Strandberg True Temperament Fret Guitar Deep Dive Series
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- #knowyourgear
Thank you to CMA for sponsoring this video
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00:00 Intro
03:40 CMA
04:58 Deeper look, Why do guitar players hate these frets?
Deep dive of Strandberg video
• I Finally Tried A Str...
Dr Andre Fludd Video
• True Temperament Frets...
Adam and Paul’s video reaction
• [Guitar Vlog] I played...
I got to play one for just fifteen minutes or so. I'm already a fan of Strandbergs. I was dumbfounded by the overtones that pop out with the guitar. It really was insane. And the way the guitar resonated. I was like, I better put this away before I do something impulsive. It's magic.
AMEN ME TOO! Except I bought NX7 without ever having owned or tried the True Temperament system EVER! Played and owned many guitars over last 30 years - this guitar has pleased me like NO OTHER ELECTRIC I have ever owned!
After making several instruments with this system, I have come to very similar conclusions:
1-TT frets are great for chords; in fact, the higher you go up the neck, the better it gets. I have found out that doing 4+ voicings after the 10th/12th fret sounds noticeably better than standard guitars.
2-do you need it? No, but it is great to have it on an extra guitar.
3-due to the very precise tuning needed for the system to function properly, I would always put it on a fixed bridge setup for better tuning stability.
*Edit* 4- the increased sustain is mainly because each fret is a 3mm bar inserted inside the fretboard. The neck is stiffer and absorbs less energy from the vibrating strings, which then can ring for longer.
ciao! i'm looking to build guitars using this system as well, would you have any resources or diagrams offhand that would be helpful for the process?
@@dedompler you should check with TT for dimensions. At this point they don't sell just the frets with the cad file for making the fretboard; this is how I did in the past. They now sell the fretboard done with frets already installed and you just glue it on the neck
@@valentiguitars oh i see. that certainly simplifies things. i suppose it stands to reason they did that following the Texas True Temperament shop that closed down due to QC issues
@@dedompler I do not know about that. I personally am their Service Point for Italy. I think that probably people around the world were not installing frets correctly/making the fretboards properly.
Anyhow, their current policy surely has made things simpler for those who don't have access to very precice tooling machinery, although I would have preferred they kept the initial option available for those who could do it.
thanks this is a good way to think of things .. I was looking at the nut and thinking .. how could they do all that to the nut and not have a compensated nut? But now I realize that of course, the rest of the neck makes the strings 'line up' at the nut.
also occurs to me that you could have them 'line up' at eg the 5th or 7th fret
Thanks for the shoutout, Phil! Loved your take.
You are a marketing genius, I never in my life thought I'd see Country Music sponsoring a video about cutting edge Fusion Guitars. As a fan of both country and jazz fusion, I love it!
Thank you, Phil, for taking on something so different and providing a interesting viewpoint. Most of us will never have occasion to play a true temper guitar so it is fascinating to have this explanation/viewpoint.
I would say, True Temperament Frets with an Evertune bridge, would be the perfect basis for a rhythm tracking guitar in the studio. Especially in multi guitar bands. Have one setup for each guitarist, and it would almost eradicate any tuning/intonation issues between them.
Dude, that's brill...
Martin miller did that with a custom AZ of his. Evertune bridge + TT frets to have constant perfect tuning and intonation. You could literally go 3 years of bending and environment changing and not need to tune the thing once. Ultimate rhythm guitar.
Lots of guys already do this
The VGS Tommy Denander signature had both True Temperement frets and Evertune bridge already in 2011…
And if one is blessed with perfect pitch ears like Joe Walsh they might, might is the key word here be able to tell if your tuning temperment is a bit off. Maybe 1 in 100, 000. And bending strings across TT frets is really wacky! But it's music so don't get so technical you can't enjoy it. Rock and roll!
In 2009 Guitar world did a “Private Gear Tour” with Steve Vai backstage at one of his shows and he had a JEM with TT frets and also echoed your sentiment about the notes sustaining and he equated it to the overtones singing in tune. Such a cool innovation.
Regarding the frets and neck construction - literally all guitars today are made with CNC tools. So no, putting true temperament frets adds maybe 10-15$ to the overall cost, and the "average Joe's guitar" who makes them in the garage has probably 10 times more craftsmanship and skill in it.
