  nut width did you use for your D'Aquisto Nylon string Jazz guitar?  As I recall, the plans specified a 1 3/4 inch nut but it has been suggested to me that it is too narrow for nylon.

Ralph

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[JohnParchem]

I never made a  D'Aquisto Nylon string Jazz guitar.  I like no smaller than 48 mm (really 50 mm) for a nylon. Maybe if I was playing a bunch of barred jazz chords having a thinner neck might be an advantage. 

[Ralph Nord]

Thanks, John.

I thought you had built one. It may be my next project. I  was undecided on nut width and wanting to hear from someone who has built one for jazz.   I think somewhere around 48mm sounds good for me in this application. 

Ralph 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/8e571237-c378-4cac-bf66-251c012973e4n%40googlegroups.com.

[Paul McEvoy]

playing some classical guitar with traditional fingernail technique and some electric with a pick, I don't find moving back and forth difficult at all.  I really love the spacing on classical guitars.  The only thing I probably don't like about super trad classicals is a flat fingerboard, I think a bit of radius is nice for playing chords. 

I guess if someone was only playing classical with a pick, tightening up the string spacing might make sense. 

For me the annoying part of messing with something like that is that when you make something that's kinda weird (like a classical with tight spacing), that makes playing every other classical weird.  To my mind, pull off the bandaid and figure out why the strings are spaced the way they are...it will not take very long and then you can play any classical guitar.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/CAGwrKEhMNgMChKchzn8BTHwe74Br%3DHOJJ%3D90RvC78CwkDDk6TQ%40mail.gmail.com.

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