Why are Classical Guitar Necks Flat?

[@TheBeatle49]

The flatness of the classical fingerboard plus the flatness of the neck profile are the main reasons I couldn't play a classical instrument. In the last few years, companies like Ibanez are coming out with nylon string guitars with necks closer to a typical steel string neck. Finally, I can play a nylon string guitar.

[@zvonimirtosic6171]

Spanish guitar design is torturous for the left hand. The explanation in the video makes no sense because then the fingerpicking on an acoustic guitar with radiused neck would be "impossible". But that's not true. I think that the Spaniards had a different problem - I think they could not consistently produce precisely radiused fretboards with consistent radiused frets. It also requires more precision in designing the nut and the saddle. Too much work and too many things to align. But a flattened plank with tiny straight frets is ways easier to do.

[@CompulsiveOrigami]

It is such a different feel. I started out on a cheap classical guitar for about a year, then a steel-string acoustic, and now a Fender Stratocaster copy. I still play the classical, but it definitely feels a bit awkward during the first few minutes after switching from electric to classical.

[@pcastonguay]

Not all classical fingerboards and bridges are flat. Wikipedia says they can be either flat or slightly curved (arched). Both bridge and fingerboard of my LaPatrie Concert classical guitar are curved. I thought the reason was to make free stroking of individual strings easier, just as the curved bridge of a violin makes bowing of individual strings easier. But the guitar curve must be slight. Once you curve the bridge, you must also curve the fingerboard to equalize the action on all strings.

[@ricardoesparza6209]

I think the real reason classical guitars have flat fingerboards is simply because of tradition. Classical guitarists are very traditional. I learned from my classical guitar professor that he would send his guitars to a luthier to have them radius the fingerboard, I'm talking like a slight 30" radius. It's barely noticeable but enough to make playing bar chords and odd stretchy chords easier, but it's not enough to hinder finger picking fast arpeggios or scales. Remember, the strings on a guitar are of different gauges and we adapt to that with our hands without even noticing. I made a classical guitar in college with this in mind and I put a 20" radius on it because it was the only sanding block I had available. I haven't played this guitar in around 20 years. It has recently come back to me and boy am I loving it. It makes the most difficult pieced that I play much easier and with less fatigue. I will be putting a 30" radius on my favorite guitar very soon.

[@lessevdoolbretsim]

You just made the perfect case for flat fret boards on an electric.

[@dongpedroyi]

I have a custom made neck with flat fretboard for my electric guitar. Now I can bend extremely low action strings without buzzing or having the string hitting the 'hump' and killing the note. It was hard to find a luthier who would do it, most luthiers simply refused to build flat fretboards for electric guitars. I totally recommend flat radius for electric guitars - it may feel strange at first after being used to traditional curved frets, but the bliss of true low action pays off.

[@AxemanMessiah]

Agreed, this is the truth in the electric guitar world. Curved boards have no real benefit to them!

[@channeljan8529]

@@AxemanMessiah When you say flat radius or flat fretboard does that mean it has a zero radius?

[@AxemanMessiah]

@@channeljan8529 Flat is subjective, in general it would mean anything at 12' or higher. My current guitar is at 14 and it is fantastic. Even the classic brands like Fender are now moving onto flat boards in the Pro series and higher. Try one and let us know how you like it :)

[@channeljan8529]

@@AxemanMessiah Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm dying to try flat. I've been using curved boards for years and while I'm accustomed to them I still run into the occasional problems of snubbed notes, unwanted feedback, etc. I'm curious whether going flat will help remedy these issues.

[@AxemanMessiah]

@@channeljan8529 The snubbed notes will fixed as the flat radius makes chording more ergonomic to your fingers. Most guitar brands only offer them with thin necks though, a bit of a hunt to get a flat board with thick profile.

[@toto6773]

Awesome. History never disappoints !!

[@bobaldo2339]

Thanks for the explanation! And I must say I totally agree that a more curved fretboard on steel string guitars is especially easier on the fretting hand's index finger when playing bar chords. I do not enjoy playing any steel string guitar that is flatter than a 12" radius..

[@onoitsuagain]

Thanks for the vid Andrew. I also wondered about this and many of the things you have covered. It has been a great pleasure to have your brain to pick. You always do a great job. Thank you again!

[@ricoconsulting]

the fretboard is curved to help keep the frets seated. it made manufacturing easter and cheaper and help reduces fret lifting due to wood swelling. in my 50 yrs of guitar i have come to the point that i think radius fret board is a hindrance to a players development.

[@robinbebbington7063]

That really good info as I have only had a classical guitar as I prefer fingerpicking to using a pick or even strumming. I have been considering a steel string electric acoustic such as the Yamaha APX600 for the smaller size and scale length but will also taking note of the radius. Reason for looking at the thinner body is due to a shoulder issue.

