How to make a Kite Guitar: Difference between revisions

An odd-frets guitar can be converted to an even-frets one simply by capoing. An even-frets one can be converted to odd-frets similarly if there is an additional fret (or fret slot that accepts a temporary fret) near the nut. There are also advantages musically to this extra fret even if not using open tunings. The extra fret is named the "a-fret" if it's between the nut and the 1st fret, "b-fret" if it's between the 1st and 2nd frets, etc. A b-fret or b-fret-slot might be better for acoustics, which tend to have higher nuts. There is absolutely no downside to having either an a-slot or a b-slot, and it's highly recommended.

Assuming one is not using an open tuning, a Kite guitar with 6 strings is a little limiting. 7 strings or even 8 is better. Arguably a slightly longer scale, say 27", is nice because it makes the frets less cramped. Fortunately 12-equal 7- and 8-string guitars often have longer scales anyway. But on the other hand, the Kite guitar's frets are not much tighter than a normal mandolin's, and some feel a longer scale isn't necessary.  

One way to get a 7 or 8-string acoustic is to convert a 12-string guitar. The neck will be sufficiently strong and there will be enough tuners. There's fewer strings but more courses, so the new fretboard may need to be wider than the old one. The fretboard overhang can be filled with bondo to create a nice-feeling neck. Another possibility is to convert a 6-string classical nylon-string to 7 or 8 strings. The fingerboard is wide enough that it may suffice as is. The tension is low enough that an extra string or two won't break the guitar. The 3 holes on each side of the headstock that the tuner pegs go through can be filled and 4 new holes drilled.

A crucial decision when there are 7 or 8 strings, as too wide a nut is hard on the wrist, but too narrow a nut makes fretting cleanly difficult. Nylon strings need a wider nut not only because the strings themselves are wider, but also because they vibrate more widely than steel strings and need more room. See the Dimensions table here. See also [https://guitarplayerhq.com/7-string-guitar-nut-width/ guitarplayerhq.com/7-string-guitar-nut-width].

|10

|14

|21

|-

|17

|24

|-

!cents

| -5¢

|5¢

| -2.5¢

| -10¢

|-

!distance

|  -0.040"

|0.032"

| -0.045"

|}

Removing the entire fretboard also has the advantage that you can get a pre-slotted computer-cut fretboard fairly cheaply that has extremely accurate slot placement (see below).  

[[File:Positioning a Kite Guitar fretboard -2.jpg|thumb|alt=|none]]

On a standard guitar, the nth fret is L * (1 - 2^(-n/12)) from the nut, where L is the scale length. On a Kite guitar, for an even-fret layout, it's L * (1 - 4^(-n/41)). In other words, simply replace the 12th root of 2 with the 41st root of 4. For the a-fret, use n = 0.5. Or use this spreadsheet:

|5th

|3/2

|0.5¢ sharp

|flatten by two cents

|24

|maj 9th

|9th

|flatten by four-fifths of a cent

|8/9 of string: past the fretboard up by the bridge

|-

|37

|7/2

|7th

|6/7 of string: past the fretboard up by the bridge

|-

|the same

|flatten by one-third of a cent

|}

!C2C

! E2E

!E2NE off-centeredness

|-

!2nd string

|D

|D - x + R1

|x

|-

!3rd string

|2D + R1 + 2R2 + R3

|-

|3D + R1 + 2R2 + 2R3 + R4

|x + (R3-R2) - (R4-R3)

|-

!5th string

|-

|5D

|5D + R1 + 2R2 + 2R3 + 2R4 + 2R5 + R6

|x + (R3-R2) - (R4-R3) + (R5-R4) - (R6-R5)

|-

|6D

|6D + R1 + 2R2 + 2R3 + 2R4 + 2R5 + 2R6 + R7

|7D + R1 + 2R2 + 2R3 + 2R4 + 2R5 + 2R6 + 2R7 + R8

|7D - x + R1 + R2 + 2R4 + 2R6 + R8

|}

Note that the nut is slotted edge-to-next-edge but the bridge is edge-to-edge, so as one plays further up the neck, the spacing deviates from the ideal. Furthermore each string's sideways movement increases as you get away from the nut. But the spacing widens further up the neck, making fretting cleanly easier, so this is not a problem.  

See also [[Extended range guitar]].  

===Cents===

|-

|

|Eb

| +46.3

|'''<u>''B''</u>'''

|'''<u>''+7.3''</u>'''

| -12.2

|G

|

|5

| -36.6

|G#

|G#

| -14.6

|Eb

|G

| +26.8

|

|7

| -19.5

|Bb

!'''<u>''+0.0''</u>'''

!F#

!Bb

!-39.0

!+41.5

!F

!'''<u>''A''</u>'''

!'''<u>''+2.4''</u>'''

!'''12'''

!A

!C#

!-46.3

!E

!-24.4

!-43.9

!B

|A

| -26.8

| -46.3

|E

|

|14

| -9.8

| -29.3

|F#

|'''<u>''B''</u>'''

|'''<u>''+7.3''</u>'''

| -12.2

|

|'''<u>''E''</u>'''

|'''<u>''+4.9''</u>'''

| -14.6

|C

|C#

| -17.1

| -36.6

|

!-22.0

!Eb

!F#

!+39.0

|'''<u>''C''</u>'''

|'''<u>''-4.9''</u>'''

| G#

| -43.9

| +36.6

| +17.1

|'''<u>''G''</u>'''

|D

| +29.3

| +9.8

| -9.8

|D

|30

|G

|'''<u>''B''</u>'''

|'''<u>''+7.3''</u>'''

|Eb

|G

| -31.7

|G#

|  -14.6

|  -34.1

|G

| +26.8

|'''<u>''B''</u>'''

|'''<u>''+7.3''</u>'''

|G

| -31.7

| -14.6

|C

|

|-

|

|Bb

| -39.0

| -17.1

|F

|G#

| +43.9

|F#

| -19.5

| -39.0

|C#

| -22.0

|Eb

|

|-

|39

|C#

|E

| +34.1

|-

|

|D

| -29.3

|A

| +31.7

| +12.2

|'''<u>''F''</u>'''

|vF

|21.370349

|85.481397

|170.96279

|182.92387

|365.84774

|1463.3910

|2926.7819

|vG

|24.055090

|96.220359

|192.44072

|G# / ^Ab

|26.176885

|104.707538

|209.41508