I love that you simplified the signal chain as much as possible. I personally dislike when someone demos a guitar through a chain of effects. You just don't get the sound of the guitar. Besides that, hearing the difference so clearly makes me want to try an acoustic with this fret system. TY for your insight Phil,
This guitar is for someone like me, whose ears are very sensitive to tonal variations. I always preferred playing bass over guitar because I could never seem to get any guitar in tune. It was years before I found out the design of guitars is what makes them impossible to tune. I'd love to try one of these Strandbergs.
I’ve been a member and subscriber to your channel for quite a while now; you’re one of the people who inspired me to begin learning how to play. This is the most personal video I’ve seen you make (with the exception of the Nathan PRS-surprise gift video, which is personal in a very different way). It’s clear how much this was a journey of discovery for you, and how seriously you took the, well, challenge it presented. Thanks for the many hours you put into it, kudos to CMA for sponsoring it the video, and thanks to Strandberg for their patience. I can’t imagine them finding another reviewer who will treat their instrument as seriously as you did.
What a great video, Phil! Really well done and you've answered a lot of questions. Thank you!
I can indeed hear the piano thing. I notice both the D and G strings on all my guitars can drive me nuts. I tend to change both by ear depending on the key and the tune.
I have perfect pitch, and regular guitars drive me crazy. I had a Peavey AT-200 that did the trick but felt a little cheap. I would love to try one of these.
Whereas I cannot afford a Strandberg, I just had to get the strat style replacement neck by True Temperament. To me, it just brought it all together the way I had imagined for decades of playing regular fretted necks. Nice video and thanks for sharing your insights!
Now try it live with a band.
This really is one of your most eloquent video reviews. Well done Phil.
Phil thanks for this. My main recording guitar was made for me 10 years ago and it has a TT neck. The sustain is definitely the first thing I noticed. I have a patch set up that's identical to my usual setup for when I switch guitars. The only difference is that I don't need a compressor in my signal chain when I'm using my TT guitar, because it sustains the same as my other guitars without it! It's unreal how big of a difference it makes. I'm glad to see them going more mainstream - you had to have them custom built when I got mine.
Thank you! Great video, very interesting, you really get to the heart of things and explain your thoughts so well!
I have a strandberg boden with the multi-scale and had no issues at all with the slanted frets, in fact, I don't even notice it while playing. I am always trying to find that perfect compromise in tuning so the open chords sound good. I find myself tuning the G string a bit flat and the B a tiny bit sharp helps a lot. The true-temperment frets may be the solution, but the cost is holding me back.
Very useful info!
I'd love to try a TT fretboard, but as you say: it's very expensive...
Didn't know about the improved sustain, however - but it does explain a bit how Matthias IA Eklundh (a massive fan of TT frets!) gets those amazingly great sounds fron his beautiful Caparison guitars 😎👍
HOLY COW!!…. I actually hear a difference…and I never ever hear a difference on comparison videos 👍👍
I always appreciate technological advancement that adds functionality, improves feel or fixes a problem. Never liked pointy guitars or headless guitars until Strandberg. They're not so far removed from the traditional guitars but also push us in new, interesting directions with their body and neck shapes or the innovative fret systems. Cool stuff that feels like it actually adds functionality.
I can see the benefits of having that guitar as a recording tool, especially for clean tracks that become foundational in the mix. Other than that, I can't imagine using it live or for crunchy or high gain parts. It's advantages will be lost on any audience in a live situation for anything but very delicate jazz or orchestral compositions where the ensemble harmonics are very apparent to the listeners and players.
