DjangoBooks.com

Pros and cons of fingerboard extensions

Anyone got any opinions on fingerboard extensions over D hole guitars? It's interesting to see the variety of approaches. I've seen everything from fingerboards with absolutely no extension eg Holo, Favino etc, to guitars with up to 5 frets over the sound hole eg Maccaferi, AJL etc.

It did occur to me that one accidental advantage of a D hole was the access to the inside of the guitar for mounting pickups and repair work. An (over)extended fingerboard would likely take that advantage away.

«134

Comments

  • stuologystuology New
    Posts: 196

    I have five over my D-hole, they are completely pointless to me as I never venture that far up the neck and they are so small they are practically unplayable. They spoil the look of the D-hole a little but otherwise I've never found them to be a disadvantage, there's still more space to get a hand in to the interior than you'd get on a petit bouche. I imagine that for serious repair work luthiers would take the neck and top off anyway.

    TwangBillDaCostaWilliams
  • CraigHensleyCraigHensley Maine New Barault
    Posts: 73

    Wish my D-hole didn't have a fingerboard extension so I could use my Peche pickup properly. They say you can clip it on the opposite side but then it interferes with picking hand; far too bulky. Traditional design elements like fingerboard extensions are an example of pointless and outdated details clinging to nostalgia, especially on 14 fret guitars.

    Twangwim
  • TwangTwang New
    Posts: 410

    @CraigHensley If it makes you feel any better there are issues with oval holes too sometimes. Some guitars are built with a reinforcement underneath the rosette and/or a guide for the trussrod allen key. Both can sometimes interfere with the clip on the peche. The magnetic thingy on the yves Gruen pickup looks interesting. I don't know how it shapes up sound/balance wise against the Peche though.

    CraigHensley
  • pdgpdg ✭✭
    Posts: 457

    12-fret D-holes have a different issue than 14-fret D-holes as to how many frets stick out. Also, 670mm scale vs 640mm scale makes a slight difference.

    Twang
  • Did it and think it was kind of a mistake. Unless you plan to be up there a lot, I don't see the benefit.

    Twang
  • wimwim ChicagoModerator Barault #503 replica
    edited April 2021 Posts: 1,454

    Cons:

    • get in the way of pickups mounting (peche, stimer, guzz)
    • are usually unplayable
    • they look silly

    Pros:

    • (None)


    Some oval holes have them too (e.g. https://www.djangobooks.com/Item/selmer-transitional-replica ). Those kind are not as ugly as the typical D hole ones, but they still suffer from getting in the way of magnetic pickup mounting and that's a deal breaker for me.

    TwangrudolfochristChrisMartinBillDaCostaWilliamsMichaelHorowitzBones
  • Posts: 279

    I actually like the look the extension on the d hole. I call it the diving board. Though I do admit they are not the most practical/useful notes.

    Twang
  • TwangTwang New
    Posts: 410

    I like the look of them. Sometimes a D hole can look a bit “undressed” without one.

    l like the look of D holes without too though.

  • Posts: 4,730

    On the other hand Antoine Boyer added extension on his Holo. And he's using it. They look neat to me, but they're completely impractical... unless you're Antoine Boyer.

    Twang
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • wimwim ChicagoModerator Barault #503 replica
    Posts: 1,454

    Oh, I thought of a pro. It reduce the probability of your pick falling into the soundhole by 1-2%

    TwanglittlemarkLango-DjangoBillDaCostaWilliams
Sign In or Register to comment.
Home  |  Forum  |  Blog  |  Contact  |  206-528-9873
The Premier Gypsy Jazz Marketplace
DjangoBooks.com
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Banner Adverts
Sell Your Guitar
© 2024 DjangoBooks.com, all rights reserved worldwide.
Software: Kryptronic eCommerce, Copyright 1999-2024 Kryptronic, Inc. Exec Time: 0.01858 Seconds Memory Usage: 1.008797 Megabytes
Kryptronic