20 inch Barre chords?

[Michael Mars]

Hello everyone.

Simple question... Is it stupid to buy a guitar with a 20 inch radius when barre chords are a huge part of my playing?

My reasoning is speed and shred capabilties of a 20 are tempting to try.

 

[QQQ]

Compound radius seems like it would work a lot better. Only stupid if it doesn’t work for you.

 

[iaresee]

Doesn't a flatter radius make barre chords easier to fret? That was always my impression of the prevailing wisdom. Flatter radius means less pressure should be required to contact all the strings and the force is distributed more evenly across your finger.

I certainly find all fretboard actions to be easier on my JEM's fretboard (17") than my Silver Sky's fretboard (7.25"), which are the two extremes of fretboard radii that I own.

 

[Michael Mars]

Doesn't a flatter radius make barre chords easier to fret? That was always my impression of the prevailing wisdom. Flatter radius means less pressure should be required to contact all the strings and the force is distributed more evenly across your finger.

I certainly find all fretboard actions to be easier on my JEM's fretboard (17") than my Silver Sky's fretboard (7.25"), which are the two extremes of fretboard radii that I own.

The idea is that barre chords on a more curved neck are more natural to the curve of you fingers, because your fingers aren't flat. So the prevailing thought is flatter requires a little more effort to get your fingers to barre

 

[iaresee]

The idea is that barre chords on a more curved neck are more natural to the curve of you fingers, because your fingers aren't flat. So the prevailing thought is flatter requires a little more effort to get your fingers to barre

I can’t find anything truly trustworthy to support one claim or the other. It’s all reddit and TGP thread discussions.

 

[QQQ]

I can’t find anything truly trustworthy to support one claim or the other. It’s all reddit and TGP thread discussions.

Could always try out the feel on a classical guitar. Most have a very flat radius, if not totally flat.

 

[paisleywookiee]

The idea is that barre chords on a more curved neck are more natural to the curve of you fingers, because your fingers aren't flat. So the prevailing thought is flatter requires a little more effort to get your fingers to barre

This is how I’ve always felt. Rounder=chords. Flat=shreddy

The Holcomb at the shop is 20” radius, for example, and it’s a pita to barre chord, compared to the 10” regular Custom 24.

 

[spawnofthesith]

personally I’m not particularly sensitive to radius or even neck shapes……


I have some preferences in regards to the latter but still ain’t really a thing….


I am partial to compound radius but even so an across the board 8.5” vs 20” radius doesn’t impact me much whether it’s barre chords or whatever my sad excuse for “shredding” is

 

[laxu]

I have a Kiesel AM7 with a 20" radius and honestly don't even think about it.

The only radius I don't like is 7.25" vintage radius.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I've played all sorts of music on 12, 15, and 17" radii, barre chords to arpeggios to fast solos, and the only time I think a smaller radius would help (and I'm not positive it would), is when I'm doing an arpeggio that involves 3 notes across the same top 3 strings, having to roll your finger so as to not let the notes overlap.

Acoustic stuff maybe, but I can't think of many times where I need to play the entire chord across all 6 strings. And even if I am, there are intermediate notes that "break up" the barre.

John Sykes shredded on a Les Paul Custom, so he obviously didn't need a flat radius.

I would think your fret height would play a much bigger part than the radius.

 

[iaresee]

Could always try out the feel on a classical guitar. Most have a very flat radius, if not totally flat.

I have a pretty extreme comparison pair with my JEM and Silver Sky here.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Flatter radiuses are easier to barre if you play in something like a classical position with your thumb along the centerline of the back of the neck. If you play with your thumb closer to or above the edge of the fingerboard, then a flatter radius become more difficult to barre.

 

[DrewJD82]

I got rid of my Classic 50's Strat mainly due to that vintage, 7.25" radius. I do believe Leo Fender went with that to accommodate the curvature of the fingers. While I think he nailed everything out of the park on the Strat and the Tele, the radius and fret size fell off the ball before it made it out of the park.

I've also got a JEM and an RG7 with a 17" radius, I don't even feel like I'm applying pressure to play barre chords on those and I'd imagine 20" with low action you could just breathe across the fingerboard to play chords.

 

[iaresee]

Flatter radiuses are easier to barre if you play in something like a classical position with your thumb along the centerline of the back of the neck. If you play with your thumb closer to or above the edge of the fingerboard, then a flatter radius become more difficult to barre.

That explains why i find flatter easier. Small hands over here. Using my thumb doesn’t really work for me.

 

[Fireproof]

A lot depends on the shape and thickness of your hands and the length of fingers etc. what works for some doesn’t work for others.

And then some are just so good and dexterous they can play on anything.

For me, I have short stubby hands and do like a little curve on the fretboard, and narrow fretboards, for chords. Especially when I have to use all my fingers. Or the dreaded thumb over neck. My short hands just aren’t ideal.

I do find the compound radius necks a really great fit for me.