radius and bends

[always SD]

hi

i noticed that with a sg with 10.46 gauge strings

i could do more big bends than with
a strat and 9.46 gauge strings or an ibanez with 9/42


so, someone told me about the radius: les paul and sg would be better for big bends (or maybe without a vibrato too)

any suggestions ?

 

[Archer250]

Re: radius and bends

I bet my ass it's the scale length.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: radius and bends

How the setup is done, what kind of frets...neck profile...etc etc...
And maybe how much your head is interfering with a ton of unrelated thoughts....common guitarplayer affliction

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

try to make a bend with the g string : 12th fret, G to B for example

with my guitars with floyd rose or tremolo (strat) : impossible because of these floating vibratos

with not floating vibrato, it's possible
and with sg, les paul i think it's possible too

so, maybe my vibrato strat should not be floating

 

[SJ318]

Re: radius and bends

So, here it, my Opus -
If the neck is very rounded, say old fender 7.5 radius, when you bend up the string stays in the saddle, but the frets get relatively higher. You will never be able to get a clean bend without buzz.
9.5 radius to me is still to much of a hill - and many people like it, but a good old fashioned Albert King bend, unless you have the strings with very high action, you'll still get buzz.
My favorite is 18 or 20. When you bend the string the rest of the board is almost flat so it doesn't raise much at all and is almost a flat bend on the frets.
I do what I think most people would roll their eyes at me. That's OK. I got a Strat that was 9.5 radius. If I bent beyond the middle of the neck from nut to last fret, it would fret out. Two highly regarded guitar builders and repairers told me they would flatten em out. They took strings off, creating an unnatural and flattened board, then retuning it up, putting back the slight relief that was their from the strings being back on.
I said F..k it, put my guitar W/Strings tuned to pitch. Took a firm flat piece of glass, about 1/4 inch, stuck some 220 grit on it (I had raised the bridge and retuned-forgot to say) and sanded the frets flat I mean flat on most of the middle neck, from nut to last fret. Took the strings off, and flattened the wood between the frets. FLAT, Putting the strings back after fine sanding the fret board with 400 grit, I essentially made a flat, not scooped neck, with lots of room between my finger and the fretboard, crowned the frets, which were now flat with some actual pro files, crowns, edgers, etc.
I now have a comfy neck the will not buzz if you bent it around the world. Also bending is WAY easier as there is a lot of room to get the string in the middle of my finger pad and never have to fight to keep my finger from slipping on long bends.
Thanks for reading, hope some of it helped.
SJ

 

[Archer250]

Re: radius and bends

try to make a bend with the g string : 12th fret, G to B for example

with my guitars with floyd rose or tremolo (strat) : impossible because of these floating vibratos

with not floating vibrato, it's possible
and with sg, les paul i think it's possible too

so, maybe my vibrato strat should not be floating

What are you talking about? I can definitely do that. I can bend to C on the G string 12th fret on my Jackson and my Ibanez. The tremolo is not the problem here. The setup is, I guess.

 

[koshikas]

Re: radius and bends

no offence, your comparisons are all over the place (3 different guitars). the amount of fretboard radius; strat < SG/LP < ibanez(assuming it's fat/super strat) with larger radius giving more bend mileage. besides how notes fret-out could hardly be put to depend solely on radius and string gauges

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

no offence, your comparisons are all over the place (3 different guitars). the amount of fretboard radius; strat < SG/LP < ibanez(assuming it's fat/super strat) with larger radius giving more bend mileage.

which radius /guitar would be the best for big bends ?

I can bend to C on the G string 12th fret on my Jackson and my Ibanez.

i can't do that even with 9/42.

i can't do that when:
- it's a floyd rose and 9/42
-it's a strat with a floating vibrato (i put some 9/46 but i can't do big bends)

 

[AlexR]

Re: radius and bends

Ok, tough truth....but your technique is what needs work. Finger and wrist strength

This is not a big-noting on my part, but serves as illustration......my strats are exclusively 7.25" radius, and strings almost always 11's either in standard or 1/2 step down. I have no issue playing another brick in the wall bending even the 2 1/2 step note - there is one strat in particular that is set up and will do this with no choking.
As a comparison, I go overseas for a trip for 8 or 10 weeks with no playing and 10's on a LP tuned 1/2 step down feel hard to bend.

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

about my strat

i wonder if a change may change something: if i set up the vibrato on the body (parallel) and not floating like it is now

 

[AlexR]

Re: radius and bends

You can try that, see how it goes.

But strings move up in pitch because you have given them extra tension. I can't see decking a trem is going to make the amount of extra tension required to bend up a pitch change.

 

[koshikas]

Re: radius and bends

which radius /guitar would be the best for big bends ?

like i said earlier, fretboard radius and string gauges alone wont justify your ability to do big bends. string action, neck relief, bending technique are some of the other factors that weigh in how far you can bend.

however had board radius were the only factor in determining how far you can bend, then larger radius (flatter frets) would allow you to do so, at the expense of slight discomfort in fingering chords (i think thats why they curved frets in the first place).

 

[Archer250]

Re: radius and bends

which radius /guitar would be the best for big bends ?




i can't do that even with 9/42.

i can't do that when:
- it's a floyd rose and 9/42
-it's a strat with a floating vibrato (i put some 9/46 but i can't do big bends)

O_O

Mine are both floyded superstrats with flat fretboards. I string them both with 10-52s. When you said that you can't bend 12-16 on floating trem guitars, did you mean that the strings (or you) physically can't bend or did you mean that the string chokes (makes no sound) when you bend too high?

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: radius and bends

Unless you have a locking nut, even the 3 + 3 headstock tuner arrangement will yield different bending dynamics than an in-line 6 simply due to string length.

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

with my strat i have sperzel blocking tuners : good for tuning but maybe it gives a harder tension to make bends?

when i bend the g string, the strings goes down close to the south lol of the fretboard so i can not do more and the bend is not a really good bend (g to b from the 12e fret is hard to get)
it’s an extreme and hard bend

if i want to make a good true and correct bend, taking the tremolo bar is a solution but it's another problem

- big bends

- big and good bends to have good notes with the good pitch

i tried different guitars but my strat is the hardest to play for that (9/46)
i really wonder if it's the same with the Clapton model (without a tremolo bar)

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: radius and bends

which radius /guitar would be the best for big bends ?

Listen, I can bend or do big bends on any guitar, any radius with any kind of bridge. This sounds like a setup issue to me. The more you play a specific guitar/radius combination your muscle memory and technique will adjust and improve for that guitar.

To answer your question though, a compound radius neck is the best for big bends. Companies like Warmoth offer a 10-16" compound radius that is ideal for bends. I currently own 3 compound radius necks from Warmoth with a 4th on the way. They are slick. The bridge does not matter at all and if it is a trem it does not matter if it is floating or not. I cut my teeth on an Epiphone Les Paul, MIM Fender Strat and a Gibson Les Paul before discovering Warmoth's greatness. My technique was already down and I had learned how to setup guitars by this point. The compound radius is just icing on the cake at this point.

The only things that matter:
1. Good setup
2. Practice and technique
3. Playing a bunch of guitars to find the one you like once you have taken care of steps 1 and 2

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

thanks
very good !

for example, the Charvel san dimas and new Les Paul's have bigger/wider fretboards in order to make easier bends or extreme if you want

 

[Darg1911]

Re: radius and bends

Try a wound G, that ought to solve it

 

[Mincer]

Re: radius and bends

A scalloped neck certainly helps. It is also good for very tiny bends (pushing the string directly down).

 

[always SD]

Re: radius and bends

the yingwie model