Here's how they work - they compensate LOCALLY so that a given chord sounds a LITTLE more in tune with ITSELF by giving up a GLOBAL perfection of tuning for every key (equal tempered). That's it. You give up being perfectly in tune with a synth or piano or another guitarist by oh 5 to 10 to 15 cents (100 cents in one half step) in order to get those nasty warbly interactions with the major and minor 3rds to sound more in tune with themselves. You won't be able to "tune" the guitar with a standard tuner because the notes are no longer equal tempered but closer to a just tuning MOSTLY on the G and B strings. So... it's great for sounding more in tune for those major and minor chords most people play (you know, the 2 versions where you bar all the strings with your first finger). The thing is, MOST guitarists will hear only that it sounds "better" and they'll not concern themselves with the details I mentioned and just say oh well, the chords sound more in tune and that makes it better! But what if you need to play a ROOT NOTE of the key you're in using your G STRING at the 4th fret? You will be NOTICEABLY flat. Just look how far back the fret goes at that position. Root notes, 5ths, 4ths... playing those on the G or B strings (for which the TT system has been optimized) will result in FLAT notes. There is no need for me to play or own one. I don't play live and I can always detune my G and B strings myself to achieve better bar chords during recording.
interesting take, I wonder if that is indeed the case 🤔
@@MaxRayMusic You can figure it out logically on your own using all that info I threw out. A440 means 440 vibrations per second. an octave up or down is either X2 or /2. EG, A880 is an octave higher than A440. 220 is the A an octave lower than middle A or concert A. Thus, your end points for ANY octave is always that far away. from 220 to 440 is an octave. Now, divide that into 12 notes. THOSE will be the frequencies you use to play music. On a NON-fixed instrument (voice, violin, fretless guitar, etc) you can MAKE the notes in tune per their function in the chords and relation to each other. On a standard fretted guitar you are stuck with the way you divide that octave up into 12 parts. When you divide the octave using the 12th root of 2, you get the equal tempered scale we all know and love. If you divide it by the best sounding slices for any major key, you screw up those notes for the OTHER keys.... so... what to do? Maj 3rd interval sounds bad in equal tempered..... sounds butter in just temperament but makes the 4ths and 5ths sound like shite..... SOOOOO.... in comes TT. They are shifting the notes eeeeever so slightly so that the major 3rds are more in tune INSIDE of the two common major bar chord shapes plus probably a few other tiny micro adjustments so that they have basically a compromise between JUST and EQUAL temperament so that yes, you are out of tune in octaves and tiny spots BUT you are MORE in tune on those nasty maj 3rds that are problematic in the equal tempered setup. So, with TT, you are more in tune with yourself and the strings are vibrating with more harmony, albeit slightly out of tune when that string functions as something like a 4 or 5. THAT is my comprehension of what the creators of TT have done. I'm not saying it's bad or horrible. I haven't played one for myself but I did try a Buzz Feiten nut and absolutely hated it. You cannot get your guitar in tune with that piece of s.
Great review. I appreciate you took the tiiiiiime to review it and think about it.
Heres a question Ive always wondered with these how does changing string guage affect the intonantion across these type frets? Are they designed solely for one type of string guage. What happens if you take a 6 string and put heavier strings on it for C standard tuning?
This was my first thought.
On the True Temperament website FAQ it says, '- No, not really. This is all about the intonation range at the bridge, for instance a Tune-o-matic bridge. A heavy string gauge combined with down tuning can end up out of intonation range.
Our steel-string acoustic fingerboards (650 mm and 630 mm scale) work fine with 0,011- to 0,013-set with a wound 3d string.
For our nylon-string acoustic fingerboard (650 mm scale) you can use medium to hard tension strings. We have through the years tested a big range of string brands and noticed that plain nylon strings varies a lot in tension consistensy. We can recommend Savarez Corum strings.'
Great demo video. Thanks for taking so much time to deep dive this one. So, not a shredder, best as a chord machine.
Beautiful words man, as a producer I have always thought about intonation on guitars, since sometimes you look for long sustained notes/chords and there is just a kind of presicion you get from a normal electric guitar let alone an acoustic guitar, I would love to try a guitar with that system. And love your opinion about how it feels, not as a guitar that makes every other obsolete, but as an instrument for a kind of sound and feel, and you are right, as one that excites the harmonics or resonate more and makes you play different.
$200 for the green one, cash in hand!!
Very-very good review, thank you!
Excellent video - I was thinking about a Temp frets as well but like you am afraid I wont play my other Strandberg but you have answered some important questions cheers Thanks
Anybody can tune one chord to sound perfect, but to get that sound from different chords is really something.
It's mathematically impossible to improve all the chords. The best you can do is make certain keys/chords sound better at the expense of playing other keys/chords worse.
