Scalloped Necks and Non Shredders

[EEF13]

I was reading somewhere that Richie Sambora had a custom made Fender Strat a with scalloped neck and I saw K.K Downing playing a guitar with a scalloped neck. These two players are not considered shredders like Malmsteen or Joe Stump playing a fast solo in every second of a song.

My question is. Do you need to be a shredder to play with a scalloped neck?

 

[ToothDecay]

Scalloped fretboards actually started on sitars and someone adapted it to a guitar neck

 

[Sony Oengui]

A friend has a classic guitar (nylon strings) with a scalloped neck. Feels really nice.

 

[River]

No, you don't. They're not that different compared to big, fat frets.

I've never played big, fat frets, but come Christmas I'll be "learned up". I'll let you know how it works out. My expectations are high.

Most people press on the strings way too hard in the first place...

 

[Mark H]

I think I read that Malmsteen was working in a guitar repair shop and they were cutting fret boards on classic guitars? This gave him the idea, did Richie Blackmore use a cut fret board too?

 

[guitarbob123]

yeah blackmore used it.

 

[AngryHatter]

Scalloped fretboards actually started on sitars and someone adapted it to a guitar neck

McLaughlin in 1974? Shakti.
First one I saw.
It allows for microtones.

 

[DRF]

I bought a Malmsteen strat but I'm not a shredder,I'm also not a Blues neck strangler. I started out on strats 20yrs ago then moved to the L.P style until recently.I switched back-but the main thing that has always been my preference is-Huge frets.

Even with the largest frets known,my fingertips would still rub on the fretboard,so for me scalloped is the ultimate. Between that,switching to strats and running a pushed Marshall...the Malmsteen sig(unfortunate stigma) was but a natural and very good choice.

 

[arcanis494]

I was reading somewhere that Richie Sambora had a custom made Fender Strat a with scalloped neck and I saw K.K Downing playing a guitar with a scalloped neck. These two players are not considered shredders like Malmsteen or Joe Stump playing a fast solo in every second of a song.

My question is. Do you need to be a shredder to play with a scalloped neck?

To my knowledge Richie Blackmore was the first rock guy to play with a scalloped fretboard (although it is only scalloped under the the top three strings). Richie can play fast, but he is a very tasteful player and I don't know of many who would call him a shredder.

In my opinion Malmsteen was just copying Richie. Malmsteen claims that he got the idea from Lutes. That is also Richie's story. It's not a coincidence that both Richie and Yngwie scalloped the fretboard of a cream colored strat. Who came first; Yngwie or Richie?

Some older Malmsteen strats even have black colored pickups like Ritchie's famous strat.

I've only played a guitar with a scalloped fretboard once. It was a Malmsteen strat at Sam Ash in NYC. It was definitely different, bends and vibrato seemed easier, but it didn't make it any easier to play faster.

 

[EEF13]

to my knowledge richie blackmore was the first rock guy to play with a scalloped fretboard (although it is only scalloped under the the top three strings). Richie can play fast, but he is a very tasteful player and i don't know of many who would call him a shredder.

In my opinion malmsteen was just copying richie. Malmsteen claims that he got the idea from lutes. That is also richie's story. It's not a coincidence that both richie and yngwie scalloped the fretboard of a cream colored strat. Who came first; yngwie or richie?

Some older malmsteen strats even have black colored pickups like ritchie's famous strat.

I've only played a guitar with a scalloped fretboard once. It was a malmsteen strat at sam ash in nyc. It was definitely different, bends and vibrato seemed easier, but it didn't make it any easier to play faster.

is it better with lighter strings or heavier strings?

 

[Jason]

I've only played a guitar with a scalloped fretboard once. It was a Malmsteen strat at Sam Ash in NYC. It was definitely different, bends and vibrato seemed easier, but it didn't make it any easier to play faster.

Yeah, it's not conducive to faster playing in and of itself... It does make you modify your technique to have a lighter touch though, thus speeding you up.

 

[Lungo]

Do you need to be a shredder to play with a scalloped neck?

As others have pointed out, the only advantage of a scalloped fretboard is making bends and micro tones easier. Having a scalloped fretboard does not make you faster and they aren't easier to play. You have to have a light touch but it doesn't take much to get use to. I owned a guitar thrown together by various parts with a scalloped fretboard back in 1991. I liked the control over vibrato with that guitar.

Having a scalloped fretboard does not make you faster. Also, having a scalloped fretboard does not make you any faster. Did I mention that a scalloped fretboard does not make you play any faster?

 

[River]

<snip>Having a scalloped fretboard does not make you faster. Also, having a scalloped fretboard does not make you any faster. Did I mention that a scalloped fretboard does not make you play any faster?

Huh?

 

[JonMan94]

its donest make you go faster.... thats YOU!!!!!!

 

[Rikochet]

its donest make you go faster.... thats YOU!!!!!!

I tried that, but I donest go faster.......

 

[Nigel T.]

To my knowledge Richie Blackmore was the first rock guy to play with a scalloped fretboard (although it is only scalloped under the the top three strings). Richie can play fast, but he is a very tasteful player and I don't know of many who would call him a shredder.

In his day he would have been called a shredder, just as Django Reinhard or Jimi Hendrix. It's just that the label didn't exist yet. In direct contrasst to the current days these players did have class and taste. Can you hear I am bored with the million notes a millisecond scale racing players of today?

And as for scalloped necks.... No thank you, I was about to sand down the frets on my Explorer as they were too high for me, when I decided to set it up for Slide/Ebow work. High frets and scalloped necks make me press the strings harder than needed and thus go way out of tune. No thanks.

 

[The_Sentry]

Good Lord...Jumbo frets require a person to rethink their touch..scalloped frets go one step further. Whatever floats yer boat as they say....but hell have pity on you if you decide to go between a scalloped and non-scalloped neck on your gigging guitars...

 

[guitarguitar]

see, ritchie blackmore fret scallop Electric & Acoustic Guitar Repair, Servicing Set Ups, Custom for images and description.

 

[Drew1986]

This thread is back from the dead...

 

[endial]

This thread is back from the dead...

-Yeah. I just "liked" a six year old comment before I checked the date.