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Post subject: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 3:50 pm
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9.5 to 14" ... easy enough to understand. But what is the definitive answer as to how to set that up?

It's amazing to me that there are no videos to show the optimal setup procedure. Hopefully I missed something on this site in the search.....


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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:56 pm
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As I understand the concept, the compound radius generally means that less neck relief is required for proper fretting, especially above the twelfth fret. Beyond that, the normal set-up protocols apply.

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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 5:01 pm
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A set of radius gauges can be useful.
It's 14" at the body end of the neck - set up the action for the 2 E strings, and use a 14" radius gauge to correctly set the rake of the remainder of the strings.
Just make sure that you set the rake of the strings from below, and make sure that you have the gauge at the body end of the neck.


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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:55 pm
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That makes sense :) Thanks guys!


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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:30 pm
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stratmangler wrote:
make sure that you have the gauge at the body end of the neck.

Very important advice. If using a 14" radius at the bridge, you will get too much curve at the end of the fretboard, and the middle strings will be too high. At the bridge, you'll be closer to 16".

Other than that, there's nothing special for the setup for compound radius.

One trick for those who like low action is to capo at the 12th fret, and use feeler gauges at the last fret to set a small clearance under each string, while making sure there's no buzzing.
Some also prefer to have the G string (third string) slightly higher than a perfect curve, because the neighboring D is wound and substantially thicker. It makes it easier to pick.


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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 4:39 pm
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Sorry for the ol' bump, but I had another question:

How do you make sure a tech understands this and how to hone/crown frets with this? Techs in this area generally incompetent that I've used so far. Right now I've got this set up really well but there are more than a few frets with fairly large indents that should be taken care of.


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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:51 am
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If the local guys aren't really capable of doing the job, why do you take stuff to them in the first place?
It might make more sense to send the guitar by carrier to someone that does know how to do things properly.

Your not talking about just recrowning a few frets.
You need the frets to be levelled, crowned and polished, and by that I mean all of them.
The crowning and polishing is no different to doing a single radius neck - getting the levelling done properly on a compound radius is where the difficulty lies.

This video gives an idea of how to perform the task

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Post subject: Re: Compound radius setup....the definitive answer?
Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:10 am
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If the local guys aren't really capable of doing the job, why do you take stuff to them in the first place?
Absolutely. I have a bloke I swear by, but it's a fair old drive (by GB standards) to get to him. Worth it, though.

Find a good luthier and stick to him like glue!

Cheers - Peter.


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