it might seem the same to you, but i will now go into detail why what i said earlier about fucking up tuning is true:
if you tune your guitar normally, and push down a string to the fretboard, it increases the tension slightly (call it negligble) which in turn makes the note a tiny bit sharp. we don't normally care about this because it's on the order of 1-5 cents on a tuner.
now scallop the neck. you push down further. if you push a string down to the fretboard on a scalloped neck, the distance you moved it is greater. therefore, the tension increase (from stretching the string a longer distance between the fixed endpoints) is greater, and it is more out of tune. this time, it's noticeable and not pleasant.
for that reason, I agree with Ptah (and what I originally said) that it is only good for light-touch techniques where you don't push all the way down. this includes heavily strummed chords, prebent releases, and any other occasion where you have to exert more than minimal force. tapping for example does not require this as you can simply touch lightly (without pushing down all the way) on a scalloped neck, and that is the original point of scalloping - making sweeps and tapping fast and easier. there's a reason the original generation scalloped necks had scallops only on the upper frets.
Sorry man, you are not
going into detail in explaining why a scalloped fretboard will make you play out of tune, you are, however, explaining why
bad technique will make you play out of tune...
I know I'm jumping in quite a bit late in this discussion, but there seems to be so much mumbo jumbo and misinformation floating around concerning scalloped fretboards, that I thought a bit of clarification was in order...
The fact of the matter is that you should
always play with light touch, whether playing chords, tapping, sweeping or bending. In short: if you always use as much force on your instrument, as is needed to bring a guitar with a scalloped fretboard out of tune,
you are allways playing out of tune regardless of the guitar you are playing.
I have played scalloped fretboards for close to 5 years now, and have NO problem playing in tune - regardless of which technique I decide to molest my poor guitar with.
Then why do a lot of guitarists experience the "out of tune" phenomena when trying scalloped fretboards for the first time? In honesty, this has nothing to do with the scalloped fretboard in itself, but something to do with mindset of the player. What happens, is that many players are used to feeling the fretboard (even if only ever so slightly) and uses it to gauge how much further the string needs to be moved, in order for it to be fretted properly. When such a player (who is used to gauging the distance between the string and the fret by the fingers' relative proximity to the fretboard) tries a scalloped fretboard, that player will invariably play out of tune (because his mind will tell him to keep pressing, until he can feel his fingers touching the fretboard). Still, any competent guitarist should be capable of relearning this minute bit of technique within a few minutes on a scalloped board... and given 30 minutes, you'll be flying across the fretboard, just as you did before.
However, a scalloped fretboard
will not help you play faster, it simply
won't make taps easier and sweeping is just as hard/easy on a scalloped fretboard as it is on a regular one...
if you are playing with proper fingering technique (precise fingering, light touch etc.), that is! If your technique is lacking, a scalloped fretboard will make it
harder to play, not easier.
The only true benefits of a scalloped fretboard are that bends and vibrato are
much easier to both perform and control (no more slipping strings) and that you are never slowed down, even the slightest bit, by your fingertips touching a fretboard. However, the scalloped fretboard will force you to clean up your technique... which eventually
will help you play faster, sweep better and perform better legato.
An added bonus for me is that I prefer the tone of a maple fretboard, but hate the feel of the laquer usually used to protect the maple. With scalloping, I get the tone of maple without the need to touch a laquered fretboard.
Despite my own preference to scalloped fretboards (I own two scalloped 6-strings and have a custom scalloped 7-string in the works), I highly suggest trying a guitar with a scalloped fretboard for
at least a couple of days before taking the plunge and doing an irreversible scallop mod. BTW, I have heard that musiciansfriend.com have a 45 day return policy on the Yngwie Strat...
Cheers
Eske
