DjangoBooks.com

Joscho's Volkert Fan fret?

billyshakesbillyshakes NoVA✭✭✭ Park Avance - Dupont Nomade - Dupont DM-50E

I just saw this youtube link that Joscho sent out of him and Olli Soikkeli playing "Made for Wesley." Beautiful rendition but I also noticed what looks like a fan fret guitar in Joscho's hands. Is it indeed? I can tell it is a Volkert and, while I do read rudimentary German, I wasn't able to find such a model on the Volkert website. The Joscho model pictures there do not seem to show fan frets.

I know other luthiers (e.g. Michael Dunn) have tried the fan fret thing before, but this time the bridge seems very subtle. A simple moustache bridge angled. I like the aesthetic...it doesn't make a big deal out of the fact. Anyone seen this instrument used before or know anything about it?

vanmalmsteenBillDaCostaWilliamsBuco

Comments

  • vanmalmsteenvanmalmsteen Diamond Springs ,CANew Latch Drom F, Eastman DM2v, Altamira m30d , Altimira Mod M
    Posts: 337

    I’m assuming it would increase the scale length of the base side and perhaps shorten the scale on the skinny strings? would be interesting to see how it effects the string tension

    billyshakes
  • rudolfochristrudolfochrist Worms, GermanyNew Dupont MD-100
    Posts: 139

    I’ve played a 7-string Gypsy Guitar made by Volkert that also had fan frets. You can order every model as 7-string, so I guess the same applies to fan frets. Although the website doesn’t mention it explicitly.

    billyshakes
  • crookedpinkycrookedpinky Glasgow✭✭✭✭ Alex Bishop D Hole, Altamira M & JWC D hole
    Posts: 921

    It looks like very slight fan fretting job. Unlike this one built by UK luthier Alex Bishop.

    always learning
  • pdgpdg ✭✭
    Posts: 457

    Whoa! Does it have a different sound? What is the scale length for the 1st string? The 6th string? What strings work for it? Is it difficult to play?

  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    Posts: 459

    I used to own a couple fan fret Strandberg electric guitars and they were great. It only took a couple hours to get used to the fan frets. It would be interesting to play a GJ guitar with fan frets. I would imagine that with the longer scale length on the bass string that they would play and sound "tighter".

  • crookedpinkycrookedpinky Glasgow✭✭✭✭ Alex Bishop D Hole, Altamira M & JWC D hole
    edited September 2020 Posts: 921

    To be honest I only heard it played once by Stochelo Rosenberg. If memory serves me correctly it didn't sound that different from a standard guitar. I think Stochelo was a bit perplexed by it and, with absolutely no disrespect to Alex Bishop, I suspect it might just be a bit of a stretch - pardon the pun - for most of us to adapt to.

    As for scale lengths I have no idea but I do know that the internal structure, i.e. the bracing, has been adjusted to cope with design and change in tensions.

    always learning
  • Here's a rather more subtle fanned fret guitar I made last year. The fanning is less on this guitar but it's still not an instrument for the light hearted! This guitar is getting pretty far removed from the original Selmer guitars, but it's an ongoing evolution of design for me.

    As both a player and a maker I really like fanned fret guitars. The original thinking behind the idea of fanned frets came about centuries ago when string technology was limited, so it allowed for a broader range of pitches (check out an English lute called the 'Orpharion'). These days with string technology allowing us to take tunings very low on a guitar scale length, the fanning is more about aesthetics, and getting a different tone from a usual set of strings.

    I suspect the subtle fanning on that Volker guitar doesn't change the bracing but makes for something that feels a little more comfortable than the typical instrument. I like it!


    billyshakesBillDaCostaWilliams
  • billyshakesbillyshakes NoVA✭✭✭ Park Avance - Dupont Nomade - Dupont DM-50E
    Posts: 1,302

    @alexbishopguitars,

    Thanks for your comments! The aesthetics of your instruments are really great. That sound hole "rosette" on the earlier guitar posted is really funky and fun. Very much in character with the extreme fanned frets and general look of the guitar. The chevron-ed back and sides on the guitar you posted are reminiscent to me of the old "Dazzle" camouflage scheme they used on some of the WWI ships. I also like how you angled the top grain to be perpendicular to the bridge angle.


    BillDaCostaWilliams
  • wimwim ChicagoModerator Barault #503 replica
    edited March 2021 Posts: 1,454

    A short video of Jon playing it (Samois 2015) resurfaced on facebook after his unfortunate passing recently


    juandererdb5rudolfochristBillDaCostaWilliamsMichaelHorowitzBuco
  • plexi69plexi69 New
    Posts: 75

    It has really good tone! I think it sounds better than a lot of other high end guitars I have heard or played.

Sign In or Register to comment.
Home  |  Forum  |  Blog  |  Contact  |  206-528-9873
The Premier Gypsy Jazz Marketplace
DjangoBooks.com
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Banner Adverts
Sell Your Guitar
© 2024 DjangoBooks.com, all rights reserved worldwide.
Software: Kryptronic eCommerce, Copyright 1999-2024 Kryptronic, Inc. Exec Time: 0.016045 Seconds Memory Usage: 0.998734 Megabytes
Kryptronic