Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

You know I've never noticed that before — on other guitars I mean.
I have 1968 Gibson 335 and I just now went and took a close look at it, and the frets don't run into the binding on it either. But I have never ever had any trouble whatsoever with string roll-off.

So I think I might be inclined to chalk up the fretboard binding on the 360 as a cosmetic enhancement with neglible effects on the playability of the instrument.

Thanks guys. This has all been tremendously informative.

The purpose of binding on a fingerboard isn't generally cosmetic but rather to protect your hand from the edges of the frets. As a reult a 360 can play a bit smoother but a well-kept 330 can be just as smooth. But if stored in very dry conditions, the 330 may need to have the fret edges touched up to be as smooth.

The best solution is, of course, to have a bound instrument done up with overhanging frets so that you have both the width and hand protection. This is something very rarely found in a production instrument due to the very high cost of installing frets after the binding is done.

So John, even on a bound instrument, the frets are installed before the binding is put on? I've made a couple guitars and a bass or two and I've always used the nippers to nip the end of the tang and put the frets in after the binding. But I can see where that would slow down a production environment quite a bit!