[@pcastonguay]

I sent you three links in a private message showing the bridge curvature of my La Patrie Concert guitar, the label, and the curvature on my electric guitar. The La Patrie bridge is definitely curved, NOT flat, but it is ever so slightly less curved than my electric. I noticed the curvature of the La Patrie immediately because the bridge on my previous Yamaha was flat. I saw the curvature of the La Patrie bridge as a positive point when I bought it.

[@bradshacker246]

Would love to get your feedback on the title of this post "Why are Classical Guitar Necks Flat"?. The current post discusses the fretboard(the on top part) and NOT the neck(the underneath part). My classical guitar has a wide U-shaped neck which I believe is the most common for classical guitars, but I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this.

[@brennociuffo]

Thank you veeery much i play a flat fretboad and realy prefer it to curved. Now that im working on my eletric bass i must say that ill make flat the fretboard too. Thank you very muck

[@jgrossma]

The one who stated that 18th century instrument builders didn't know how to radius fingerboards should probably take a look at an 18th century violin or cello! Not only do they all have curved fingerboards, but there are plenty of fretted instruments with curved fingerboards from that era, including lutes and viola de gamba (which is are fretted cello like instruments played with a bow). Classical guitars have flat boards, because it facilitates right hand picking. . .that's all there is to it!

[@NickJr315]

I learned on a cheap flat neck guitar with old nylon strings, but wanted to play and I started picking with my right hand before the sound hole and the guitar as far to the right as possible

[@dougrobbins5367]

The right hand can easily adjust to the slight differences in height, you get used to it and you compensate automatically. There's also no reason why you cant have a radiussed fretboard and a flat saddle.

[@mpeltz1534]

Good information. I will have to check this out. I play a classical guitar but I'm considering a crossover classical.

[@usuallyclueless4477]

So this is why compound radius fretboards on some electrics are the best of both worlds. You get the curve on the low frets for chord work and it gets flatter at the higher frets for solos and bends.

[@r3ap3rjay7]

Thanks Andrew for another awesome video, keep up the great work :)

[@dorielementary]

The Shawn Lane model Vigier has a completely flat neck

[@dembydish]

Interesting question well answered, thank you.

[@recordman555]

OK, so . . . If someone is doing a 'search' for a classical guitar that has a flat-backed neck,(because there are such instruments), this video will appear. Yet, this video isn't about a neck that is flat in any way - it's about a flat FRETBOARD. As in, "Why are Clasical Guitar Fretboards Flat?" Mmm-kay?

[@TheBeatle49]

I never knew this, thanks. However, is a moderately radiused fretboard really that much of an impediment. There are many incredible fingerstyle players who play on them.

[@jgrossma]

Bingo. Its all about the PICKING hand. Note that cellos and upright basses and similar fretless, mostly single-note instruments also use curved fingerboards. . .to facilitate BOWING technique! If the strings are all in the same plane you can't hit just one with a bow.

[@cityhunterfan]

I also have a LaPatrie Concert, but neither the fingerboard nor the bridge are curved. The bridge is not curved, but has a slopping angle, but that's to account for the difference in string widths from the low E to the high E. Are you playing the hybrid?

[@cromley1]

Thank you for your video. What is an average measurement of the classical guitar neck?

[@joellapaz6724]

What brand of strings for Classical guitar?

[@ricoconsulting]

FRETBOARD RADIUS??? it keeps the fret on the board better its easier to install frets because of the curvature and they are more likely to stay in place if they ate slightly curved it has a clamping effect. it also makes it possible to resurface a fret board easier if you get wear spots. we didn't always have the type of resins and glues we have today. so there are some solutions to occurring problems designed into the basic mass production concept. if a neck is curved and gradually get wider there is hardly any point consistency relative to the mechanics of your hand unless you play in the same spot all the time the same way. it looks cool and you can talk about but it docent make the instrument easier to play. this is a major design flaw in electric guitars in my opinion. this also makes it harder to bend a string as well i flatten most of my electrics. it makes it easier to be accurate if you have small hands like mine the fewer the calculations your hands have to make the better you play. some of these features are hold over concepts from other stringed instruments that were predecessors of the guitar.i think this may be so because of trade craft and marketing. the roll of the guitar in modern music has evolved a lot in the last 50 yrs and mass production design has to catch up a bit in my opinion.

[@JoeHew]

I didn't know it was easier to mass produce radiused fretboards. That's why they're so frustratingly ubiquitous. Thanks for the info. I hate radiused fretboards, but I'm stuck with them at the moment, until I learn to refret and plain all my guitars, or sell them all and get custom made guitars. Thankfully, most classical guitars still have flat fingerboards.