Thanks for so many years of great videos. You are always able to put feeling into every part of your show and reviews. Its not all about money but do you really need it and why. In the end thats what matters. Putting common sense with want or need is so hard to do. All your how to videos have done wonders for me also. Thanks again.
Does that mean if you have a four hour gig tonight you would automatically pick up the squiggly fret version without giving it a second thought? Just thought this question might require a more carefully considered answer. NO?
I have a friend who lives in Chicago who owns one tenth of the true intonation system. No point..just sayin..He told me it wasn't an
easy sell in the beginning. I guess it's like anything that's new. (His initials are J. 19:28 19:28 E.
just for the sake of verifying what I'm saying.
I wouldn't make stuff up where you guys are concerned.
this looks interesting, have to try one. thank you for showing it.
Sustain? I think the explanation you are looking for is that because the notes are in pretty perfect tuning they reinforce each other (and their overtones do as well) rather than if they are even slightly out of tune where they will interfere with each other, perhaps?
the thing with the longer sustain makes so much sense!
notes are frequencies of waves. there are waves that interfere with each other in such a way that they cancel each other out. some combinations of waves cancel each other out faster than other combination. on this guitar the relationship of the notes to each other is always such, that their frequencies interfere with each other the least, thereby all sustaining for longer.
Great review, Phil! It would be really interesting to do a comparison between a true temperament guitar and a guitar set up with a Buzz Feiten shelf nut, intimated and tuned per his specifications. Much lower cost and less intrusive to the feel of normal frets. I retro-fitted a PRS Custom 22 and purchased a John Suhr Modem carve top that came with this tuning system and have loved both guitars.
I have a VGS TD Special with TT frets and an Evertune bridge. It’s definitely a ‘forever’ guitar because that open C chord sticks out like dogs balls! Playing Major 3rds is where I hear most of the difference between it and a normal guitar. It’s great to have a guitar where you don’t have to switch your brain back and forth between the mechanical and the creative when playing. Like you said you need to spend some time with it. Great review! Thanks.
I really want to try one, however I've my doubts whether these two are all that similar. Green was a far brighter sound compared to Squiggly, where I actually had to roll back and check whether you were even on the same pickup (turns out you were). That does play a lot into it for me whether I think it's 'just' the squiggly frets, or if there are more differences between the instruments that we're experiencing.
My two cents, I would buy the true temperament if I was doing a lot of session work. The overtones in the chords aren't fighting each other
Very interesting, thanks!
One fascinating video. Thank you sir.
Excellent. Thank you.
Thank you for this really valuable review. I'm curious what you'd add after few years of using it. (if you would buy it of course)
Love the honesty in your videos.
Thanks for your in-depth video, I don't think I will buy this guitar any time soon but it has really something new. I think UA-cam recommended the video to me because I watched Ember by Plini a couple of times and he uses this guitar there and it has some particular "taste" in how it sounds there, quite fresh and interesting.
I wasn’t expecting to like the squiggly one as much as I did. It has that thing where the chords have this big looping sound like a piano does. I really love that.
Thanks for the video. This may clear up the way outher musicians, pianist trumpet violinist hear when they play with a guitar in the band . Might be a must for rhythm players.
What a great video. What honesty. It’s hard to admit liking something so different. Thanks Phil can’t wait to try one.
Very interesting review!
I think what the important thing is, does it inspire you? A long time ago I went down a rabbit hole about tuning a guitar. Like the salt on the soundboard of an acoustic guitar, how it lines up at 432 much more than 440 for an "A". In this case, I don't think we are comparing apples to apples for sustain. As Paul Smith likes to say, "everything matters". Is the neck wood the same? Thickness? Width? Is the fretboard material the same? Size? Glue to hold it on? Truss rod? Is the fret alloy the same? Size the same? Are both glued in? Same glue? Are both nuts the same? Glue? Tuners the same? Body wood the same? Thickness? Neck joint the same? Neck glue? All things that could contribute to, or subtract from sustain. Not saying one way or another, just some things from 'the wabbit hole' to think about. LOL Great video!! Thanks!! --gary
The TT neck was originally developer by a Swedish/Finnish/Nowegian person and was sold as replacement neck for 4-bolt Fender-scale guitars. Strat replacement necks at Warmoth range from $187 to $832, so the upcharge for the TT neck is reasonable, IMO. (I own a Strandberg Boden Standard(?) B-Stock which I like a lot. I swapped out the pickups for Tom Anderson HF1/HF2 set - a big improvement, although the original pickups were very good.)
my budy has a Strandberg with fanned frets and at first it was weird to play, but once I stopped thinking about it, it was great. That neck shape is really comfortable!
