Elevated Fretboard

[erik.tosten]

Hey Ya'll

I recently took the "Elevated Fretboard with Michael Cadiz" and was pleased with the information, but it raised more questions because......

 I want to incorporate an elevated fretboard into a steel-string guitar. Is anyone doing this? And if so, what breacing pattern are people using? Would the braking pattern be significantly altered from that of the standard X?

Erik

Oak Cliff Gutars

[Rick Molloy]

I just finished one in my shop. Other than the elevated fretboard I didn't do anything else differently.

-Rick

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[Paul McEvoy]

My fingerboards are elevated because I use an adjustable neck joint.  This is in my gypsy guitars.  One thing it changes is how much brakeover angle I have on my bridge (this is a bit different because it's a floating bridge).  My tops are pretty thin so I'm ok with this and I think it works out well, but it's something to think about.

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Paul McEvoy
207-699-9526

[Sean Gilbert]

Has anyone found resources on how to build an elevated fretboard for a steel string? I understand that the Cadiz course is for classical guitars and I'm not sure how directly applicable it would be given the difference in the neck joint and some other aspects of the geometry. I have never built a classical guitar.

Sean

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[Paul McEvoy]

TBH though I think the elevated fingerboard in classical guitars comes from classical players wanting a traditional look to the audience and not wanting cutaways.  I made a crazy 7 string classical guitar with a huge cutaway and one classical player was like "why would I want a cutaway?" because his technique is based on reaching around the top of the guitar.  He didn't really care about a cutaway.

On steel string guitars, it's pretty normal to make a cutaway or to do a scoop nowadays.  There's not a real demand to have non-cutaway guitars and a cutaway will be superior to an elevated neck in most every situation.  In the situations where it's not acceptable (like maybe a Bluegrass Dreadnought) an elevated neck is probably not needed.

Regardless though, if you take your normal body shape and curve the top so that it dives down towards the neck block, you can get an elevated fingerboard, I think.  Or the fingerboard isn't elevated exactly but the top is cut back.

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Paul McEvoy
207-699-9526

[Peter Rosenthal]

Tom Bills has a lot of resources for elevated fretboards. It's what he builds.

https://luthiersedge.com

Peter

[Sean Gilbert]

His free content doesn't offer much and he is so aggressive on marketing that I have been dubious about whether or not the paid content would be worth the price. Have you seen any of the material behind his paywall? How would you compare to other resources?

Sean

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[Neil Crump]

I believe Tom Bill's elevated fingerboard instruction is much more detailed than Micheal's.

Neil

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[Brock Poling]

I personally find the content he has in his paid program to be extremely well done.  I am someone who typically buys every book, every video, etc. and Tom’s stuff is first rate.

 

 

 

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[Peter Rosenthal]

Sean-

I've been a member of the Luthiers Edge for several years. Pay once and you have access to everything available for a year. He sells nothing except knowledge. There is a LOT. Once a month, 2-ish hour long both live and recorded Q&A Jam sessions that go back years, 18 in-depth courses and 18 tutorials. No part of instrument making is left out or ignored. 

The Elevated Fingerboard course alone is broken down into 3 Lessons, 50 steps, 5 topics of materials and tools, 10 topics for design "secrets", 31 topics are step by step demonstrations. There is a materials and tools breakdown with links and resources and... wait for it... a final exam! If you get through his course I guarantee you will know everything he knows about it. I apologize to Tom right now if I butchered these descriptions. 

On a personal note I have to say he seems to be the nicest guy, good sense of humor and self-deprecating. Tom responds to emails and questions with enthusiasm and speed and his website has its own forum for members. His attitude is not just how to fabricate and assemble parts but how to think about what needs to be done as well, in-depth. I find it all quite deep which makes it all very rewarding. Perhaps you can get a gist of his attitudes and methods here on his retail website. https://tbguitars.com 

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

Peter