"I used
your amazing fret slotter on a piece of scrap to copy
the scale of a guitar for repair. I got the fret measurements
from the computer prog, which was in inches and in metric,
and I used the one with the zero fret. After I had cut
a few fret slots in the scrap, I compared it with the
guitar being repaired and found it spot on, so I went
ahead and made a fingerboard out of ebony with the
saw I bought from you,and it worked a treat.
Some
of the instruments I get for repair have very odd
scale lengths, especially the handmade ones, and your
fret slotter can cope with any of them.
Today, I am cutting a fingerboard
for a headless bass. I have made a number of mandolins
lately, to a 13.5 inch scale.
By using 14 inch scale and
an adjustable bridge I have put more tension into the
strings, and more bridge pressure, which increased
the volume by about 40% and the tone range beyond my
expectations. The accuracy is amazing, even in the
higher frets, which, for a handmade mandolin is just
great, and this paves the way for a new range of instruments,
such as mandola and bazouki, now made possible by your
fret slotter, to offer at any scale length, different
volume, and various ranges of tonal characteristics.
These
additional products will boost my business,t hanks to your
machine. In addition to mandolins where the
accuracy is paramount, I have also made guitars, using my
own design, and I can now offer two different scale lengths,
25 inch and 25.5 inch and, although they look the same,
they sound and play differently, adding yet another product
to my range without incurring the expense of starting from
scratch and tooling up.
Many thanks for allowing
me an insight to your design processes and for letting
me test a relatively simple and inexpensive machine, which
has opened new potential in the production of my handmade
instruments and in the repair of some rather odd scale
lengths.
Barry Owen, Luthier, Wolverhampton,
U.K. www.barriosmusicalinstruments.com
