fingerboard edge

[groovyshuffle]

Hi 

 

The concavity on my e string side is >1mm (can't upload pics yet) and I'm wondering if this is excessive?

 

Thanks 

[groovyshuffle]

Or if the absence of a picture renders my question impossible to answer, what would you consider an appropriate distance from e string to fingerboard edge? Or a range of distances, with a minimum. 

Cheers

[Michael Darnton]

Normally the fingerboard would be around 32mm wide at rhe bottom of the neck. I consider that to be minimum. More is OK.

[Nick Allen]

I think 1 mm is too much. From what I can recall somewhere around .5mm is recommended, increasing to .75mm on the bass side.

[duane88]

Depends on how you play, what strings you use. If you are an aggressive player or are set up with all gut (to include the plain gut E), it is probably just fine. If you are a fiddler set up with prims and have a light touch, you might consider it too much.

 

I think that it also depends upon where the scoop/relief is. If it is intentional(as in planed and set-up by someone who knows what they are doing), or just sort-of "there" as in needing attention from someone who knows what they are doing.

[Julian Cossmann Cooke]

Hi 

 

The concavity on my e string side is >1mm (can't upload pics yet) and I'm wondering if this is excessive?

 

Thanks 

I am having a little difficulty with your question.  Are you asking about the concavity of the side of the fingerboard or of the top.  It seems to me the question you ask in your follow-up post has yet another focus, namely the distance on the top of the fingerboard from the edge to the e string.  Clarification?

[groovyshuffle]

Not the scoop on top but on the side. If you look at the violin from above in plan view the side of the FB approaches or curves in towards the e

[Michael Darnton]

...

[Frank Nichols]

Here are all the numbers, a ruler and this chart and you can find out everything you want to know. Look for the width of the nut, fingerboard width at neck foot and fingerboard width at lower end. Look for string spacing at nut and at bridge. If you measure all that and still don't know the answer then we don't understand your question.

 

http://www.alangoldblatt.com/specs/Violin.pdf

[groovyshuffle]

31 at neck bottom, 17.5 spread at nut, 34.5 at bridge.

But 2.4 mm clearance of e string from edge, worst around b

[groovyshuffle]

Thanks for the chart. The fingerboard hollowness number for the e is what I wanted. 0.5 quoted is much less than mine. I think mine is almost 2.

[Nick Allen]

If its the actual side of the FB then any scoop is too much scoop. It should be a straight line.

[Frank Nichols]

If its the actual side of the FB then any scoop is too much scoop. It should be a straight line.

 

It could be that the bridge is over to far to the treble side and not centered. Or it could be the fingerboard is not aligned correctly also.

[Frank Nichols]

Oh, and not to be picky, but we are assuming it is a violin we are talking about - it could be a cello

[groovyshuffle]

Yes a violin. The sides are definitely not straight. Thought .5 mm scoop or hollow was correct. Now I'm as confused as my question

[David Burgess]

If its the actual side of the FB then any scoop is too much scoop. It should be a straight line.

Nick, many (most?) of us put a little scoop on the sides of our fingerboards, rather than making them straight.

[DGV]

Indeed, my FBs have a little bit of scoop on the sides.

[catnip]

From my understanding the side scoop of ~1 mm is to compensate visually for the top scoop.   If there was no side scoop then the middle edge would look a bit thinner than the rest of the fingerboard edge.  I think it is an aesthetic feature to produce an even looking edge.

[Nick Allen]

From my understanding the side scoop of ~1 mm is to compensate visually for the top scoop.   If there was no side scoop then the middle edge would look a bit thinner than the rest of the fingerboard edge.  I think it is an aesthetic feature to produce an even looking edge.

That makes total sense. I never thought of that, nor has anyone ever told me lol.

[Nick Allen]

So does that make the neck scooped on the sides too? Or is it just scooped on the upper edge at the playing surface and then blended down to a straight edge at the neck?

[Davide Sora]

So does that make the neck scooped on the sides too? Or is it just scooped on the upper edge at the playing surface and then blended down to a straight edge at the neck?

 

If you follow the visual approach, also the neck for the same reason.

[Nick Allen]

I guess that looking at a violin head-on from close up, let's say arms length, the perspective distortion might cancel out the subtle scoop in the side. The fingerboard is a much more complex than a simple radius.

[Mat Roop]

All you need to know about fingerboards... starting on page 9

http://www.darntonviolins.com/violinmagazine/book/setup.pdf

 cheers, Mat

[groovyshuffle]

Thanks, Mat

[PASEWICZ]

From my understanding the side scoop of ~1 mm is to compensate visually for the top scoop.   If there was no side scoop then the middle edge would look a bit thinner than the rest of the fingerboard edge.  I think it is an aesthetic feature to produce an even looking edge.

It also feels different to the players.