scalloped fret board

Guitar-Sam · Post by **Guitar-Sam** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:16 am

I've a got a frankenstrat homemade thing. Its an 80's Tele neck on a plywood strat clone body

with aftermarket pickguard and pots and Fender and Dimarzio single coils.It played a little tough so I got the dremel out and went to town on it the other night.Figured it would help the playabilitie and if I fucked it up atleast its not one of my favorite guitars.
Last scalloped neck I had was on a standard strat about 8yrs ago.I scalloped it like feet deep BY HAND!!!!! lol could do speed runs without picking it was so touch sensitive.WELL.......after the blisters on all ten fingers healed after that scallop job.

Anyways how do you all feel about scalloped necks??I know it seems to be an unusual mod that noone besides Yngwie and Blackmore ever seem to have done.
I see it allot on strats but you guys ever seen a scalloped Les Paul or set neck/neck through style guitar??

Leader · Post by **Leader** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:13 am

I only played one scalloped neck on a strat. I kinda liked it but I would only do it to an old piece of shit guitar not one of my Gibsons. I've only heard it done on strats.

908ssp · Post by **908ssp** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 10:52 am

I used to play scalloped necks which I did myself. You can do a much better job with a couple of files and some sand paper then you can with a Dremal. I made this flame guitar back in 80's and even did an SG.

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:22 pm

Scalloped fingerboards are great,it's a either love or hate thing though.When you play your non-scalloped neck guitars again it is weird as the great freedom to dance above the fingerboard is gone and you are slamming the wood again.The use of the thumb as an anchor is key and it depends on the style of music being played,how the thumb is postioned.For sweep picking ,neo-classical stuff,as in conventional classical guitar,the thumb is firmly rooting behind the neck,whereas in rock or bluesy type stuff the thumb can move around more freely.It is refreshing to adapt the lighter touch required for the scalloping,and yes depending on your flexiblity(or lack of),to configure chords,requires super concentration and much practice.The speed myth,fater on a scalloped neck isn't really true,not in my experience.You have more freedom to express your vibrato,and in the case of Yngwie Malmsteen,he can obtain the clarity of notes on top of a large amount of power tube distortion,but this has been a topic of much debate recently in certain circles,as he is certainly playing as well as ever,but the overall distortion factor in the tone,is greater than ever,and not all his fans,your's included,care for it as much.
Ritchie Blackmore certainly used scalloped necks,to wring out some great licks,and was certainly influential to many.
I would say if you choose to play only scalloped neck guitars,you will improve your skill more quickly,in my case i have only one out of seven guitars,configured that way,and I think the shortened scale,less tensioned necked,wider fingerboard Les Paul type guitars,don't lend themselves to scalloping and it would not work as well with that modification as do the Fender necks with their longer scale and incresed tension and differently shaped and narrowed fingerboards.
I feel the Malmsteen guitar is the ideal configuration for this type of fingerboard,as a complete package.

yngwie308

wdelaney72 · Post by **wdelaney72** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:36 pm

David,
Didn't Yngwie only scallop something like frets 7 and above? I remember playing a signature strat of his back in the late 80's or early 90's and I want to say the whole fretboard was scalloped, which seemed a bit much. Am I wrong?

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:10 am

wdelaney,only Ritchie Blackmore had partially scalloped neck guitars(and fully scalloped ones)Yngwie right from the start with the infamous 1972 Stratocaster the"Duck",his first Fender,have all been fully scalloped.Yngwie also has most of his guitars deeply scalloped,compared to the production signature models,although on the Malmsteen.org/forum we have had a show and tell and most of the later Signature models have what could be termed 'medium' depth scallops.The new for 2007 US Malmsteens were suposed to have the deeper scallops of his stage guitars,but this hasn't turned out to be the case.The US version has adopted the machine screw threaded insert neck mounting system,which has an incredible effect of transfering tone frome the neck to the body and was developed as a result of Yngwie converting '71 and up guitars to the four bolt mounting system,with a method to greatly increase the overall rigidity of the body/neck junction and the inserts are made of brass,just like the nut.
Here are some fresh links from the MIJ sites sent to me by the Malminator:
http://www.mijfenders.com/index.htm
This rare '68 MIJ has some fantastic photos of the machine screw/insert mounting method,why aren't all Strats built like this?The MIJ Malmsteens have for many years exactly resembled Yngwie's stage guitars,whereas the US versions were somewhat in their own world:
http://www.mijfenders.com/Gallery/YJM/S ... /index.htm