Hey Phil, Thanks for the in-depth analysis of the True Temperament frets. I like the concept since any tool that enhances creativity deserves attention. I don't personally see this as ever replacing traditional frets because of cost and complexity. Also resistance to change by traditionalist. But those chords sounded great.
For the sake of fun, imagine a guitar with Fanned True Temperamant frets, Buzz Feiten compensated nut mounted on a Novatone interchangeable fingerboard on a composite headless neck designed around the Torzal Natural Twist and Eduro neck carve on the back. Add a LightWave Optical System too. That would be an interesting beast.
"FANNED TRUE TEMP FRETS"..???
Is that technically plausible; since the "temperament" is an adjusted lateral positioning (for EACH STRING) so it's like the "FAN" fret concept split 6 ways in these cases and faned frets seem to be the best "average" in 1 fret to achieve a similar results so I can't imagine fanned temper frets .. (maybe I've had too little sleep). But nice concept and imagination with this and the other specs you suggested 👍
You forgot Evertune! 😅
@@ChrisSkinner1 thanks for reminding me.
@@myleskenney7258 actually yes. Strandberg Boden+ NX 6 True Temperament has fanned true temperament frets.
NO WAY!! now I'm hunting!!@@sunn_bass
I own a guitar with TT frets and Evertune. I always find weird that people seem to want to dislike it. These frets sound more in tune, and therefore better. Gotta be a real contrarian to not want to be in tune. The price is bad, but other than that, it's perfect.
In my personal opinion, I don't like how perfectly intonated it sounds. It sounds like a guitar plugin. I don't see why the sound would bug me, but it sounds soo odd to my ear. The sustain is definitely cool for those who like the sound though
@@djstringsmusic2994 yeah once again this is the only argument people really have as a personal conflict with TT; TLDR it basically amounts to "I'm used to how 'bad' sounds, and for that reason I refuse to change"
silliness.
@@dedompler I don't think sounds bad. I think it sounds odd. Like a guitar plugin. It could be cool for some things.
Great video! I think with distorted sounds the difference is probably much bigger.
Digging around in the market place now for one following this video. My guess is it will break the bank, but pretty nifty instrument that appeals to the physicist in me. Thanks Phil!
??? Kool Phil. Have you tried delay, flanger, phaser with this guitar? I am wondering if the sound is less ~muddy / notes are more distinct because of the 'true temper' ? I play with lots of delay, flanger, phaser combos and ~muddiness / clarity of notes might sound better with this system. Thanks Phil!
visually it looks silly as hell, but the idea of not having to constantly compensate for the flaws in guitar construction without any noticeable drawbacks would be a dream come true. It's become so ingrained in my style to bend and wiggle everything trying to disguise the nasty beating between intervals that aren't consistent across the fretboard I don't even know what it'd be like to not have to do it
I can tell you that having had a TT neck fitted on my Stat for the last few years, straight frets look a bit old-hat to me now. :)
what about string changes, if I go from 8 to 10 do I lose the sustain? how about just individual strings vs. a normal pack? different string types, flat would, metal material?
It would be interesting to see how this compares to the Buzz Feiten system. I have the BF system on my Tom Anderson & it has a piano-like sound as well, much like the true temperament system on the Stranberg
Awesome vid!!!
The 7 string version of this is still my dream guitar. I love the way they sound.
In the ab test, the regular guitar had what seemed like a slight tremolo effect and the true temperament guitar had some kinda of organ sounding overtones that were amazing.
Thank you for yet another very interesting video! 🤩
If I may, possibly this explanation can explain the reason for difference in sustain and richness:
..if you study the magic overtones in barbershop. No joke!
