Why do strings get progressively higher up the fretboard?

[Riverwolf]

I did not want to hijack suzie's GS Mini thread but it got me thinking...
Why are strings so high above the frets farther up the neck?
Why don't strings run basically parallel to the fret board?
Like, why is the relaxed measurement at the 14th fret so much higher than at the first?
When I get the answer I will probably see this as a dumb question.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

I did not want to hijack suzie's GS Mini thread but it got me thinking...
Why are strings so high above the frets farther up the neck?
Why don't strings run basically parallel to the fret board?
Like, why is the relaxed measurement at the 14th fret so much higher than at the first?
When I get the answer I will probably see this as a dumb question.

There is no such thing as a dumb question. There is merely information or linkages that you do not possess.

When a string vibrates it does so in an arc. That arc is greatest in the middle of the string. Hence there needs to be more clearance in the middle of the string so that the string does not buzz against the top of the fret.

TW

[Mdinterman]

The amplitude of string vibration is maximum at the middle of the string length compared to the amplitude at the ends. In fact. There is no amplitude at the nut or the saddle. Those are fixed. In the middle of of the string (14th fret) it is the highest.

[TConnelly]

The strings vibrate in an elliptical path. With the widest point in the ellipse in the exact center (at the twelfth fret). This is also why proper relief is so important in order to get the lowest action possible without buzzing.

Cheers......................Todd

[mattcran]

More so than amplitude of string vibration /highest in the middle, I think there is the basic physics that the nut, saddle and the string need to form somewhat of a right triangle. When you press a fret anywhere on the neck, the string needs to angle away from the adjacent fret or you would have buzz everywhere.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Mdinterman

<<snip>>

In the middle of of the string (14th fret) it is the highest.

The "middle" (approx. 1/2 the distance between nut and saddle) of any string on a guitar is always the 12th fret.

[NavyChap]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

When I get the answer I will probably see this as a dumb question.

I was always taught that the only "Dumb" question was the one that was never asked!!

[HDRider]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Oh, sure there is.

This isn't one of them, but there are plenty of them out there.

It's more about "next fret" clearance than maximum amplitude of the string. In most cases, the string isn't anywhere near buzzing in the center of the string length. If you have an electric guitar with an easily adjustable bridge or saddles, you can test the theory in part by drastically lowering the string height. Try fretting at various positions and playing a string - it will buzz. It buzzes first at the next fret past where you have fretted the string, not somewhere in the center.

A constant string height that didn't buzz would require a tall nut and an excessive string height overall, making playing real torment. The increasing string height up the neck naturally creates a more consistent next fret clearance due to the decreasing fret to bridge length, increased angle at the fret, and shorter distance between the frets.

[Riverwolf]

Thanks, learning all the time.

[dmcowles@comcas]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Where is it colder, in the winter or on the street?

[riverrummed]

Yes. To the above.

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

The "middle" (approx. 1/2 the distance between nut and saddle) of any string on a guitar is always the 12th fret.

The middle is 1/2 the distance between the saddle and the fretted...or the open string. Therefore the middle 'moves'.

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

It's more about "next fret" clearance than maximum amplitude of the string. In most cases, the string isn't anywhere near buzzing in the center of the string length. If you have an electric guitar with an easily adjustable bridge or saddles, you can test the theory in part by drastically lowering the string height. Try fretting at various positions and playing a string - it will buzz. It buzzes first at the next fret past where you have fretted the string, not somewhere in the center.

A constant string height that didn't buzz would require a tall nut and an excessive string height overall, making playing real torment. The increasing string height up the neck naturally creates a more consistent next fret clearance due to the decreasing fret to bridge length, increased angle at the fret, and shorter distance between the frets.

This is the correct answer.

[donh]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

Why do strings get progressively higher up the fretboard?

Because that is the way it works.

Geometry, not just a high school class.