Scalloping

[-Gavin-]

I really want a scalloped fretboard but dont wanna pay £300 for it.

how easy is it to do by hand, what tools required and whats he likely hood of fucking up...


I'll be experimenting on a shitty squire so can someone please give me a walk through.
thanks

 

[bobvex]

use a series of rough to smooth half round wood files, then some extra fine grit sandpaper (800 grit), then maybe even some 1000 grit. then some fret board conditioner.

 

[-Gavin-]

Cool, i heard the Sharkfin inlays are thin as fuck, can anyone give me an exact depth?

 

[bobvex]

hmm i might pop one out of my old neck. . .and ill measue it, just for shits and gigles. . .hahah

 

[-Gavin-]

you rock

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Well, I modded a shitty squire myself, and a scallop job was one of the things I did, and this tutorial helped me a lot.

http://projectguitar.com/tut/scalloped.htm

or

http://projectguitar.com/tut/scal1.htm

 

[Akronaes]

Call me a dumb noob (please, I beg of you).. but what is this scalloping business supposed to do?

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

It gives you a better control of the frets, and gives you much more feel to the strings, because there is kind of more to grip, and the main thing it does is it allows for some crazy ass vibrato and bends like you wouldn't believe. It is something that requires a very light touch, or else it is very easy to hit the notes too sharp. Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai are a few of the more popular players that use this mod/feature on their guitars.

 

[Sunbane]

It just makes for a different feel. When you fret a note correctly on a scalloped neck, there is no fretboard wood supporting the string and your finger. If you're heavy handed like me, you'll probably press the notes sharp just by trying to play.

Those who like it usually say that it takes a while getting used to, but that it helped them develop better playing technique.

Edit: You beat me to it Leper! =)

'bane

 

[Indiooo]

I've scalloped a couple of necks. For me it's an improvement, no doubt about it. It gives me a lot more control of the strings, better grip and I also feel it makes legato and tapping easier for me, and more responsive. I used a Dremmel and later some very fine grit sandpaper to smooth it out. Make sure you cover your frets with masking paper or some tape, or whatever. This is extremely important if you don't want to damage your frets big time.

 

[xenophobe]

If you have Jackson sharkfin type inlays and want to do a scalop job, it's gonna look horrible.

 

[bobvex]

fuck it. . .i decided im gonna scallop my Epiphone from the 12th fret up to the 22nd. . or maybe just the last 6 or 7 frets . ..

 

[Indiooo]

Scallop the whole neck, it's worth it. Besides, a half scalloped neck feels kind of akward, at least to me. Imagine you're playing some kind of ascending pattern between the 10th and 14th frets. You're fretting some notes on scalloped frets and some notes on un-scalloped frets. I don't like the idea at all, but it's up to you.

 

[bobvex]

maybe ill try shallower scallops. . .

 

[-Gavin-]

Aye so how deep do Sharkfins or BC rich Diamond inlays go?

 

[bobvex]

i dont know i never checked

 

[Razorjack]

No inlay is usually deeper than 2mm especially since you fretboard is only around 5mm!!

 

[USMC0341]

Call me a dumb noob (please, I beg of you).. but what is this scalloping business supposed to do?

Depending on the degree of scalloping, your fingers will fret the string between the frets, and your fingers will probably not really need to touch the fretboard much (and may not be able to if you have a deep scallop on your board). It's a verry odd feel my music teacher and the guitarist I work with both swear by it - and by their playing, I can argue with it at all...

 

[USMC0341]

And just out of curiousity - what kind of guitar do you have? If you have a Strat - I would call Warmouth - they do custom necks for Strats and do great scallop work. Sometimes spending the $$$ is worth every penny, especially when it comes to your instrument...

 

[xenophobe]

Jackson inlays are no more than 1mm thick.