lumberjack

Ok guys, it was high time we had one of these due to the excessive amount of misconceptions going on around here concerning scalloped fingerboards, so here it is! For links to many other great threads, check out the GB&C Central Hub.

I'll try to address everything from questions like "What is a scalloped fingerboard?" to "How do I scallop my own neck?", as well as the pros and cons of having one and all that good stuff. Here we go!

FAQ

"What is a scalloped fingerboard?"

A scalloped fingerboard means that the wood between each fret is removed, or "scooped out". Here are some examples of what they look like:









The bottom 3 pictures are of necks that I scalloped myself, just as a testament to the fact that I've been playing and building these for a while.


"What does a scalloped fingerboard do?"

The essential benefit to a scalloped fingerboard is string control. This thread used to reflect my stance that it required less energy to play etc., but really it comes down to string control and the fact that the pad of your finger can "grab" or "wrap" the string much more profoundly than with a standard board. This allows for MUCH easier and better controlled bending, vibrato, and pull-offs.

Hammer-ons, tapping, and any picked phrases will not necessarily be easier to play, unless you're comparing a scalloped board to a board with veeeery small frets, in which case you could get a similar benefit by simply having larger frets.

The real meat of the scalloped fingerboard is it's enhanced control for bends, vibrato, and pull-offs.


"What are the draw-backs of a scalloped fingerboard?

For most folks, the biggest hurdle is the "freak-out" factor; for most single-note playing and a lot of chords, your fingers won't be touching anything but string and frets anymore. This obviously is only a mental draw-back, as it doesn't hinder playing in any way.

The only real cons of a scalloped board are that when your fingers "miss" a note on a single-note phrase, they can actually go down further between the strings than before, which takes more time to recover from, resulting in a couple more nano seconds of "you suck" sound resulting from your mistakes. The only other tangible draw back I've encountered is in long slides, say 8+ frets wide, with the note depressed ( as in playing fret 1, holding it down and sliding up a number of frets to sound a higher note without picking it ). The pad of your finger tends to run into more of the side of the frets on the way up, thus making this technique seem bumpier than before, although it doesn't change the sound in any way.


"Wait a minute, I thought scalloped finger boards were harder to play? I also thought they made fast playing more difficult and slowed you down?"

There is a fallacious mystique that follows the scalloped fingerboard everywhere it goes, and that is that they are harder to play. The reality is, as stated before, they can make bends, vibrato, and pull-offs considerably easier.

The myth that scalloped fingerboards are more difficult to play fast was generated by arguably the most notorious scalloped fingerboard player of all time, Yngwie J. Malmsteen. He has been quoted on numerous occasions as saying something to the effect that scalloped fingerboards are more difficult to play at faster speeds. This has been widely debunked as an effort to increase his prestige as a high-speed shredder. It is no secret that Malmsteen is a conceited, prideful, and arrogant, and of course talented player, and it comes as no surprise that he would indicate his playing is "that much better" since he's "playing on an instrument that makes playing faster more difficult."

Don't take this as a Yngwie bashing session, as I am a great fan of his, and his playing is what got me started in the shredding world so many years ago. I'm just presenting the physical facts about scalloped necks. Let's move on.


"So, scalloped fingerboards are mostly for metal and neoclassical shredders, right?"

No! Again, this is a common misconception generated by the fact that the players who first showed up on the main stream scene playing these fingerboards were rockers/shredders. Some of the most famous players are Richie Blackmore and of course Malmsteen.

The reality is that a scalloped fingerboard is a great choice for ANY style of musician. Increased ergonomics, improved expressive control over bends and vibrato, faster playing due to less wasted energy, and of course a lighter touch on the strings are advantageous benefits that any player from any style of music can appreciate. Here is an example of a blues player using Yngwie J. Malmsteen's signature Strat guitar, which has his trade-mark scalloped fingerboard:

Click here

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lumberjack

In the above post are some of the most common questions I see on here and hear in stores and whatnot, but please feel free to post more questions here that I didn’t cover, and I will gladly answer them to the best of my ability.




The DIY section

Scalloping a fingerboard is something anyone with two hands a few dollars worth of tools can do. It is by no means difficult, requires very little skills, and is something you can get great results on the first time you try, so long as you take your time and plan on doing things properly. What scalloping a fingerboard DOES take is patients, and lots of it. My first full scallop took me about 8-9 hours, although after much more experience with the process I can now do one in about 5-6.


