Refretting & Scalloping.

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by ronnieanand, May 2, 2005.

  1. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Hi,
    I have a GB&a Super Fake Strat. I am currently using my Tulasi guitar. The GB&a has a Rosewood Fretboard with regular frets. It's in great condition. I am having a kinky idea of refretting the guitar with jumbo frets and also scalloping the fretboard. I am also thinking of getting done from Tulasi. I want to know, if refretting and scalloping will affect the strength of the neck. I dont want the neck to bend or break because it was refretted or scallopped. The idea is check out, how good scalloped neck with jumbo frets suit my playing. Dont want to experiment by spending on a new guitar.
    As of now it's not a neccesity but just out of sheer experimentatiion.
     
  2. soulscape777

    soulscape777 Oneiric

    Hey,finally getting to read some interseting postings!(no offence to the others)
    Ronnie u'll love the scallped feel...i kinda have a feeling u'll get hooked
    i had a YJM signature strat and loved the way u cud"dig"in...around that time i got hooked to Ibanez guitars/whammy fixation n sold it for a song to my friend (5g).GB&A have good feel,a good friend picked it for 7g,fixed Ghost P/ups n preamp,GK2AH and its a smooth studio babe now.i have a GB&A acoustic,sounds good but a lil hard on the fingers
    i've had fretlless gtrs on my mind for 6 months or so and am saving up for a Vigier surfreter.i happened to check out the late Shawn Lane's custom Vigier n wanted one ever since.Also in the pipeline a Steinberger GM7TA n if luck n finances go my way,im expecting a Godin LGXT(synth access) by next week
    u must check out www.unfretted.com for that"kink"
    where are u based?im Delhi based at the moment n shifting to Mumbai hopefully in June.Must meet n exchange ideas,from the lil tht i read ,u seem to be interesting.Guitar Synths also on the menu for u?????? :think:
     
  3. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Hi Soulscape,
    Even I have a feeling that I might like it but I dont the guitar to become non playable due to so much of re work done on the neck. You haven't answered my question. Will it affect the strength of neck if I refret and also scallop the neck.

    I am based in Bangalore as of now. We can catch up sometime if I come to Bombay or you come to Bangalore. There's a Satriani gig happening in Bangalore. You might want to come down for that.

    I haven't thought about Guitar Synth yet. $$$$$$$$ is one reason that I dont think about a lot of gear. Just saving few bucks here and there and making my good set of pedal collection currently.
     
  4. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    I think it should be possible, though my guess is that u might be better off with a new fingerboard in case of fret replacement.....
     
  5. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Yeah, I wanted Ebony Fretboard but Tulasi cribbed a lot for that. Actually I wanted ebony fretboard for my Tulasi guitar. He cribbed too much, so I asked him to go with the rosewood one. Ebony is supposed to the darkest sounding wood.
     
  6. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    yeah..I had my heart set on ebony too....he cribbed a lot and said that it will cost 700 extra..blah blah.... :mad:
     
  7. soulscape777

    soulscape777 Oneiric

    strength of the neck wont be affected.scalloping wont effect the neck either but yes refretting with jumbo frets will as u'll then go slightly into the realm of the microtonal.so it'll sound detuned a bit if u dont know your tempered touch zones("semi fretless"....lol).alternatively u can go for a new neck w/ jumbo frets n scallop it,etc and....oh! most importantly....get a good luthier for your ideas.
    good luck
     
  8. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    He was asking me Rs.600 for ebony. I was willing to pay and then he told me that it might not be available and I have to wait. When I told him that I'd wait, he started giving various reasons that only ebony necks for violins are available. Basically he was not interested in doing it, so I just left it.
     
  9. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    Ya..I think he should diversify his options a bit...for eg he can easily import different looking pickups(just color change) or pot knobs...but he was unwilling to to this wen I asked for a bit of variety...also if he cud find another body wood it wud be nice..guitars made of teak are very uncommon..its not exactly a traditional tone wood..I read sumwhere thet teak bodies lead to very short-lived high notes on ur guitar..though low end and clean sounds are good..
     
  10. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    It'd be still okay if you have a good pickup. These are anyway not Studio Quality guitars. On live, people even play guitars made of Fibre Glass, so teak is not an issue at all.
     
  11. shak

    shak Harrr!

    less is always more .... just answer this honestly ... are you good enuff palyer to go for all this fancy stuff??? .. just get yourself a good solid guitar .. forget all this ****... no use believe me. .. save yourself money for KFC.
     
  12. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    OK..I am a complete beginner..not good enuff to worry about fancy stuff..... but that does not mean I shud not try to get the maximum I can for what I am paying.....
    Wats wrong with a bit of cosmetic beauty for my guitar, its meant to be a beautiful instrument...:)..and soon I will learn to appreciate the fancy stuff too, and I dont wanna think back and feel..if only I had researched a bit more earlier
    ....and I am not exactly asking for bird inlays done in MOP,am I?... :p:....

    BTW...wats KFC?if its the famed chicken brand,no use....I am vegetarian;)
     
  13. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Fancy is okay but if you are looking at tone wood or some particular thing in particular, then you dont have much options for a very low price. I preferred Ebony Fretboard, because it's supposed to the darkest sounding wood and I personally like a darker sound. Rosewood is medium and Maple is the brightest. From this, I would never go for a Maple fretboard 'cos it would not suit my kind of sound. So if you are too particular about tone wood, then you should look at the high end models where they use the best tone wood. Not just any Alder or Mahagony but a real selected Alder / Mahagony from the entire lot. As a beginner, forget it. Trust me, it takes a long time to actually find your limitations from the wood. Most of us, dont even reach that level as a matter of fact,
     
  14. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    Hmmmm..u are right.. tone wood is taking it too far....guess too much drooling at those high end guitars had its effect on me..:p:
     
  15. zohaib

    zohaib Shredder

    wats this scollaping ??
     
  16. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    The wood is slightly scooped between the frets. The idea is borrowed from the Indian classical instrument Veena. It's much easier to fret and also to bend. If you fret hard, then the notes wont be accurate when you play. I have played Veena before, so I know it's feel. I just want to experiment the same with my guitar. More over my biggest guitar hero Ritchie Blackmore also has a scalloped fretboard.
     
  17. shak

    shak Harrr!

    bird inlays done in MOP!! ..lol .. yeah true, thats really somethign fancy.
    well i agree, if you are going for a custom guitar you have every right to make it cosmetically appealing ... go for the scalloped frets if you want, they wont effect the tone but will make it easier for you to make bends... but a word of warning, you need serious callouses on yur fingers to play scalloped guitars cuz the finger tips take all the pressure,
    and i agree with ronnie, go for the best piece of wood that you can, i know its difficult but, ask the experts to do that for you ... tell em "main wood quality per compromise nahee karoon ga!!!!" .. and mean it!!
     
  18. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    You dont have much choice. You have to compromise on the wood quality, if you get it done here. I dont think you require serious callous to play a scallopped guitar. I have Veena and never felt the need for it. Infact it's much easier to fret a Veena that to fret a guitar.
     
  19. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    Here are 2 pics showing how scalloped frets look like...
     

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