Patrick Moraz in Relayer

[Sputnik]

excuse my ignorance but I understand the concept of the temperament frets. What is the advantage to the fanned fret guitar?

Fanned fret guitars combine some of the elements of a baritone guitar with a regular guitar. Lengthening the lower strings gives them a stronger voice and more bass like a baritone guitar. So it's like a hybrid where the lower strings are like a baritone but the upper stings are more like a normal scale guitar.

I've never knowingly heard one in action. I'm sure there are Youtube videos that demonstrate how they sound. It's an interesting idea, though not one I'd likely explore as a player. But if someone used one, I'd certainly have a listen to hear what it can do.

Bill

[popeyebonaparte]

My god. Fannet fret guitars. Is this what we have been reduced to? I bet none of them wankers could write a proper tune in their fucking lives.

[Zeuhlmate]

Alex Machachek's Strandberg guitar is fanned above the 10th fret
https://strandbergguitars.com/produc...k-edition-red/

Lee Sklar plays fanned fret basses (Dingwall).

Hanford Rowe (Gong) plays a Warwick 'Just Intonation' Bass
https://www.facebook.com/notes/hansf...6270514739326/

[progmatist]

Fanned fret guitars only work with lighter gauge strings and a plain G. That's because the frets are closer to the bridge under the G string. With heavier strings and a wound G, the pitch would be way off.

[stickman393]

So much incorrect in these posts.

Fanned Frets are about string tension and string gauge, and varying them to improve the tone whilst retaining the original pitch of the string.
The longer the string, the higher the tension. You can use any gauge strings you like, subject to the pitch of the open string you need.

Lower gauge = thinner string = thinner tone (subjective) and the overtones and dead spots in certain locations.
Higher gauge = fatter string = full-er tone (subjective), and different overtones, dead spots move perhaps to a better location.

So, in order to use higher gauge strings to get (better) tone, but still keep the string tension high enough to retain pitch, tone, and playability, you need to lengthen the string. That means, the neck gets longer.
But: if you do this to all string equally, it can affect the higher strings in ways that might be considered negative! Higher pitched strings with long vibration lengths can sound less good. Or better. Depends. See: Holdsworth and Baritone guitars.

It's much more significant in Bass guitars where going to a low B means risking floppy strings unless you stretch the neck out from 34" to 36" or whatever, but then you really notice it on the treble strings, especially on 6-string basses.

The way to balance this out is to use different scales for each string, and Fanning the frets is how this is done. Each string has a unique scale length that is closer to ideal for a certain quality of tone.

You can't change scale lengths halfway and that is not what the Strandberg is doing. Alex's Strandberg is fanned across the whole length of the neck, it's just that it is much less noticeable at the nut end, and uses a much smaller difference in scale between the strings to allow the nut end to be 90 degree to the neck whilst still being playable further up the neck.

[progmatist]

^^ Fanning frets is about "compensation." In standard compensation, in use since the mid 20th century, moving the bridge saddles back increases the length of the strings, thus "compensating" for the extra tension cause by pushing the string down against the fret. This extra tension will cause the string to be slightly sharp when fretting it at the 12th fret, compared to the 12 fret harmonic. While adjusting "compensation," the saddle is moved back until the pitch of the fretted 12th fret matches the 12th fret harmonic. If one goes too far and the string is overcompensated, the fretted string will be lower in pitch than the 12 fret harmonic. The problem is, bridge compensation is a compromise. It becomes less accurate around the 9th fret, and even less so around the 5th and 3rd fret. Conversely, strings tend to become more and more overcompensated above the 12th fret.

As you stated, the fanning of fanned frets will be more pronounced on the lower frets, and become less and less so the higher up one goes on the fret board. Also, where fanning will be most pronounced will be under the strings requiring the most compensation...namely the low E and plain G. This is far more accurate than standard bridge saddle compensation. If you look at the bridge saddles on a guitar with fanned frets, they're in a straight line. On a standard guitar, they resemble the settings of a graphic equalizer.

Yes, different string gauges require different levels of compensation. When stringing a Strat with '9s, I've had to remove the spring from behind the low E saddle, because it was blocking the saddle from moving far enough back to fully compensate the string. I've never had to do this with heavier strings. Many times on a Les Paul type guitar with a "Tune o'matic" bridge, I've moved the low E and/or G saddle back as far as they would go, but the string was still under-compensated. That's because when the Tune o'matic bridge was invented in the 1950s, everyone used heavy gauge strings. Heavier strings require less compensation.