Why You Need A Fan Fret Guitar | TNAG Feature with Lindsay Straw

Short scale, standard scale, or all of the above? An increasing number of modern guitar builders are employing a multi-scale fan fret design, and we are loving the results. While the concept is still relatively fresh in the guitar world, it's been used for a long time on a variety of other instruments. By combining a shorter scale on the treble side with a standard or long scale on the bass, luthiers are able to optimize the tonal response in all registers, while the fan fret design provides ergonomic benefits for the player. Fingerstyle players in particular will likely appreciate all that fan fret guitars have to offer!
Scripted and performed by ‪@LindsayStraw‬. Filmed and edited by Thien Phan.
Guitars featured in this video:
Greenfield G2: thenorthamericanguitar.com/pr...
Wilborn WarHorse: thenorthamericanguitar.com/pr...
Skytop Grand Auditorium: thenorthamericanguitar.com/pr...
#fanfretguitar #acousticguitar

[@MattSofianosGuitar]

So overall, we need all the guitars. I’m trying to explain this to my wife.

[@G_Demolished]

That’s why I stayed single. My uncle told me how many guitars you can buy for the price of a divorce lawyer!

[@Hikaru109Ichijyo]

good to see acoustics moving in this direction of multiscale / fanned frets

[@VeluzM]

Great video and great playing!

[@mintonmiller]

Holy freakin cow!. I have never heard of this. As a small man with small hands who loves to finger-pick, this IS what I have always wanted but did not know it. But at age 61 with little income, this will never happen. OMG, this sounds like a dream come true that I hope blesses many musicians in the future!. This video makes me happy and sad at the same time but also hopeful that many others will discover this amazing innovation. I only hope I get to play one just once in the time I have left.

[@scottfishkind5335]

Great presentation Lindsay!!

[@master00booya]

Great playing, very informative, nice video

[@homeworshipwithmartyandamy7754]

Thank you for taking the time to produce this videos. Lovely playing! Your channel is a daily visit.

[@TheNorthAmericanGuitar]

We love to hear that! Thank you!

[@TroyRickertsen]

Always greatly enjoy your videos! I find them very insightful, educational, and they reveal a lot about the guitars visual and sonic character. I also enjoy hearing about the origins of the instrument and each luthiers unique approach. Love the playing too! I’ll keep an eye on the descriptions to see if the song names are mentioned. 👍

[@TheNorthAmericanGuitar]

Thanks for your kind words! If any of us ever do play a pre-written piece, we’ll try to be sure to mention it - we all do a lot of winging!

[@SukalyanDas]

Lovely video

[@RohitSguitar]

This video was fascinating and the information was so well presented, thanks so much!! I'm a fingerstyle player but play both long and short scale guitars (long scale mainly for drop tunings where short scale can sound muddy and strings feel too floppy to me). Would love to try one of these fan fret guitars to see how they feel.

[@TheNorthAmericanGuitar]

Thank you kindly! A fan fret might be the perfect fit for you! They do great in alternate tunings.

[@Alfredo78666]

Is that a badass guitar or what?

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

This is a very old idea from the 16th Century as it's taken from the Orpharion

[@roujiteku2114]

would the ergonomic principle be negated if you play it in a classical guitar position?

[@guitarnotions]

How does multi scale hold up to rhythm vs finger style? Thanks.

[@TheNorthAmericanGuitar]

Excellent question! It does seem that most multi-scale guitars are geared towards fingerstylists, not just because the short-scale trebles are sweeter and more mellow, but also in the tonewood choices and voicing. Not a lot of rhythm focused players seem to seek them out. Depending on your style of rhythm playing, there's no reason you can't technically do it on a multi-scale guitar-it just might not be optimized for it tonally. For example, bluegrass and country rhythm guitar evolved to capitalize on the strengths of the standard scale length dreadnought, and the taut, bright trebles are preferable to most for that boom-chuck rhythm. That said, if your style of rhythm playing is more general, you might find a fan fret guitar sounds great, while giving you those ergonomic benefits. While a fan fret guitar might not be our first suggestion for a primary rhythm guitarist, if you like the concept and are a diverse player, you could definitely find (or design) the right fan fret for you!

[@t.schipper]

Is the soundhole on the side of the Skytop purely artistic, or is there some thought behind it?

[@zachtbh]

I've seen a lot of luthiers using it especially on exotic or not so common tonewoods.. I'm also wondering about it

[@holyebangz2.018]

what strings do you use?

[@TheNorthAmericanGuitar]

Depending on the body size you could opt for standard light or medium gauge strings, or you could get really specific and try to optimize further by creating a custom set. Stringjoy has a great article about it! stringjoy.com/fanned-fret-and-multi-scale-guitars-explained/

[@77guitarts22]

Amazing guitar! But 24 k +??? Wow ... imagine how careful you have to be holding it and playing it. Much more expensive than a Golden era, vintage Martin?

[@diegomoreno1029]

Music while she speaks is ANNOYING!!!

[@markwinnicki8802]

hey Lindsay try playing some squareneck dobro to break up the mix and an ever so slight addition to the acoustic guitar you're great not to mention drop dead Georgous by the way are you single💋💋❤️❤️