zero fret on interchangable fingerboards

It is possible to put a zero fret on a guitar with interchangable
fingerboards. Have the guitar neck side profile look like this:

___O__________O___
~~~~ \_________ where the O on the left is the zero fret
and the O on the right is the first fret
~~~~__________________ of the fingerboard. As long as the first
fingerboard is cut so that the joint is close enough to the nut so
that it is behind the closest fret of the proposed set of
fingerboards, the method should work.

John Starrett

--- In tuning@y..., "John Starrett" <jstarret@c...> wrote:
> It is possible to put a zero fret on a guitar with interchangable
> fingerboards. Have the guitar neck side profile look like this:
>
> ___O__________O___
> ~~~~ \_________ where the O on the left is the zero fret
> and the O on the right is the first fret
> ~~~~__________________ of the fingerboard. As long as the first
> fingerboard is cut so that the joint is close enough to the nut so
> that it is behind the closest fret of the proposed set of
> fingerboards, the method should work.

Great ASCII diagrams! But this defeats my purpose. I'd want a zeroth
fret _on_ every interchangeable fingerboard, so the relationship (both
horizontal and vertical) between zeroth and first frets is guaranteed.

-- Dave Keenan

--- Dave Keenan <D.KEENAN@UQ.NET.AU> wrote:
> --- In tuning@y..., "John Starrett" <jstarret@c...>
> wrote:
> > It is possible to put a zero fret on a guitar with
> interchangable
> > fingerboards. Have the guitar neck side profile
> look like this:
> >
> > ___O__________O___
> > ~~~~ \_________ where the O on the left is
> the zero fret
> > and the O on the right is
> the first fret
> > ~~~~__________________ of the fingerboard. As
> long as the first
> > fingerboard is cut so that the joint is close
> enough to the nut so
> > that it is behind the closest fret of the proposed
> set of
> > fingerboards, the method should work.
>
> Great ASCII diagrams! But this defeats my purpose.
> I'd want a zeroth
> fret _on_ every interchangeable fingerboard, so the
> relationship (both
> horizontal and vertical) between zeroth and first
> frets is guaranteed.
>
> -- Dave Keenan
>
>

Dave,

I sell the kits to adapt instruments to magnetic
interchangeable fretboards. You *could* mount a
zeroth fret right on an interchangeable fretboard like
the the rest of the frets, but wouldn't it, like a
traditional nut, need slots in it to keep the
individual strings from slipping sideways during the
bending of strings?

And wouldn't it be unnecessarily tedious to have to
detune and then retune all the strings each time you
went to change fretboards?

Common sense would seem to answer that having the
zeroth fret or nut mounted right on the
interchangeable fretboard makes little sense, so
something else must be driving your query, something I
have obviously missed. Could you fill me in?

-Mark

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<snip>

> I sell the kits to adapt instruments to magnetic
> interchangeable fretboards. <snip>
> -Mark

Hi Mark. It's nice to know you are still doing this.

John Starrett

--- In tuning@y..., Mark Rankin <markrankin95511@y...> wrote:
> --- Dave Keenan <D.KEENAN@U...> wrote:
> > I'd want a zeroth
> > fret _on_ every interchangeable fingerboard, so the
> > relationship (both
> > horizontal and vertical) between zeroth and first
> > frets is guaranteed.
>
> Dave,
>
> I sell the kits to adapt instruments to magnetic
> interchangeable fretboards. You *could* mount a
> zeroth fret right on an interchangeable fretboard like
> the the rest of the frets, but wouldn't it, like a
> traditional nut, need slots in it to keep the
> individual strings from slipping sideways during the
> bending of strings?

You must think I'm a moron. ;-) I intend for there to be a nut as well
as the zeroth fret, with the nut cut deep enough so the nut only
controls the sideways movement and the zeroth fret controls the
height.

> And wouldn't it be unnecessarily tedious to have to
> detune and then retune all the strings each time you
> went to change fretboards?

So you see, you wouldn't have to do that. The nut would still hold the
strings while the fingerboard was out.

> Common sense would seem to answer that having the
> zeroth fret or nut mounted right on the
> interchangeable fretboard makes little sense, so
> something else must be driving your query, something I
> have obviously missed. Could you fill me in?

I hope I have now eliminated the apparent conflict with common sense.

I hope you can now appreciate the reasons given above, and in
more detail earlier in this thread. Briefly, its about minimising
buzzing of open strings on the first fret, particularly when it is
very close to the nut.

Mark, can you please email me details of your kit(s) including prices,
or post a URL.

-- Dave Keenan

Hi Mark!

It's good to hear from you -- many on this list have tried to get in
touch with you with little success.

I, and probably others here, are interested in obtaining your
interchangable fingerboard kit. Can you provide all the details about
the kit and how to obtain it?

Thanks,
Paul