Gorgomyte made of real dragons.

Like it says on the package you cut small squares of the Gorgomyte and rub them on the frets and fingerboard.  The amazing sauce on the fabric removes the gunky buildup and leaves your frets clean and shiny, your fretboard free of grime and smelling lightly of vanilla.

The effects of Gorgomyte on an unassuming penny.  The right side is what the penny looked like before and the left is post Gorgomyte treatment(…shiny yes?)

My personal guitar’s fretboard

Hello readers!  I’m back to tell you about one of my favorite and slightly strange guitar features/modifications, also presenting to you the pro’s and con’s (in my opinion) of this subject.  This feature/modification is something that is called a scalloped fretboard.  What that means is that in between the frets on the bare wood that your finger tips would usually touch the wood is “scooped” out so that your finger makes little to no contact with the fretboard like the photo above ^.  Unusual, yes but only to the guitar.  Scalloped fretboards are not uncommon on ancient instruments like the sitar and the lute which predate the advent of the modern metal fret wire.

A profile view of the fretboard

Now we will move on to the pro’s and con’s of a scalloped fretboard…

PROS

1. More control – With the scalloped fretboard the way it is you are allowed greater contact with the surface area of the string, meaning that even subtle movements can create an even bigger impact on the string.

2. Bends are easier, as is vibrato – Following the more control line, your finger has more grip so you can really “dig in” with bends and get really wide and dramatic vibrato.  Also the chances of the string slipping from under your finger and making that sproiinngg!! are noticeably reduced with the use of a scalloped fretboard.

3.  The perceived pressure to fret is reduced – I really don’t know why but but it feels like a whole lot less pressure is required from me, so I think it is a pro.  If you can figure out why, please do tell me!

On to the…

CONS

1. The closer to the nut you get, the harder it is to properly fret a string – This spawns from the fact that when you press down onto a string it will come into contact with two frets or the nut.  So when the spacing gets wider between frets the tension gets looser.  That means it gets easier to fret TOO hard and your not will be out of tune even if your guitar is in tune on the open strings.

2. You instantly become an Yngwie wannabe – Okay, so I admit I like Yngwie Malmsteen and got the idea to get a guitar with a scalloped fretboard from his guitars.  Unfortunately the scalloped fretboard has become type cast as shredder’s field of dreams… or whatever. Not another possible option to broaden your playing horizons which is unfortunate.

3. Bar chords become your enemy – Bar chords become really really hard as a result of the scalloped fretboard.  The reason why is because there is nothing to support your finger so uneven pressure is exerted onto the strings resulting in an “exotic?” sounding bar chord.

(This next one is a personal observation so it might not hold entirely true)

4.  Frets wear faster – I think this happens because the lack of a fret board to act as a back stop thus all pressure is exerted upon the fret in conjunction with bends and vibrato the life span of a fret is greatly reduced.

A guitar I scalloped by hand

So you want a scalloped fretboard?

The first thing you do is…Try one out!  Scallops can be costly so before taking the jump make sure you like it.  If you do like it then there are a few options.

Buy a guitar pre scalloped – There are various signature models available with scalloped necks out at the moment so you could buy one if you are so inclined.

Pay a professional luthier to do it to a pre-existing guitar – The cost can vary between luthiers but results may vary also.

D.I.Y. – A good hand file, some painters tape, and some elbow grease works well and a good way to try a scalloped guitar if you have a junk neck to experiment on.

Buy an aftermarket neck – there are various online retailers who offer necks that that come scalloped or with a scalloped option.

So I hope with this information I have enlightened you to the world of scalloped fretboards and you now see this as another possible path to guitar enlightenment.