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Just curiou....

Nobody ever asked..... But I'd do a fanned fret for the same price as normal. I mean - what's the diff? I still have to level them, polish them out, and everything else like normal. The frets are longer, but most guys buy bags of frets already cut in 24 long pieces so they don't have to stock coils of every fret size known to man. I don't see a problem.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Hmmm,
I'm just an amateur, but for me I'd have at least a few hours (honestly for me it would be more than a few), in design on the fretboard and scale. Then wouldn't you need to re-design the bracing and bridge?

Now, if I had that design in my skill set already, then I agree. It is really the same job other than a little more effort in the fret slots rather than running them 90 degrees across your saw at the right intervals.

Perhaps a better question to ask is... how much less can you charge for normal frets due to economies of scale? If you whip out piles of necks/fingerboards/bridges using power tool jigs, then you can probably charge a fair bit less for standard configurations. My methods are all designed around flexibility rather than efficiency since I like doing something different every time, so fan frets are no extra trouble.

Great point Dennis,
Part of the question would have to be: Do you want to build a fan fret?

I have only done classicals, but I'm now building my first steel string. It is taking some time for new tooling and design. A year ago, I wouldn't have been interested in building a SS for someone, and would have charged extra to cover a little of my extra time and tooling.

Now that I've done that on my own time, if someone wanted a SS, the cost would be similar to a classical.

The value to the customer doesn't change, but if I'm not marketing something I'm not tooled up for, I would charge extra. (and probably not sell one!)

Bracing? I don't think so. Maybe to fit the bridge plate...

Bridge? It's not stock, but I'd just make the darn thing. I never make them all the same anyway - I build to the clients desires and needs. I have no "standard" instrument.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

It's more than just fretwork. The headstock will be different, the way you cut fret slots may be different, the bridge design will be different, and the way you locate it may become more involved if you're used to using a simple jig rather than measuring. It isn't rocket science, but there is more work involved.


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I slot my boards with a jig on the table saw. If I were to do a board with fan frets then I would charge the extra cost required to have the board CNC slotted. I would also charge some extra (maybe a few hours, as was said by someone else) for the extra layout time required.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I charge $600 which is pretty much the industry standard for multi-scale designs. There is defintely more work involved if you incorporate jigs for normal layouts (bridge positioning jigs, neck profiling jigs, etc.). The layout isn't quite as easy. For example, for the bridge pin holes you can't just space them out for the desired string spacing. Instead, you have to space them out with the bridge skewed at the desired angle. It isn't that much harder but you don't have nice perpendicular lines you can reference from. Bridge slotting also can be a little more difficult because you are also cutting the slots at an angle.

Basically, I can't use any of my regular jigs for some of these processes and have to use measured layouts which takes a bit more time. The headstock is also more work because it has to be cut at angle as well. Again, nothing very challenging but definitely more time consuming for the way most of us would work. In terms of real labor costs, I'd say it is more like an extra $200 rather than $600 but if the upcharge is acceptable then that is part of how we acquire our much needed profit.

Well, I said 300...so as usual, selling myself way short...

I have a $600 upcharge for multiscale, and so far, each one I've done, the client wanted a different spread than I'd done previously, so there's been substantial added design time. Nailing the bridge location is more challenging, and I do alter my bracing angles and headstock shape varying amounts based on the scale length and spread.


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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

What Toonces said.

Steve

But actually, I'm only $300, cause I'm a new guy