Editing Multi-scale fingerboard (section)

==Fanned-fret guitar==
{{multiple image |direction=horizontal |align=right
 | image1   = US4852450 Ralph Novak (1988-06-30) Fingerboard for a stringed instrument - drawing 1.png |width1=165
 | caption1 = {{US patent|4852450}} <!-- "Fingerboard for a stringed instrument" -->drawing by [[#Ralph Novak|Ralph Novak]]
 | image2   = Novax Natural fanned fret guitar - 2014 NAMM Show.jpg |width2=162
 | caption2 = Ralph Novak's fanned fret guitar <!-- (Novax Natural, exhibited at 2014 NAMM Show) -->
}}
''Fanned-fret guitars'' have multi-scale fingerboard because of "offset" frets; that is, frets that extend from the [[neck (guitar)|neck]] of the guitar at an angle. This is in contrast to the standard perpendicular arrangement of other guitars. Proponents of this style of [[guitar]] claim such benefits as comfort, better [[ergonomic]]s, better intonation, and better control of the tension of the strings across the fretboard.<ref name="novax">[http://novaxguitars.com/info/concept.html "Novax guitars."] Novax guitars website. Accessed 17 October 2012.</ref>

[[File:Dingwall Prima Artist - Fannet Frets Bass Guitar - Small.jpg|thumb|700px|center|alt=A Dingwall Prima Artist bass guitar that features Fanned Frets.|An example of a multi-scale bass guitar with fanned frets. The instrument is a "Dingwall Prima Artist", made in Saskatoon (Canada) by Sheldon Dingwall.<ref>http://www.dingwallguitars.com</ref>]]

===Design and construction===
Traditionally, guitars feature nineteen to twenty-four frets arranged perpendicular to the guitar’s neck. The Novak fanned fret guitar has straight frets which are aligned in a non-parallel pattern. The fanned fret guitar has an increased scale length on its bass strings when measured between the nut and the bridge. The aim of this design is to even the tone and the tension of all six strings.<ref>[http://www.dingwallguitars.com/faqs/why-fanned-frets/ "Why fanned-frets?"] Dingwall Guitars website. 25 August 2008. Accessed 16 June 2013.</ref>
The Novak fan-fret guitar is made of walnut and lacewood (body) and birch, maple, Padauk, or walnut [[laminate]]. Novak recommends [[pickup (music technology)|pickups]] that can master a wide frequency (with wood and string tones) and as much [[high fidelity|Hi-Fi]] as possible. One such pickup is the Bartolini.<ref name="greenfield"/>

===Novak patent===
In 1989, Novak patented a new type of fret arrangement that he called the “fanned fret”.<ref name="novax"/><ref name="patent">[https://www.google.com/patents/US4852450?pg=PA1&dq=ralph+novak+4,852,450&hl=da&sa=X&ei=VrTOUefSK8bjswahw4DoAg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA "Patent US4852450A Fingerboard for a stringed instrument."] Accessed 29 August 2013.</ref> The patent has expired, but Novak holds a trademark over the term "fanned-fret".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)|url = http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4804:yjnkng.2.2|website = tmsearch.uspto.gov|accessdate = 2015-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = TESS -- Fanned Frets|url = http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4804:yjnkng.2.2|website = tmsearch.uspto.gov|accessdate = 2015-10-04}}</ref> The fanned frets create a different shape to the guitar and may allow a different performance. The slanted frets lengthen the low strings and shorten the high-pitched strings. This is achieved by placing the bridge at an angle to the nut such that the distance between the nut and bridge on the side of the fretboard for the low E string is longer than it is on the side of the high E string. There is uniform string tension across the neck of the guitar, easier adaptability to altered [[Guitar tunings|tuning]], such as [[DADGAD]], dropped C and dropped D, enhanced definition of [[harmonics]], and the elimination of non-harmonic overtones and unwanted noise.<ref name="greenfield"/> The B string, in particular, sounds lighter and more distinct than it does on non-fanned models. On a traditional guitar, the G string sometimes feels like it has a higher tension than the other strings; on fanned-fret guitars, the G string retains normal tension and has a somewhat warmer tone.<ref name="greenfield"/>

===Ralph Novak===
Ralph Novak is a guitar designer, builder and repairer who brought back an old technique in the design of the fanned-fret guitar (used on stringed instruments since the origins of guitar itself{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}}). His merchandise tag was to provide an "ideal" electric guitar for [[blues]] musicians.<ref name="vintage">[http://www.vintageguitar.com/1771/ralph-novak/ "Ralph Novak."] Vintage Guitars website. Accessed 17 October 2012.</ref><ref name="greenfield">[http://www.greenfieldguitars.com/] Greenfield guitars website. Accessed 11 December 2012.</ref> As a musician, he wanted an instrument that provided better [[Musical tone|tonality]] and prevented his fingers sliding from the end of the fret when bending the high E string.

:"“The fanned-fret idea actually started out from a very simple and very selfish notion”, says Novak. “As a blues guitar player, I liked to do a lot of note-bending, and at the same time I liked to have a crisp, crunchy sound on the low strings. My initial idea was to create a guitar that had a Les Paul-type of sustain and sweetness of the trebles and had the kind of crunch and definition of a Tele or Strat on the basses. From doing repairs for a number of years, I knew it wasn’t the construction, the stiffness of the neck, or the types of wood causing these tonal things. And it wasn’t the pickups.”<ref name="greenfield"/> Novak copied an old method of fret positioning, which provides to each string its natural scale length, to achieve a better intonation on the whole string set.

=== Negative neck angle ===
Greenfield guitars has developed the 'negative neck angle' guitar. It combines elements of the concert classical guitar and the viola and mandolin (elevated fretboard). The bridge is torqued from front to back (in the direction of the lay of the strings) and from side to side.
<ref name="greenfield"/>