My newish toy..To scallop..Or not to scallop!

[Jacksons Shred]

Well, I borrowed this from a friend a while ago and I recently got him to decide to sell it to me, so I consider this "my new" toy, anyways, it's sort of a mutt strat, he pieced it all together through eBay. I'm not too sure on the woods and shit, but I know it has a Mexi neck, but my friend tells me it's a standard.. I'm such a strat moron . Anyways, it's a difficult guitar to play but I love it, It sounds great and looks pretty cool too.. Now this is where it gets icky! I've been contimplating scalloping a guitar for a long time (or getting it scalloped, for that matter). This guitar looks pretty Yngwie (Actually, more Richie Kotzen..Funny), and if I do scallop it I'll look like a total Yngwie poser! Blah, enough rambling. I was wondering if anyone here would recommend it getting scalloped, or would recommend avoiding it!

I've read a bit of pro's and cons and have always heard about them, but can anyone here with hands on experience list their own personal pro's and con's of scalloping...

Pictures:

http://img241.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=0529092150a.jpg

[Leo Chang]

somehow the picture link is not working for me...

I have a guitar that's comprised of a real YJM signature neck (maybe from Japan, since it has the regular headstock... not the huge 70's one), bolted on to what I am guessing is a mexi body. Got it on eBay for $400

Personal Pros and Cons:


Pro:

- Forces me to play with a light touch. I already had a light touch, but it really helped me refine it even further.

- Love the feeling of playing on nothing but the strings and air. Similar effect if you play on a regular guitar with jumbo frets... but it's even more pronounced. Theoretically it shouldn't make a difference in this respect, but somehow it does.

- Tapping licks sound clearer and more fluid

- Much much MUCH more control over your vibrato. Because now, you can press IN to the fretboard as well.



Cons:

- Slides are harder to do...as you slide over the frets, you feel the "bump" a bit more. But you to learn how to adjust, no big deal.

- Use only gauge 9s and lower (Malmsteen uses .08s)... as .10 strings negate some of the benefits of the scallops. I use the Dean Markley YJM signature strings on mine (.08 to .46), and the lighter top strings definitely bring out the benefits of the scalloping more. You can go as heavy as you want for the bottom strings.

- If you press too hard, notes and chords go sharp very easily, 'cause there is no fretboard to stop you. But if you play with a light touch, this won't happen anyway.

- Refretting is VERY expensive. Techs hate to refret scalloped fretboards. When they pull the frets, need to be extra careful not to destroy the "slope" of the scallop... but tiny pieces will get torn up anyway, then they have to carefully glue the pieces back. (I know 'cause I have had mine refretted)





Overall, the cons don't bother me that much, and the pros far outweigh the cons for me personally. YMMV


- Leo.

[Jacksons Shred]

Hmm..Some of those seem like pretty like they'd be pretty hard adjustments, on this strat I absolutely love the feel of digging my hand into the fretboard and I use pretty big string gauges (11's in E and Eb), I also like to slide a lot..

I did like the feel of my Rhoads with Jumbo Frets, I really miss the guitar mainly because of the way it felt on the fingers..Similar?

I paying my buddy 350 for my strat, so It seems like I got a fairly good deal..

[jcm800x]

I love scalloped boards, if you have a few guitars then having one that is scalloped is great. As said above, there is a learning curve but the benefits of string control are worth it.

[ulijdavid]

I have played a couple of scalloped necks and understand the benefits and the learning curve. My question would be, once you get used to the scalloped neck do you tend to stay away from the non-scalloped necks? To the point that you don't want your "normal" necked guitars anymore.

[Leo Chang]

Hmm..Some of those seem like pretty like they'd be pretty hard adjustments, on this strat I absolutely love the feel of digging my hand into the fretboard and I use pretty big string gauges (11's in E and Eb), I also like to slide a lot..

I did like the feel of my Rhoads with Jumbo Frets, I really miss the guitar mainly because of the way it felt on the fingers..Similar?

I paying my buddy 350 for my strat, so It seems like I got a fairly good deal..

Well, you can have the bottom 3 strings as heavy as you want... heck, you can use gauge 11 strings on the top 3 strings too, just that the benefits will be diminished (though still present)

I use gauge 10s on my E standard guitars, and gauge 11s on all my down-tuned guitars (Eb, C#, D standard) So I can relate somewhat... the thicker strings especially in lower tunings feel really great.