[@toto6773]

Thanks!

[@captainnobody9892]

Hi Andrew. Anything on First Knuckle soreness and how to deal with it. Just starting serious practice "mid 50's" after reading up a bit on guitarists fingers, most notably Keith Richards I wondered if you'd experienced these issues and how you dealt with them? Thank you , s

[@turockandar]

Nice Demo thanks :)I had a Dieter Hoft classical guitar grand classical model worth 5000$ and its finger board was slightly curved with made it ideal for playing Bossa Nova....the vast majority but not all classicals have a perfectly flat radius. I would interested to know your opinion on why electrical guitar necks get fatter towards the top...is it just to give more room to bend strings? Thanks :)

[@tmoto272]

Brilliant, thanks for explaining

[@ozoneswiftak]

To me holding cords are easier with it curved. Making the lower string clearance for fretting .

[@facebookerevieta]

what is a flat neck guitar and what is a flat fingerboard, can you tell me or make a video please thank you very much. im looking for a capo for my acoustic guitar but the capo said that its for a flat neck, flat fingerboard guitar. my acoustic guitar model is alvarez rd20s. can you suggest a capo for my guitar ranging from $5-13. thx, or any website to buy capos, thx.

[@carlosb.6549]

thanks! Very useful!

[@andrewwasson]

@frost0813, What is your source for this comment? I've never read that it has something to do with; woodworking, or history of construction, or limitations of construction. I'm not sure on the source of your reference for your point of view, but... Please research master builders / top-builders of guitars. In particular you may want to look up Master Arch-Top Builder, "Jimmy D'Aquisto." He was Guitar Player Magazine's "Pro's Reply" luthier guy in the 1980's. He is my source for this post.

[@dwinthrop1]

Good explanation. Thanks.

[@kazkylheku1221]

Classical guitars have flat fingerboards because they do not benefit from the complication of cylindrical or conical fretboards. Vioins, violas, cellos and double basses have conical fingerboards so that the bow can make contact with just one string at a time. Guitars aren't bowed and so there is no requirement for that. Steel string acoustics and electrics are often played with a pick. The curved string arrangement helps make it easier to strum a selected group of strings without hitting the adjacent strings. Especially if you're making a big, broadly swinging strum. There is no difficulty playing bar chords on the flat fretboard of the classical. I think that's just a myth.

[@RenoWeedLajos]

five minutes play is more worth than a thousand words..

[@VitalityMassage]

Just flaming! Perfect description. lol. Exactly. Arching a fingerboard WAS done easily by luthiers hundreds of years ago. Tooling? Like what "special tooling" does it take to arch a fingerboard? Frost0813 assumes that people didn't have brains before the year 1900.

[@gomez10969]

Thank you

[@nickrobinson7283]

Nice clip, thanx

[@elsenorx·hace.10.años]

Why Classical guitar necks are all straight meaning they have the same width at the top as at the bottom and Electric guitara get wider toward the bottom?

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

Didn't know that.

[@alanneale1746]

What make and model are you playing here thanks

[@raymonddoucette274]

Alan what make is he playing,thanks, Ray

[@emmanuelwood8702]

This is not true its just tradition all guitars had flat fretboards before radiusing became popular . The classical was just never changed from its traditional design. If they were to radius a classical it wouldn't affect the playability at all.

[@DoU12Rock]

@guitarblogupdate i agree with you andrew..this guy is just flaming..if you think about it most instruments even before classical guitar were arched the violin cello mandolin, many lutes etc. ...the tooling must have existed because look at the violin that fretboard is almost round as far as i'm concerned....mastery has been around for a long time way before technology

[@zvonimirtosic6171]

Spanish guitar design is torturous for the left hand. The explanation in the video makes no sense because then the fingerpicking on an acoustic guitar with radiused neck "would be impossible". But that's not true, because human fingers adapt quickly to different action and neck shapes because the movement of fingers is radiused anyway! I think that the Spaniards had a different problem - I think they could not consistently produce precisely radiused fretboards with consistent radiused frets. It also requires more precision in designing the nut and the saddle, and the back side of the neck takes more time to do. Too much work and too many things to align. But a flattened plank with tiny straight frets is ways easier to do.

[@miragesnworlds]

I would kill for an electric with a flat neck, a trat with a flat neck, oh yea.

[@xvEC13vx]

Never noticed XD Still, liking classical :P

[@creativeguitarstudio]

@leopower7 This channel is my Blog Channel where I answer other questions & stuff. My, "Creative Guitar Studio" channel is for the lessons. Go to: youtube(dot)com/creativeguitarstudio

[@wwemmy]

Got a new haircut? Good video ;)

[@xdeusername]

ahha.. now i know..