Not being a fan myself but my wife was part of a Swedish choir which came second in the world championship in the USA. Her quartet practiced at our home for years so I was unintentionally “educated” in; tonality, interference waves, overtones, scales and most importantly - that everyone of these four members had to know at which note at certain chords, they individually had to raise or lower the pitch a bit. Or more! In one certain chord, the lead maybe had the exact pitch whilst the tenor hade to pitch up and baritone down and the bass did her particular pitch.
When succeeding, the chord “rang”. A fifth tone could be heard. Although only four singers! Sometimes more than five tones.
Why?! Because when four (or more or less) voices, vocal or instrumental, interact at exactly the right frequencies, they:
A) amplify the sound energy of the other tones
B) create overtones (plural)
That was called “ringing” if I remember correctly. The sound mixture then filled the room or “enveloped” the listeners. Even in big theatres one whould experience the sound surrounding one’s head instead of being projected from the stage!…😮🤯
So… With the exact pitch of each tone in every different chord the energy of all tones will add to one another thus creating more sustain, a more full bodied sound and a richer sound.
Conclusion: The closer one can get to “an ideal combination of tone pitches” for a chord, the richer sound is created/transmitted!
So, any enlightenment? 😅
Kind regards
Anders
Sweden
PS. If anything is unclear just give me a shout. English is not my native language. I’ll try to clarify if needed.
The TT one sounded unfamiliar but much better in the A/B tests. If I ever have the cash to spare, I'd like to build the ultimate practice guitar: something like an Aristides with Evertune and TT frets. Throw some nicely coated strings in there and you can just pick it up anytime, anywhere and it will always be perfectly set up and in tune.
Thanks so much Phil! I can always count on you for a thoughtful and thought-proving commentary on whatever subject you are focused on, bravo!
Great video!
In the A/B test I constantly preferred the intonation of the B guitar and I was sure it would be the TT neck at the reveal.... it wasn’t 😮
Very interesting video… I would never buy a guitar like that myself but always good to learn about them
Amazing! Would like to play one. So, intonation is kept precise up and down the neck, for each individual string and at the bridge like a conventional guitar . Wow! Who came up with this witchery? Thanks for sharing.
As others have already said, thanks for thinking outside of the box for this content!
Perhaps this is a silly question, but since you noted that if you are in a two guitar band you would probably want both guitars to be TT because of subtle pitch differences, as a bassist I was wondering if there were any similar issues when using a TT guitar and a regularly tempered bass?
NGD today, just got her , exact model. Frets felt odd for about 15 min.sounds so much better!! Ola ought to give you one, I’m guessing you sold a few with this video.
How about alternative tuning, does the sound of the intonation stay consistent or does it introduce wavering frequencies?
Finally! A look at True Temperament fret system! Good for you, Phil!
I think piano players would absolutely love it if guitar players used these more often.
Why? Pianos are tuned to equal temperment,
@@cchavezjr7 you have completely misunderstood the point of true temperament. The point is that it's closer to equal temperament compared to linear frets.
@@gonzoengineering4894 "equal temperament" IS "linear frets". I think you have misunderstood the point of "true temperament", which is just a marketing buzz word and not a real music theory thing. It makes certain keys/chords slightly more in tune at the cost of making other keys/chords worse. That is all.
Cool vid! I played that model 2 months ago. It’s felt great and would buy one if ninjas the spare cash. But, those frets were wild and I had a bit of a challenge with sighting notes. I’m sure I’d get used to it tho. Cool guitar. I didn’t find the D cow boy chord blew me away but was still a neat feature.
Aesthetically I prefer the green one, but I would prefer the tobacco burst one as well. It’s not often we hear something truly different but to me this was and I would someday love to own one.
so...Strandberg is content to see to those rolling in dough or with OCD I suppose. Do you think the sustain might be from the glued IN to compsite vs pressed in with I suppose micro air pockets in the wood fb?
Thanks for such an interesting vid - I find this fascinating. I guess (?) the tempered thing might affect sustain (and harmonic quality) due to the more 'perfect' interaction of the harmonics resonating 'in tune with each other'? What's also interesting re: the 'pianistic' comment is how notes on a piano react to each other - I've sat while piano tuners have tuned up Grands & Uprights in various studios over the years and ultimately it's by ear, listening to the harmonic overtones, rather than a question of pure 'maths'. The comparison between the two was also fascinating for me - I'd love to try one of these.
