Tapered String Spacing

[Rayzcane]

Some of the amazing projects posted in the forum have put a gleam in my eye.

I am curious why every commercial instrument has a narrower string spacing at the nut than at the bridge. I just don't see the inherent advantage to this, ESPECIALLY for lapstyle players.

Wouldn't it be easier, especially for tactile players, if the strings were the same distance apart, all up and down the neck?

Yes, I can see that on multi-string tapping instruments that the bass strings must be a little wider spaced than the treble side due to the thickness of the strings, but why aren't all the bass strings spaced the same..... and all the melody strings spaced the same?

Ray Langley

[Consul]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that both the Chapman Stick and the Warr Guitar both have parallel string spacing all the way up and down the scale length of their respective instruments. Of course, Warr makes custom instruments, too, so he might have built instruments both ways.

[rjgoos]

Perhaps a taper allows for some neck weight reduction?

Regarding tapping, I prefer non-tapered.

[jean_alexis]

I have an 8 strings Austin Douglas (made by Warr).

6 cm between lower and higher string at the neck, 7 at the pickups.

Jean-Alexis

[jean_alexis]

Also it helps to have more spacing the higher your go to compensate a little the lack of horizontal space.

Jean-Alexis

[Rayzcane]

Hi Consul,

I didn't know that about the Chapman and Warr products.

Hi Jay,

Yes, weight reduction could very well be an issue. It would seem that tapering the neck adds to production costs, and so does adding the curvature to the back of the neck (for upright players).

A couple other thoughts come to mind on this:

If the string spacing at the nut was as wide as the spacing at the bridge, we would need a wider headstock to accomodate the tuners.

If the string spacing at the bridge was as narrow as the spacing at the nut, there might be some overlap on the pickups? And the 12 individual bridges would have to be narrower?

Ray Langley

[rjgoos]

String spacing and neck taper is only an issue for me, when tapping conventional 6 or 7 string instruments. The closer you get to the nut, the strings get very close together, and it can be difficult to be tapping on adjacent strings with fingers from different hands.

Jay