But I also love the feel of light strings on a scalloped fretboard... which is why I have a guitar dedicated to that purpose

About the sliding: It's really not as bad as it may look like from my post. Once I lightened my touch, I can slide all day on my YJM strat. Just be aware of the initial learning curve, so you don't give up prematurely when you are actually on the cusp of adjusting to it.

About "digging in": You can still dig in all you want... just that it will change the pitch... so if you are "digging in" to the note and applying vibrato to it right away or bending it... then no problem. In fact, vibratos and bends sound way better, and are easier to do, on a scalloped fretboard. But if you are grabbing the note really hard and then not doing anything to it and just have it sustain... then it's not for you. But again... I imagine it would be rare for anyone to dig in to a note and not do anything with it right away.

Bottom line: If you have always been curious about scalloped necks, and you have already read a lot about it... then you'll just have to try it. Before I bid on that YJM parts mutt on eBay, I had no experience with scalloped fretboards... but since I was really into YJM at that time, I knew I just have to try it for myself.

On the other hand... if you already like the guitar a lot in its current state ... might want to keep it like that, and somehow acquire another guitar that is already scallopped.

- Leo.

[Leo Chang]

I have played a couple of scalloped necks and understand the benefits and the learning curve. My question would be, once you get used to the scalloped neck do you tend to stay away from the non-scalloped necks? To the point that you don't want your "normal" necked guitars anymore.

That really depends on a lot of variables...

Someone who mostly plays rhythm guitar would be better served by a normal guitar. Because someone like that would not really take advantage of the benefits of a scalloped neck, while having to be careful not to have every note go sharp.

For someone who plays mostly single note runs, OR someone who plays a mix of rhythm and leads... the benefits are clear, so at that point it comes down to personal preference.

Personally I like to have different types of guitars around and be able to play on all of them, so I don't see myself playing only scalloped guitars.

But I do know that whatever my next custom guitar is, it will have a scalloped fretboard


- Leo.

[MetalHeadMat]

21 frets, tis Mexican.

Scallope it, if you have another guitar to play regularly why not, it'd be trying something different.

[Jacksons Shred]

Is it a hard transition to go from scalloped guitars to non scalloped guitars? Anyone have a rough idea of what it's going to cost me?

[straycat]

I have done lots of scalloped boards and it really depends on just how deep you go as to the playabilty.
I did a model 2 neck from the 7th to the 22nd fret(not real deep) and loved how it played.
It takes a little practice to get used to.
You can get fancy and do it like a Blackmore strat and taper the scallops.
Keep in mind you are removing wood so its good to start on a chunky neck.
Its a long process and hard work.If you go deep you will have to replace the dot markers and refinishing the fingerboard will need to be done.I usually charge $200 + to scallop one so not really very cost effective.

[Jacksons Shred]

Damn, is that about the average price for the job?

[straycat]

Thats what I charge, its a lot of work and the chance of FU's is high one slip of the file or dremel and you're screwed.
If the customer wants it deep you have to replace the dot markers plus you have to refin the fretboard too if its a maple board.
A slab neck is easier to work with.

[Leo Chang]

Damn, is that about the average price for the job?

Afraid so... I asked my guitar tech if he would scallop my Yamaha super strat for me, and the price he quoted me was even higher than that.


- Leo.

[Leo Chang]

Is it a hard transition to go from scalloped guitars to non scalloped guitars? Anyone have a rough idea of what it's going to cost me?

If your regular guitars have really tiny frets, and your fignertips are touching the fretboard wood all the time... then yes, you might have trouble transitioning from scalloped fretboard to your "regular" guitar.

But if your regular guitars have jumbo or medium jumbo frets... I don't think you'll have any trouble switching back and forth... but that's just me

Again, initial learning curve... but once you get used to the light touch required for scalloped fretboard, you'll play that way on all guitars anyway... at which point the transition is no longer an issue.


- Leo.

[atdguitars]

Afraid so... I asked my guitar tech if he would scallop my Yamaha super strat for me, and the price he quoted me was even higher than that.


- Leo.

As Straycat said its not an easy process and very labor intensive. I do mine on a drill press with a neck jig and multiple sized sanding drums to maintain accuracy.I normally charge $250.00 for a standard scallop job.
There are companies that offer scalloped necks but they normally run about $300.00 for a good one. I've seen them on the bay for $150.00 for an allparts lic replacement.