If you've ever asked yourself, "Ukulele Radiused Fingerboard vs Flat Fretboard?" this video will help you learn.
Master Luthier Joe Souza from Kanile'a Ukulele shares his expertise on this very cool feature.
Transcripts:
I'm here actually standing in our Sound Studio you know as an ukulele Builder and really historically the classical guitar nylon string instrument slash just like the ukulele always came with a flat fingerboard for years that's how we built an instrument well today we have the option of actually having a radius fingerboard and you're going to learn why you need one right here on the breakdown thank you so okay we have a flat fingerboard and a radius fingerboard which is the right one for me well let's take a look at the flat fingerboard as an ukulele player you're going to hold your G your D your E minor even your F7 you know all of those chords you have four fingers with four strings and you should have no problem holding them but when we take a closer look at a radius fingerboard and why should I have a radius fingerboard well from a player's point of view the curve of your finger actually has a radius so when you go to play a radius fingerboard your finger actually conforms to those strings easier and really that's the nature of a radius fingerboard when we really look closely at that fingerboard if you could imagine a big 32 inch ball right here and what we've done is we've cut out a little two inch section which ultimately is a 16 inch radius and that is what we use on the top of the fingerboard so the top of the fingerboard is actually curved in order to fit the curvature of your finger now when you're playing a bar chord and you're holding down all four strings you're freeing up your other fingers to go ahead and play individual notes or of course hold other strings which in turn you can then hold these different chords using your bar or that covering of all four strings to Aid you in that now there are techniques that both styles of fingerboards are going to touch on and it's not going to necessarily solve all of the problems that come with playing your instrument if you have a radius fingerboard you are going to be able to hold your bar chords better which in turn could improve your playing now looking at how to design and what to do as far as a player's point of view it really is a personal preference if you're a bar chord player a radius fingerboard may be perfect if you like to play individual notes or if you just like to hold individual chords maybe you don't necessarily need a radius fingerboard as a player it really becomes a preference now a radius fingerboard is actually available on all of our models on all sizes so pretty much any Kanile’a ukulele could come with a radius fingerboard all you have to do is give Lena a call check in say hey I'm interested in a radius fingerboard and we can actually build to order your instrument with a radius fingerboard I hope this gave you some insight to radius fingerboard and why it could be a benefit for you as a player now if you love this video go ahead hit that like button if you haven't already subscribe to our Channel and of course if you have any comments leave it right there in the comments so that we can get back to you so don't ever hesitate to reach out to us we're always here for you keep strumming and stay safe aloha.