The exquisite nylon strung replica of Yngwie's Custom Shop replica:
http://www.mijfenders.com/Gallery/YJMCl ... /index.htm

Check out the varyinfg depth of the scallops in the close up thumbnails to see what I mean.
Actually I am totally getting back into Strat's 100% and hope to eventually get some MIJ's someday.
Plus I have decided my next amp project may well be a 50 watt early seventies era big box Mk II,I may be deciding to unleash the fury myself!
But scallops only part of the way are on Steve Vai's Jem's,but not the latest ones I think.
There is supposed to be some big Yngwie news coming up soon and the fan club director is teasing us,so when I find out we'll all find out from me!
Thanks for your question.
yngwie308

Devon8822 · Post by **Devon8822** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:33 am

Yngwie308, you are always there with the info when someone needs it. You know you stuff when it comes to these particular guitarists and equipment, and I find you musical tastes quite similar to mine.

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:30 am

Thanks Devon8822,I certainly try to help and if I don't know it off hand,I will search for the information until I can find it.
The golden era forour type of music was late seventies to late eighties and what a productive timeit was so many bands,so much talent,it was really exciting to wait for these mega bands to visit out towns and the playing ability was at a point ,maybe never to be reached again.
I feel incredibly lucky with the way the music business is going to be born when I was,1954 and to have lived in England and sort of followedall this great music from the Cream,Hendrix days onward.The Metro forum in particular gives us all a chance to talk about the music we all love,and keeps the flame alive.
Thanks for your kind words!
908sp that flames guitar certainly reminds me of Steve Vai's similar guitar!
Regards
Yngwie308

wdelaney72 · Post by **wdelaney72** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:50 am

Devon8822 wrote:Yngwie308, you are always there with the info when someone needs it.

+1
Thanks for sharing.

I know you mentioned before having arthritis concerns with building your own amp. A man with your passion for this stuff deserves his own build. I hope it works out for you, as I'm sure you'd build a great amp and love every minute of the process. Good luck.

Guitar-Sam · Post by **Guitar-Sam** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:12 pm

Cool links
this link you gave http://www.mijfenders.com/Gallery/YJM/S ... /index.htm is about how deep I did mine.
The first one I did was literally like 1/8" deep LOL
I do gotta say my frankenstrat has really high string tension and evan scalloped don't play as good as my 79 with jumbo frets.

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:20 am

Here are some more comments about the choice of scalloped necks from the yngwie.org/forum:
Three Primary Reasons:

A) The incredible ease, control and articulation of finger vibrato...which is one of the most signature and identifiable characteristics of a guitar player.

B) Un-matched ease and control of bends...no matter how high or low on the neck you are. The scallops ensure that you can really get a positive "bite" on the strings, allowing you to "dig in" and perform precise bending, even on the high "E" string.

c) Side-benefit of forcing one to develop a lighter and more relaxed fretting hand. This ultimately has a VERY positive influence on your technique.

Most people unfamiliar with scalloped fretboard/neck guitars think that scalloping helps a guitarist play faster. This is NOT at all true. In fact, if anything, it is a bit harder to play faster on a scalloped neck (at least at first). However, once you have been playing a scalloped neck guitar for awhile, you learn to relax and lighten your touch, which then leads to improved speed and dexterity, and better accuracy and control.