Tools you will need:

-Round file, ¼”
-Sand paper of various grades
-Tons of masking tape, preferably of the thinner variety if you can find some
-A razor blade
-Time to spare

Here is/are the best tutorial(s) I could find on the web, and I really don’t have much to add to these:


Scalloping the top 3-5 or so frets on your guitar

Scalloping the whole shebang



Those are both great places to start, and that’s exactly what I did when beginning to scallop fingerboards. One thing to note about the "full scallop" tutorial is that it is for a Richie Blackmore style scallop, where only half of the fret is scooped out. Simply extend your scoop to both fret edges for a full scallop.

The only thing I would say about those tutorials is that I personally get very little mileage out of the Dremel Contour sander. I got one on eBay for about $25, and honestly it does about 18% of the job, while the round file and plain old sand paper are really the things doing the lion’s share of the work. Granted, the sander is quite useful not only in scalloping necks, and the tips are something I use for sanding between frets to refine the shape of the recesses, but I would like to share that the first two full scallops I did were simply with a round file, tape, and sand paper.
If you plan on doing more scalloping in the future, the Contour Sander might be worth a shot though, as it can be had for nickels and dimes on eBay, and is a nice tool to have around for other small jobs.

~POSTING PICS/RESULTS OF YOUR WORK~

If anyone has ever scalloped a fingerboard or will be scalloping one in the future, don't hesitate to post your results, experiences, and pictures or whatever right here in the thread. Don't spam this thread by turning it into your "project thread", you can make your own for that. However, once you're done, go ahead and post your before-after pics and input to the overall process, if you would like, in a single post here for the benefit of the community.




Ok, that about wraps things up as far as I can tell.

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metalwarrior40

good info, very nice man, i like, I'm actually scalloping one of my necks soon, just because of you

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lumberjack

You won't regret it

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sesstreets

**** yeah lumberjack!

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Fusanti_RHCP

Would it be better to buy a new neck to scallop, or practice scalloping on?

Or is this simple enough of a job that it doesn't require alot of skill?

I don't have a ton of skill with wood working, so I dunno, but this seems like a fun project.

Albino_Rhino

Way to be man!
We needed this thread!

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lumberjack

Well, my first scallop was also my first guitar project ever, so I had zero experience as well. That was about 3 years ago, and I did it with a round file and sandpaper on a Silvertone strat copy I got for $50. If you are interested in doing it to a particular guitar of yours that you don't want to mess up, it wouldn't hurt to head on down to the pawn shop and pickup up a cheap Cort, Kay, Silvertone, or other such guitar and hack away at that first. You can get that kind of guitar at a pawn shop for literally $30 after a bit of haggling, no problem.

On the other hand, the results I got were pretty good the first time through following the tutorials I posted up there, so it's really up to you. If you're worried about "wrecking" your main guitar, it might be worth the time and effort of doing your first scallop on a $30 Strat knock off. If you trust yourself with a file and sandpaper though, you could get away with doing it to your main guitar I imagine.

Couldn't hurt to practice though. I almost always try new building/modding techniques on a crap guitar first, but that's just me. Either way, good luck!



Also, if anyone has scalloped or will be scalloping in the future, don't hesitate to post your results, experiences, and pictures or whatever right here in the thread. Don't make this thread into your project thread, you can make your own for that. However, once you're done, go ahead and post your before-after pics and input to the overall process if you would like in a single post here. I should probably add this suggestion to the OP.

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Tempoe

I recently did the top 9 frets, it was very easy and I have no regrets. The bending is sweet and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it. I am considering doing another 3 frets. Only go as deep as you need to keep your finger off the fretboard, then polish your frets up really slick.

telemetal

Next time i change strings i'm deffo goning to scallop 12-22 on my LP Special II.
Thanks for explaining how to do this lumberjack

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Sad But False

nice thread!

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rancidryan

will i need to re finsih the fret board or oil it or anything if i do it?

its a rosewood board

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Tempoe

Just a super fine sand and a bit of oil. Don't forget your finger will not touch the board so its more for looks.

