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Posted by: vampire14 Feb 5 2009, 11:20 PM

i saw some of marcuses lessons and people talked about a scalloped gutiar
but i couldnt get to much info about it.

i thoght it would be a nice thing for my squire.

my question is first of all advantages and disadvantages of scalloping
and if i can do it alone or i better send it to a pro?

Posted by: mhskeide Feb 5 2009, 11:37 PM

I can help you to some point here. Just finished scalloping 10 of my frets in the christmas holiday

The ultimate advantage is that vibratoing will be like a dream! The bending on 22. fret became so easy I can easily bend with one finger. I`m actually tempted to scallop the 20. - the last fret on each of my guitars

It`s also said that you`ll be able to play faster, but I wouldn`t trust that. I haven`t noticed that speedpicking became easier, even though it feels a lot more smooth to play.

The disantvantage? I really don`t know . I`m not quite sure how riffing feels on a scalloped fretboard (I`ve only tried the Yngwie guitar a little), but soloing is great IMO.

And if I managed it, ANYONE can do it! Just don`t file away so much wood as I did. I brought my guitar to a luthier: He said I had done a good job, but that I had exaggerated the depth a little.
The most important thing to have when scalloping is A LOT of patience...cause it`s a s**t boring job
I forced myself to finish because I hate giving up, and wanted to see the result.

I hope you got something out of it, and don`t hesitate to ask any question if you wonder, and I`ll answer as good as I can

Posted by: mhskeide Feb 5 2009, 11:58 PM

Depends on how deep you file. I got so deep I just decided to file them all away. Case is, as I mentioned the luthier said I had filed too deep. If you file something like http://zombiporno.freeblog.hu/files/Scalloped_fretboard.jpg, the dots should still be visible (cause they go pretty deep). And no, you`re not damaging them, only filing them down (someone please correct me if I`m wrong).

When I filed my strat, I used a 1/4" file for wood (very important, don`t use a fine file which f.ex. is for metal). Since you`re planning on filing a strat as well I presume you have big frets as mine. I would love to scallop my RG...but the upper frets are so small that the file will just damage the fret wires I fear .

I can post some pictures tomorrow how my guitar ended up, and if no one else already has done it, I guess I can write some kind of short guide

For now, good night fellas!

Posted by: tonymiro Feb 6 2009, 12:05 AM

Also, if you don't have a set glued in neck you may also want to consider buying a neck that is already scalloped and temporarily fitting it. Warmoth etc make them. You could experiment on a cheap back up rather then your main guitar. Whilst not necessarily a cheap option may be better then experimenting on your pride and joy.

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: wrk Feb 6 2009, 12:17 AM

There was i topic a while back about scalloping .. i posted some pictures and wrote something about tools i used. Maybe it's useful for you. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=22749&st=0&#entry311215

Scalloping does nothing for to gain speed of course, but bends and vibrato is easier as you have a better grip on the strings. You don't need to scallop deep to have this effect. Disadvantage can be if you press the strings to much down that they go out of tune. I would suggest to just scallop a bit and try it, you can always go deeper afterwards ..

And it's true .. you need to invest some time

Posted by: Vasilije Vukmirovic Feb 6 2009, 01:11 PM

You got to use to it, I tried and its good for vibrato, it's so easy to do wide vibratos. Generally, better sound.