Practice

Fretboard

The thin slab of wood (or composite) glued to the front of the neck, with metal frets pressed into slots. The fretboard’s wood, curvature, and fret size are the things your fingertips actually negotiate every time you play.

Wood = feel and (slightly) tone. Radius = chord comfort vs. low-action bending. Fret size = touch sensitivity. Fret material = lifespan.

Fretboard wood

Wood Feel Tonal influence Maintenance
MapleSlick, hard, finished surfaceBrightest, snappiestWipe down; finish protects the wood
RosewoodSlightly oily, open poresWarmer with a softened top endCondition with lemon/fretboard oil
EbonyVery hard, very smoothBright with a tight, defined attackLight conditioning
Pau ferroBetween rosewood & ebonyTight, articulate, with rosewood warmthLight conditioning
Roasted mapleSlick, drier than untreated mapleStable, slightly warmer than mapleOften unfinished; light wipe down
Richlite / compositeHard, very consistentClose to ebonyEffectively zero

See the tonewood page for a deeper dive on wood choice across body, neck, and fretboard.

Fretboard radius

The curvature of the fretboard surface, measured as if it were a section of a cylinder. Smaller numbers = more curve. Larger numbers = flatter. The diagram below compares the common radii two ways — the actual circle each is a slice of, and how much the board domes across one neck width.

The actual circles, true relative scale the neck is only this thin slice 7.25″ 9.5″ 12″ 16″ 20″

The actual circles — true relative scale. A bigger radius is simply a bigger circle, so its neck slice is flatter.

The crown, magnified — how curved the board feels neck width — 1 11/16″ (43 mm) nut 7.25″ 9.5″ 12″ 16″ 20″ vertical curve exaggerated ≈10×

The same neck width in cross-section — how much the surface domes. Curvature is magnified so the differences are visible.

Crown rise across a 1 11/16″ (43 mm) nut: 7.25″ ≈ 0.049″ (1.25 mm) · 9.5″ ≈ 0.038″ (0.95 mm) · 12″ ≈ 0.030″ (0.75 mm) · 16″ ≈ 0.022″ (0.57 mm) · 20″ ≈ 0.018″ (0.45 mm). Smaller radius = more dome (comfy for chords, chokes bends at low action); larger radius = flatter (easy bends, low action, less curl under a barre).
Radius Curvature Feel Tradeoff Common on
7.25″Most curvedComfortable for chords; thumb naturally falls into the curveBends choke out at low actionVintage Fender (pre-1983)
9.5″Moderate curveAll-around compromiseSome chord-vs-bend tradeoffModern American Standard Fender
12″FlatterEasier bending, very low action possibleSlightly less hand-friendly for grip chordsGibson Les Paul/SG/335
14″–16″Very flatEffortless fast playing and bendsLess ergonomic for chunky chord workModern shred guitars
Compound (10″→16″)Curves more at the nut, flattens toward the bodyBest of bothCostlier to manufactureModern Strats, PRS, boutique

Compound radius is a good real-world answer: rounder near the nut for chord comfort, flatter up the neck where you bend.

Fret size & material

Frets are the metal strips pressed into the fretboard. Two specs change the feel:

Size Approx. dimensions (W × H) Feel Best for
Small / vintage~0.078″ × 0.043″Note feels closer to the wood; precise fingeringVintage Fender, jazz, traditional players
Medium~0.090″ × 0.048″BalancedAll-purpose default
Medium-jumbo~0.103″ × 0.046″Light touch needed; easy bendsModern Fender, hard-rock
Jumbo~0.110″ × 0.055″Press too hard and notes go sharp; fast bendsShred, metal, lead-focused players

And the material the frets are made of:

Material Hardness Lifespan Feel
Nickel-silver (18%)SoftWears in a few years of heavy playWarm tone, easy fret-work
Stainless steelVery hardEffectively lifetimeSlightly slicker; brighter, more zing
Gold EVOBetween nickel & stainless~2–3× nickelHypo-allergenic; warmer than stainless