Duval67

One thing I've always wondered.
You guys are always on about how playing on a non-scalloped neck causes wasted energy on the fingerboard.
When playing, the string does not have to touch the wood, just the frets. Having it touch the wood would ( ) be using too much energy, and changing the note.
So it's not like non-scalloped players are wasting energy depressing each note as it is the same. They shouldn't have to use any more force on a regular fingerboard than on a scalloped one.
However, I agree with vibrato, and bending being easier as your finger isn't dragging along the fingerboard.

lumberjack

There is actually a smidge more to this than you might imagine, but basically, the answer is "put a bunch of oil on it", , and here's why:

When you scallop the fingerboard, you expose part of the end grain of the wood in the fingerboard. If you have ever tried to finish the unsealed end grain of wood for any reason, then you'll know from experience that the grain sucks up liquids through the tiny little "tubes" that were originally designed to transport water/nutrients throughout the tree. Spraying lacquer, rubbing oil, or laying down a few coats of sanding sealer on end grain looks like a magic disappearing act, because all the sudden the finishing liquid, whatever it might be, just gets sucked up into those tubes, and very quickly I might add. You can finish the end grain with successive layers of your finishing material though.


So, what basically happens is that the end grain in the wood will look very light compared to the rest of your fingerboard. This is because its much drier, as for the duration of it's existence it's been "hidden" and never came into contact with all the oils/dirt your fingertips have been rubbing into the top of the board. Now that it's exposed, it will look quite light in comparison to the other parts of the fingerboard, so you have to oil it up pretty dang heavy with some fingerboard oil. I prefer Big Bends Fret Board Juice as it's very pure and is free of acids, but you can pretty much use whatever you can buy at any old music store.


After you put on a few "coats" of oil, the lighter look should disappear, but in a few minutes/hours/days it will be back. Just keep putting oil on it until it looks dark and smooth like the rest of the fingerboard used to look. What I do is lay it on really thick, so the board is literally glistening wet, and just let it soak in for about 30 minutes. It will still dry out after a day or so, but this decreases the amount of times you have to re-oil it.


Granted, this is a purely aesthetic pursuit since you'll never actually touch the board, but if you want your fingerboard looking smooth, dark, and shiny like the boards up there in my OP, then this is what you gotta do.


Good luck!

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lumberjack

Certain players "waste" more energy than others depending on their technique which is regardless of their fingerboard, and yes of course you can develop a very efficient, light-touch technique on regular boards. Also, switching to a scalloped fingerboard won't enhance your technique, only you can do that. If I wanted to play with a killer death grip on a scalloped fingerboard I could do that just like anyone else, and I'm sure there are people playing scalloped fingerboards who "waste" more energy than many players who play regular boards.


However, the physics of playing on a board with standard fret sized DOES cost more energy. When your finger depresses a string on say the top three strings, the pad of your finger "wraps" around the string, and as you press it down that portion of your finger starts to push into the fingerboards as well as the string. This is especially prevalent with vintage or small sized frets. Holding that note, part of the pressure you put into keeping the string on the fret is actually going into the fingerboard, not into the string/fret contact. On the other hand, with a scalloped neck, holding a note costs you only the energy it take to keep it in contact with the fret, and none of the energy goes into the board since you never touch it.

Granted, on larger strings like the low E, A, and G strings, most times your finger won't touch the board when playing a single, non bent, non vibrato note even on regular necks. However, when you play a chord, ( especially bar chords ), your fingers almost always come into contact with the fingerboard as you press down on the strings. With bar chords the effect is more obvious: try fretting a bar chords on really small vintage frets and then on large jumbos. It will be much easier on the jumbos since all of your energy is going into the string/fret contact, and none of it into the board.


If you are playing with really large frets, you already are enjoying the benefits of not touching the fingerboard in some circumstances, but you will always lose energy to the fingerboard playing bar chords, bends, and vibrato, even on the largest frets you can buy. I know because I've got them on a few standard necks .


In the end though, you can absolutely develop a very ergonomic technique on any type of fretboard, but scalloped fingerboards will always facilitate such a technique in a way standard fretboard never will, and that's all the difference between the two comes down to. You can get great, healthy results playing either neck, but a scalloped one will always be easier on your hand.

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Duval67

^ Ah okay.
Thankyou for that explanation

Diamond Dave

heres one of my previous attempts



love the result and the feel of the scalloped neck but i dont want to do it to my jackson because of the sharktooth inlays and i'm not sure how that would go

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lbj273

how long does it take until you no longer have to oil the fretboard in order to get rid of the lighter color?

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