# 8 string Nut/Heel widths



## timbryant99 (Sep 16, 2016)

Hello 8 string guitarists,

I am planning on doing an 8 string build here shortly and I would like to get the neck taper correct. What would a normal nut width/last fret width be on an 8 string? If anybody can help, that would be fantastic. Thank you very much.

-Tim


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## Deegatron (Sep 16, 2016)

It would be a good idea to consider your string taper when contemplating heel width.
When laying out a build I typically start with the bridge and nut, layout the string path first and then work out the neck taper. 
The typical approach is to add 0.125" on either side of the strings at the nut and then add 0.1875" on either side of the strings at the last fret. that should get you into the rough area. so far 1/8" and 3/16" have worked well for me. YMMV.


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## timbryant99 (Sep 16, 2016)

Deegatron said:


> It would be a good idea to consider your string taper when contemplating heel width.
> When laying out a build I typically start with the bridge and nut, layout the string path first and then work out the neck taper.
> The typical approach is to add 0.125" on either side of the strings at the nut and then add 0.1875" on either side of the strings at the last fret. that should get you into the rough area. so far 1/8" and 3/16" have worked well for me. YMMV.



Thank you very much for the tip. I'll give that a go. If you have any tricks for laying out a multi-scale, I could use some. Parallel 9th fret is pretty standard, isn't it?


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## ChAoZ (Sep 17, 2016)

Here's a tip for laying out multiscales

http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d


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## Killemall1983 (Sep 17, 2016)

Or you could just look up specs on a guitar with a similar bridge to the one you are going to use... And use those.


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## timbryant99 (Sep 17, 2016)

Killemall1983 said:


> Or you could just look up specs on a guitar with a similar bridge to the one you are going to use... And use those.



True. I can rarely find specs for the last fret width. Those are normally not listed.


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## timbryant99 (Sep 17, 2016)

Thanks Chaoz. That looks like a clever way to do it. I love that fret saw too. That thing looks pretty serious.


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## Killemall1983 (Sep 17, 2016)

timbryant99 said:


> True. I can rarely find specs for the last fret width. Those are normally not listed.


That is what heel width is. Should be pretty easy to find.


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## ChAoZ (Sep 18, 2016)

http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_neck_types


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## vansinn (Sep 18, 2016)

Adding to other posts, I'd suggest you define how you wish to be able to play this instrument, that is, WRT style - fast, tight spaced, vs being able to do complex chords.

My Schecter Riot 8 has 54 mm nut width and 50 mm between the two outer strings, with expanding string spacing.
This isn't wide enough for my chord works; for this, nut should've been ~56 mm, and string spacing should've been kept almost linear over the first 5-6 strings, then gradually expanding a touch from string to string, not really much is needed here.
Bridge is the usual Hipshot, which has pretty much ok string spacings. Maybe I would prefer just a touch wider spacings, but we're into puny pickery on this 

Which setup is right is purely up to you, the player; there are no corrects on this.
Now, I'll suggest you ponder a Bit over this, and the same with string spacings on the bridge, and from there on develop your trapezoidal neck taper lines.

In general, necks having a fairly small taper feels more playable to me than a wider taper, but again, that's just my prefs, so..

One guitar that is different from this is my old Dan Armstrong, which is almost narrow at the nut and widens quite a lot towards the bridge. This is really nice for finger style picking (I've been playing classic), but still would've worked just fine with a less wide bridge.


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## timbryant99 (Sep 20, 2016)

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the helpful info. That Ibanez specs list is exactly what I needed. Wish me luck. I've made a boatload of 7 strings but this is my first foray into the 8 string world. People seem to like those these days. Rock on!


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