Scalloped Frets?

[DDTonFire]

What exactly are scalloped frets?

[Bongo Boy]

Frets aren't actually scalloped--it's the fretboard (or more likely, the neck--without fretboard) itself that's scalloped. The best description is to look at a photograph of a scalloped fretboard, which you can find at www.warmoth.com. Go to their site and under guitar parts, select necks, then scalloped necks.

Here's a lame attempt at a longitudinal cross-section of the neck as viewed by the player when the guitar is in normal playing position (looking at the edge of the neck into the ends of the frets).\

[fred]

Thats a pretty good picture . I dont know if its used a lot, the only one i know use it is Yngwie. In one of his videos he talks about it and says that it gives him better grip on the string, for bends and vibrato. He said it is more difficult to play fast though, but I cant really see he has a problem with that

[DDTonFire]

Thanks i think i understand what they are and what it does.

I like the pic, bongo boy!

[primal65]

I've never tried playing guitar with scalloped frets, but I thought that I always read it was easier to play fast with them. I guess I could be remembering wrong, though...

[snufeldin]

I was under the impression that it allowed you to play faster because you could play lighter. You don't need to press down hard to fret... in fact if you look at the Bongo's picture, you don't need to touch the fret board for the note to sound.

[BassDeffy]

I'd think that too, then again on both my basses I can press any note and I don't even touch the fingerboard, could be because my frets are higher.

[UltimaRage]

I don't have to touch the fretboard to fret a note on my ibanez either.