Carvin offers an assortment of optional fretboard radii, to complement our award winning RapidPlay™ Custom Shop necks! Often touted as one of the best kept secrets in the industry, Carvin 6 string guitars and 4 string basses are available with 3 fingerboard profiles. The radius refers to the curvature of the fingerboard - the higher the radius, the flatter the fingerboard. Generally, flatter fingerboards are preferred for string bending and faster playing, while rounder fingerboards are better for chording and rhythm playing.

Most Carvin 6 string guitars come with a 14" fingerboard radius (excluding nylon string models, Holdsworth models, and 8-string models). This radius offers what we feel is the best overall combination for easy string bending and chording. The optional more rounded 10" radius gives slightly more comfortable chording for many players. The optional 12" radius promotes slightly easier string bending then the 10" radius. Four-string basses have a 12" radius standard.

R10 optional 10" radius
R12 optional 12" radius

7 string guitars and 5 & 6 string basses also have a 14" radius (no optional radius available). All Holdsworth models and the DC800, CL450 & NS1 Nylon guitars remain with the flatter 20" radius (no optional radius available).

Carvin is equipped with precision tooling for machining and dressing each different fingerboard radii. Our precision pressing arbors press the frets into each different radius, ensuring solidly-set frets regardless of the radius or fingerboard wood. The result is extremely accurate necks and fret jobs for all models.

For those of you unsure of what suits your style best, please call in and speak with one of our knowledgeable guitar specialists. They will help spec out what you need. When calling Carvin, you aren't just calling a phone operator; you are speaking to a musician, a musician who knows the ins and outs of the electric guitar and bass.