John Mayer thinks fretboard radius makes less of a difference on your playing than strap height: “I’ll fight anybody about that”
Of all the factors of a guitar’s build, fingerboard radius is a common one guitarists wax lyrical about. But there’s one thing players can adjust themselves which has more of an effect on their playing than that, at least according to John Mayer.
Speaking in a new interview with Guitar World, the guitar legend reflects on the making of his now-legendary PRS Silver Sky signature model, and how he “didn’t understand what neck radius meant” before making the guitar.
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“I just looked at the guitars I loved the most, and they were 7.25 inches” he says, speaking about the Silver Sky’s 7.25”-radius fingerboard. “That was my measuring stick. Now that I know the math behind it, I still don’t think about it. The difference between 7.25” and 9.5” is less significant than your strap being an inch higher or lower. I’ll fight anybody on that.”
It’s certainly true that how high you choose to have your guitar while playing standing has an enormous impact on your ease in playing across the fretboard. But what’s Mayer’s reasoning?
Image: Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images
“Every guitar is different and has about 100 points of variation,” he says. “Neck profile helps sort out neck profile, which is only one of many details. So the only way to truly compare radii is to build two molecularly exact copies of the same guitar with just that difference.
“But we have to try and organise these details in some less-chaotic way, which is why we debate 7.25” vs 9.5”. I can do everything on this neck that I could do on a 9.25”. If the guitar is set up correctly, if the frets are level – which these are – you can do anything you want in regard to bending strings on this neck radius.”
Recently, John Mayer revealed he’s written enough songs to put together a new album, but explained why it’s not on the agenda for him at this stage.
“I’ve been going around making music, touring, making music, touring…” he said. “It makes sense at this stage in my life to take a breather.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