I also will add the following comment:

I have been playing guitar for twenty years. I didn't play a scalloped neck guitar until I bought my first YJM Strat, in 2004.

I now have three (3) Fender YJM Strats...and I do not play any other type of guitar anymore. I have a perfectly good PRS CE-24, a Fender American Standard Strat, and a Peavey V-Type...which are all now gathering dust. I also sold off a nice Les Paul Classic.

That is how much I love the scalloped neck, and the Fender YJM Strat in particular.

I 'miss' the scalloped neck when I switch to the conventional fingerboard,the high E,you must be careful with as it is easy to slip of the neck with that string,and requires a concious effort to control.
yngwie308

jfhudak · Post by **jfhudak** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:18 pm

This is a very interesting topic. I play Gibsons, so I don't have any desire to scallop my boards. However, I noticed years ago that the guitars that had "tall" frets on them played much better. I was able to lower the action, and yet still bend like crazy because I could get a good "bite" on the strings with the fleshy part of my fingers. In short, I had more leverage.

That's one reason (besides the COST) that I have NEVER liked the 59 Les Paul reissues, they "prewear" the frets down to the point that you can't get any appreciable grip on the strings.

They don't do this with their Customs, which is partially why I own the 57 and 54 Les Paul Custom reissues (plus the ebony boards suit me better). They also don't do this with the SGs or the Firebirds, two other guitars that I love.

Interesting to note though, that there are two ways to accomplish similar goals. One involves adding material (higher frets) and the other involves taking material away (scalloping a fretboard).

Cool stuff!

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:41 pm

jfhudak,exactly why I don't care for 'stock' Gibson fretwire.On my Gary Moore Heritages,I have a medium jumbo DiMarzio stainless steel fretwire on both,this was when they were brand new,but those nubby type fret ends,really spoiled it.Also Gary Moore has all his guitars jumbo fretted at least to Dunlop 6105 or taller,wider.I found I could have a super low action with 440 0.10 to 0.52 and great sustain ,no buzz.So the heavier the strings the lower the action can be.
I go up and down on what i like from Gibson style 24.75" to Fender 25.5" scale and have never like tween guitars like PRS.
The frets and radius of my Washburn and Hamers are perfect,and the oil finish on the Washburn is my favorite 'feeling' neck.
If I was to buy a R9,I would have it refretted with the right frets.On my Malmsteen however the super tall fat Dunlop 6000's would be too high on an ordinary seventies Strat with no scallops.
Larger frets equal cleaner mor articulate bends and give a guitar great playability.I think Fender is leading the way with offering Vintage Strats with 9.5" radius and jumbo frets!
My Heritage's were set up,the new bridge and stoptails plus refretted by the late great John Ziedler of Philadelphia and these are the easiest playing Les Paul type guitars ever.
If George moves to either Austin or Nashville and we can all have a metro convention,I will bring all my guitars so you guys can try them,but I tell you have my eye on the SS80 right now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/washburn-USA-SS80-S ... dZViewItem
The wire we put on my '52 Goldtop,

sort of medium jumbo:

Of course the monster Malmsteen frets!!

Hamer again medium jumbo:

The Heritage:

You make a good point about the scalloping versus taller frets on a conventional fingerboard.
Thanks
yngwie308

NY Chief · Post by **NY Chief** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:22 pm

Jumbo's baby! The only way to go.

I bought my '71 LP Custom in '76 with the original "fretless wonder" frets. Man did I get those replaced with jumbos immediately.

jfhudak · Post by **jfhudak** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:30 pm

NY Chief wrote:Jumbo's baby! The only way to go.

I bought my '71 LP Custom in '76 with the original "fretless wonder" frets. Man did I get those replaced with jumbos immediately.

Yeah, I had one of those! Those frets SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED!

I never did get it refretted, but I should have. That was my 69 Custom. Wish I still had that guitar!