How to make a Kite Guitar: Difference between revisions

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== Design Considerations ==

Assuming one is using one of the isomorphic all-3rds tuning, 6 strings is a little limiting. 7 strings or even 8 is better. A slightly longer scale, say 27", is nice because it makes the frets less cramped. 7-strings and 8-strings often have longer scales anyway.

Best to replace the entire fretboard, rather than removing the frets and putting new frets in the old fretboard. The 41-edo 5th is 702.5¢, so two frets will be only 2.5¢ away from the old ones, two will be 5¢ away, etc. So the old and new fret slots overlap, making conversion difficult.

One way to get an 8-string acoustic is to convert a 12-string guitar. The neck will be sufficiently strong and there will be enough tuners. The new fretboard may need to be wider than the old one, to accommodate 8 courses. The overhang can be filled with bondo to create a nice-feeling neck.

In any given key, the Kite guitar has multiple "rainbow zones" on the neck. Assuming the tonic falls in the "sweet spot" between the 4th and 11th fret, it takes about 28 frets to provide 2 zones in every key, but it takes the full 41 frets to provide 3 zones. This 3rd zone increases the range the lead guitarist has to solo in by a 5th or so. The highest frets are very tight, but still playable melodically. Chording is very difficult.

== Fret and Marker Placement ==

To place the frets on a Kite guitar, simply replace the 12th root of 2 = 1.059463 with the 41st root of 4 = 1.034390. Or purchase a pre-slotted fingerboard from [https://precisionpearl.com/ PrecisionPearl.com]. It comes radiused, tapered and inlaid, so all you need to do is glue it on and put in the ~~frets. Replacing 24 old frets makes 41 new frets, but the last few are very tightly spaced. One might instead replace 21 old frets to make 36 new~~ frets. Every 4th fret has a dot (fretboard marker), and every 12th fret has a double dot. Thus a 36-fret guitar is a 9-dot guitar.

To place the frets on a Kite guitar, simply replace the 12th root of 2 = 1.059463 with the 41st root of 4 = 1.034390. Or purchase a pre-slotted fingerboard from [https://precisionpearl.com/ PrecisionPearl.com]. It comes radiused, tapered and inlaid, so all you need to do is glue it on and put in the frets. Every 4th fret has a dot (fretboard marker), and every 12th fret has a double dot. Thus a 36-fret guitar is a 9-dot guitar.

== String Gauges ==

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+== Design Considerations ==
+Assuming one is using one of the isomorphic all-3rds tuning, 6 strings is a little limiting. 7 strings or even 8 is better. A slightly longer scale, say 27", is nice because it makes the frets less cramped. 7-strings and 8-strings often have longer scales anyway.
+Best to replace the entire fretboard, rather than removing the frets and putting new frets in the old fretboard. The 41-edo 5th is 702.5¢, so two frets will be only 2.5¢ away from the old ones, two will be 5¢ away, etc. So the old and new fret slots overlap, making conversion difficult.
+One way to get an 8-string acoustic is to convert a 12-string guitar. The neck will be sufficiently strong and there will be enough tuners. The new fretboard may need to be wider than the old one, to accommodate 8 courses. The overhang can be filled with bondo to create a nice-feeling neck.
+In any given key, the Kite guitar has multiple "rainbow zones" on the neck. Assuming the tonic falls in the "sweet spot" between the 4th and 11th fret, it takes about 28 frets to provide 2 zones in every key, but it takes the full 41 frets to provide 3 zones. This 3rd zone increases the range the lead guitarist has to solo in by a 5th or so. The highest frets are very tight, but still playable melodically. Chording is very difficult.
 == Fret and Marker Placement ==
-To place the frets on a Kite guitar, simply replace the 12th root of 2 = 1.059463 with the 41st root of 4 = 1.034390. Or purchase a pre-slotted fingerboard from [https://precisionpearl.com/ PrecisionPearl.com]. It comes radiused, tapered and inlaid, so all you need to do is glue it on and put in the frets. Replacing 24 old frets makes 41 new frets, but the last few are very tightly spaced. One might instead replace 21 old frets to make 36 new frets. Every 4th fret has a dot (fretboard marker), and every 12th fret has a double dot. Thus a 36-fret guitar is a 9-dot guitar.
+To place the frets on a Kite guitar, simply replace the 12th root of 2 = 1.059463 with the 41st root of 4 = 1.034390. Or purchase a pre-slotted fingerboard from [https://precisionpearl.com/ PrecisionPearl.com]. It comes radiused, tapered and inlaid, so all you need to do is glue it on and put in the frets. Every 4th fret has a dot (fretboard marker), and every 12th fret has a double dot. Thus a 36-fret guitar is a 9-dot guitar.
 == String Gauges ==