This question may be simple to answer but what about other tunings with TT frets? Is this built with solely standard tuning in mind or is open tuning, dropped tuning capable with the same takeaway or would it hinder the advances that come with such a system?
Excellent!👍👍
Great video, keep it up
I´d love one. Sounds killer!!
This sounds like a dream for me. I'm very sensitive to out of tune chords. I could easily tell which guitar was which in the blind examples
I think the cost ($3.5k+ for a Indonesian made guitar) is probable the greatest barrier to entry for most guitarist and if they had a way of being able to try it out cheaper I think people would do it (headless guitars are the proof of that).
True temperament sell fender necks with the system for ~500 USD which I think is pretty cool, although supposedly customer service isn't great.
Or try it out at all, because where I live the only way to get my hands on one of these is order online.
@@martyshwaartz971 Yeah, I have heard that to. But, despite probable make it a tid bit more accessible putting a new neck on your guitar often times it's a simple A -> B proposition or at the very least I reckon that majority of players would pay a tech which means your probable between $700-800 is the whole by the end. Sometimes for the sake of peace of mind I think most players just like to be able to walk into a store and play one (and it not cost as much as custom shop guitar).
@@edesbalazs To be honest I have only ever seen/played two and I had to be in a city were the population is several million, so I imagine most people haven't even seen one in person.
i primarily play rhythm guitar with a piano player and this would be perfect!. just needs to be an acoustic or at least a hybrid for my style though.
its a relief for my ears to hear an in tune chord on these guitars. not to speak of my probs when tryin to tune a non tt guitar. the c-chord was most prominent and its almost like a very slight chorus effect is drivin the chord an the non tt. if strandberg would make a archtop with these frets...geez. i wonder if theres any luthier who makes selmer-style gutiars with these frets. great video
I remember seeing replacement necks with True Temperament Fret Systems 13 or so yrs ago, had no idea they were still going.
Any chance of you doing a video on the Music Man Kaizen?
As a guitarist, and i do mean a guitarist who plays jazz and fusion, this sounds GREAT to me!
Good job at being open minded about this guitar. I'd like to try one someday.
'A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing' I love the sound of those wonky frets. Thanks Phil.
A couple of observations. In the comparison, the D chord stands out to me as much as the C in hearing the "beats". Maybe that's just me, I always have to tweak the B and high E strings to get an open D to sound in tune.
Also, I think the sustain difference could be that with the tempered frets the string frequencies are more closely in phase. I was recording a keyboard track on a DAW and had the raw audio and some monitored audio both playing through the headphones, so there was some latency between the two sources. I found that some notes were louder, and I actually couldn't hear certain notes at all. After verifying that the keyboard was working correctly, I killed the raw signal and everything was fine. I'm pretty sure that the latency caused specific frequencies to line up at close to 180 degrees out of phase, almost cancelling the note. With a physical string, I'd bet phase misalignments can actually dampen the vibration.
NGD on Thursday, trying to determine the odd man(guitar) out. Can’t wait!
Very cool review Phil I could definitely tell the difference with Gmaj and Cmaj. D less so I find fretted bass notes on the first three strings to be the worst to intonates esp between frets 2-6
I wonder how it would compare to a regular fretted guitar with a compensated nut.
I can hear the difference instantly. It's like a breath of fresh air. I've always been bothered by the inconsistent intonation on guitars, didn't realize there was a ciure till now. Crap, that means I meed another guitar. Oh well, can't play money.
For chords, it's the perfect neck/fret system. You can very clearly hear the difference, it's not subtle at all. I have been lusting after one of these (not necessarily this brand) since I first heard one played. I have always been a stickler for intonation, I can easily spend hours intonating my guitars every time I change the strings, brand or gauge, not when just swapping to a fresh identical set. The notes ring out and sync in perfect (or near to) harmonic resonance. It costs a pretty penny but IMHO, if they catch on and gain more than a niche market share, the price will come down.
Great video Phil, thanks for covering everything so carefully.