[@RobertJones-et7gh]

Any documentation to support this claim?

[@jasonventura1927]

Grab a few guitars at guitar center and play em and feel it for urself

[@theomitrentsis]

Hi there! How about 30 years of playing the bass guitar. I used to play a Yamaha TRB 6 for over 20 years (1000mm radius/almost flat) and really struggle to play bass guitars with a small radius (9.5in and some with 7.25in radius). On electric and steel-string acoustic guitars the radius helps to play chord voicings with the inner 3 or 4 strings with the pick because the outer strings are not in the same plane (geometry). I hope that helps.

[@Crazymofoinamajikbox]

I thought it was cuz it was just simpler than curved fingerboards

[@fernandosalazarserantes8785]

Soulless Ginger No way man, flat fretboards were the original. Later, acoustic guitars were made with curved fretboards to facilitate or relax flat or bar fingered chords held for a long time, mainly for those people who believe that scratching their bellies means playing guitar. Not similar at all.

[@lleonidas004]

@jippie11261 relax i think it is a healthy argument dont make such a big fuss about that

[@guitar5436]

I don't think it's that much harder pluck on a curved neck

[@The1stMrJohn]

german serratos Depends on the radius... at high speed for those used to classical guitars for thousands of hours, a smaller radius is impossible. :-) .

[@jgrossma]

John, as someone who used to play radiused electric who now plays exclusively classical, I have to say its the width of the fingerboard that's more difficult to get used to than the radius. If you're handy with tools you could try it yourself. Get a cheap Chinese Strat neck and some fret wire, pull the frets, level the board with a sanding plane, then refret. There are plenty of videos on youtube that will show you how to do that. Since you're refretting anyway, poor original fret job on the Chinese neck won't really matter.

[@fenderjohn9813]

1:30 plucking hands

[@MidtownMeezus]

So in theory ... 20in neck radius is king

[@junkgyre5301]

I don't buy it, and think people are just lazy. I don't se why a curve would be harder to pluck and use fingerstyle with. Or maybe use a hybrid, where it's flat at the bridge and slightly curve as you go toward the nut. I want to make one like this, I bet you it would be fantastic. People are just plain lazy and don't want to put the time in to do somehting like this.

[@basenjiguitar]

Americans don't know anything about building guitars. What they do is imitate the violin. That's why NO ONE in the world buys classical guitars from the United States. A curved violin mast is because the violinist's staff must have an angle so as not to hit the other strings. On guitar, the only thing that happens is that the guitarist spends more energy crossing the strings, because each one of them has a different height. And the more radius, the strings will tend to click, tinker or sift. SO is so that Fender had to modify his guitars with exaggerated radio. That is the best proof that they don't know how to build guitars. The violins to avoid this, that is why they have the bridge very high, raising the strings a lot, but being nylon they do not require much pressure to attack them correctly. By having different heights the strings by the curved neck of the guitar, now each finger must exert different pressures and you run the risk of pressure tune-ups, the strings become more cumbersome, because ALWAYS on a curve the string that is stepped on and the next one that is in the air will collide with the finger, since one has a lower height and the other has more. If a pick is used now on a rope it may be at the limit of the pick, and when you cross to the next, now having a different height, the rope will be halfway through the pick. That is why they have many problems, since they have to spend energy constantly correcting the position of the pick Americans do not realize their pride and live in their world, they do not realize that NO ONE professional classical guitarist would buy a classical guitar made in the USA.

[@MrMetallicious]

To be honest, high frets make playing barre chords just as easy on a flat board as a radiused one.

[@Yonktech]

classical guitars are the best

[@isaqueegsilva4619]

the guitar needs trussrodd to support steel strings tension, even hard tension nylon strings can damage an classical guitar neck along time. if you have an cheap guitar, and thinking in buing a new no problem in put steel strings on.

[@isaqueegsilva4619]

Because of the traditional thinking, and because of struming style. soloist electric guitars have curved fretboards. but do you see flat fingerboards on actual rithm struming electric guitars? no. do this guitar players have more difficulty in struming on an electric, in articulation? I dont think so. its just habbit. and nylon strings on a curved fingerboard I dont see whats the problem...

[@fernandosalazarserantes8785]

Could you really play anything serious on that guitar?

[@feel.s1304]

What do you mean by "serious?"

[@kanker5256]

some high end classical guitars have a slightly curved fretboard. it works, but i prefer flat

[@MonkeyButt5000]

It seems kinda dumb to me. I don't notice any difficulties playing fingerstyle on an electric with a 12 inch radius.