Fretboard divots

adorshki

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I certainly think so - a few people over the years have actually said to me, "why are your nails so short?" And I know I play pretty hard.
My nails are kept pretty short on fretting hand, too.
I remember Frono's recounting of the ideal "shredder's" technique being to only press the string hard enough to stop it at the fret, but I think that's only appropriate for electrics, where one almost has to use a very light picking/strumming technique.
The generally lower tension of electric strings is also more compatible with that "shredder's technique."
In my experience, and yours too, I suspect, the reason we fret so hard on acoustics is because when we use even just a mildly aggressive attack, the strings tend to buzz unless they're held as hard against the fret as possible, and you can' hold 'em any harder than right up against the fretboard, except for bends... :biggrin-new:
I wonder if string gauge may also play a role.
It occurred to me a few years back that maybe the reason my frets got notched so quickly was because lights are effectively a sharper edge than mediums when rubbing against frets.
But maybe mediums make a "bigger rasp" when rubbing against a fretboard?
But I seem to recall you favor lights too?
 
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walrus

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I'm using extra lights! Easier to bend, etc. Still plenty of volume. But I used lights for years, so I don't know about the gauge's impact. It DOES seem to make more sense a player would wear the frets more than the fretboard, like you have done.

walrus
 

adorshki

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I think walrus probably has a handshake that'll crush a brick, that's what I think...

:)

I'm using extra lights! Easier to bend, etc. Still plenty of volume. But I used lights for years, so I don't know about the gauge's impact. It DOES seem to make more sense a player would wear the frets more than the fretboard, like you have done.

walrus

See my edit re fingertips acids.
Oh heck, I'll just move it here:

After looking at your photo one more time, I have a suspicion those aren't caused by the strings, unless you do a LOT of bending at the first fret, the hardest one to bend.....
My newest hypothesis, therefore, is that over the years the acids in your fingertips have gradually eaten away at the fretboard.
I have pretty dry hands so I don't get divots.
(Yes I'm delivering that deadpan while stifling a guffaw, but, if you think about it, it might not be so far off base.......)
:friendly_wink:

PS I think I also see a pattern that virtually everybody who advocates the "light touch" technique is using an electric guitar/bass reference standard.
 
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walrus

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See my edit re fingertips acids.
Oh heck, I'll just move it here:

After looking at your photo one more time, I have a suspicion those aren't caused by the strings, unless you do a LOT of bending at the first fret, the hardest one to bend.....
My newest hypothesis, therefore, is that over the years the acids in your fingertips have gradually eaten away at the fretboard.
I have pretty dry hands so I don't get divots.
(Yes I'm delivering that deadpan while stifling a guffaw, but, if you think about it, it might not be so far off base.......)
:friendly_wink:

But I haven't done acid in decades... :redface-new:


Seriously, it may be as simple as decades of playing - literally an average of at least an hour a day for 35 years, often I'm able to play for 3 - 4 hours at a time, which certainly would get the fretboard "acidic". I wipe it down after playing, but not "during" playing.

I'm glad some of you have said "leave it as is", that's what I'd rather do!

walrus
 

mavuser

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those divots are from your fingernails, as short as they may be, believe it or not. not from strings which cause divots in the frets themselves (your divots are between the strings...). You don’t even realize you’re doing it. you are fretting the string with the pad of the fingertip, the string pushes in the fingertip and as u apply pressure to the fret, your flesh is compacted more by the tension against the string...ultimately u are fretting the string hard and over the long term your nail is digging into the wood. it may actually have more to do with the angle of your fingertip on the string, and not as much the legnth of your fingernail, as crazy as it sounds...does that make any sense? I know many a fine young ladies that are professional guitar or bass players, with long painted finger nails, and I marvel at how effortlessly they can play like that. and they do play acoustic (and bass).
 

Rayk

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those divots are from your fingernails, as short as they may be, believe it or not. not from strings which cause divots in the frets themselves (your divots are between the strings...). You don’t even realize you’re doing it. you are fretting the string with the pad of the fingertip, the string pushes in the fingertip and as u apply pressure to the fret, your flesh is compacted more by the tension against the string...ultimately u are fretting the string hard and over the long term your nail is digging into the wood. it may actually have more to do with the angle of your fingertip on the string, and not as much the legnth of your fingernail, as crazy as it sounds...does that make any sense? I know many a fine young ladies that are professional guitar or bass players, with long painted finger nails, and I marvel at how effortlessly they can play like that. and they do play acoustic (and bass).
Finger nails up that’s what thought because of its placement .

As a fix just to and fix and play I’d dye some JB weld and apply it .

Otherwise I’d replace the fingerboard .
 

walrus

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those divots are from your fingernails, as short as they may be, believe it or not. not from strings which cause divots in the frets themselves (your divots are between the strings...). You don’t even realize you’re doing it. you are fretting the string with the pad of the fingertip, the string pushes in the fingertip and as u apply pressure to the fret, your flesh is compacted more by the tension against the string...ultimately u are fretting the string hard and over the long term your nail is digging into the wood. it may actually have more to do with the angle of your fingertip on the string, and not as much the legnth of your fingernail, as crazy as it sounds...does that make any sense? I know many a fine young ladies that are professional guitar or bass players, with long painted finger nails, and I marvel at how effortlessly they can play like that. and they do play acoustic (and bass).

mav, this makes sense, it's just so hard to believe! It was also the consensus of the other thread I posted above about the same thing. My opinion is that it is a combination of "all of the above"...

walrus
 

dreadnut

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I prefer to call 'em "grooves," that sounds more musical than "divots." LOL

The grooves in my fingerboard are right where the John Prine songs are located.

I asked my fiddle-playing friend "What about these violins that are hundreds of years old?" He said, "Well the bodies are original but they've had their fingerboards replaced several times."
 

mavuser

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mav, this makes sense, it's just so hard to believe! It was also the consensus of the other thread I posted above about the same thing. My opinion is that it is a combination of "all of the above"...

walrus

i say grow them out, get a radical manicure, and learn to play without breaking your new nails, then the divots will stop.
 

adorshki

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A "radical manicure"? Love it! :playful:

walrus

2325321.jpg
 

fronobulax

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Fro, those are "scalloped" fretboards.

Understood. But from where I am sitting a divot seems as if it would have a similar effect. Both effect how far the string can travel before it (and the finger) touch the fret board.
 

adorshki

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Understood. But from where I am sitting a divot seems as if it would have a similar effect. Both effect how far the string can travel before it (and the finger) touch the fret board.

Except these divots are typically between the strings, not beneath them.
Might also explain why most folks say they don't actually feel 'em.

But I've been dyin' to say this anyway:
220px-Scalloped_fretboard.jpg

Now THOSE are divots!!
 
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