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Weber Mandolins
Weber Neck & Fingerboard

Details

Neck & Fingerboard

Weber shapes our necks with the aim to be uniquely the absolute best. Most traditional instruments have a V-Shape.  Our necks are a soft V-Shape, which is more comfortable to play up and down the fretboard. Folks tell us that we found the sweet spot between not too bulky and heavy, but substantial enough to provide a strong playing foundation. Our radiused fingerboards are crafted with only the highest quality ebony. Weber research and development found that most players enjoy the radiused fingerboards for more comfort and ease of play.

Neck Joints

Weber uses two approaches to neck joints: the traditional dovetail on all Yellowstone and Heritage instruments and the Weber Mortise and Tenon on Bitterroot and Gallatin instruments.

Dovetail

This is the most traditional neck joint for stringed instruments. The body is hand routed into a female slot and the neck’s male end slides tightly down into the dovetail cavity. This provides for maximum wood to wood contact for sound energy transmission. It is a snug and sturdy joint that maintains the neck angle for ideal string set-up heights and sound.

Mortise and Tenon

Similar to a dovetail, there is cavity in the body, but it is shaped as a rectangle. The male end of the neck is inserted into the cavity with glue and a bolt is affixed to secure the neck to the body. This approach has proven to be successful not only with Weber, but with many other premium instrument builders.

Fingerboards & Frets

Radius Fingerboards

We build our instruments with a 10-inch radius.

Frets

Our standard frets are nickel/sliver and are .080, so they wear well and make it a little easier to feel your way around the fingerboard. 

Fingerboard/Fret Care

Your fingerboard will benefit from a light coat of oil about once a year to prevent it from drying out. We recommend using mineral oil or mineral oil with just a small amount of lemon oil.

Use it sparingly—a little goes a long way. Too much oil can soften the wood and may cause the frets to loosen over time.

The fingerboard and frets are subject to wear over time and will eventually need work or fret replacement. Normal wear and tear on fingerboards and frets are not covered under the Limited Lifetime Warranty. Any reputable luthier/repair person should be able to do a plane and refret, however their work, or any damage caused by this work would not be covered under the Weber warranty. We are happy to do this repair work on your instruments (our pricing is very reasonable).