Hello, this is Rick Andrews owner of Andrews Guitar and a long time member of EvO:R. This section has been put together to help you with your guitar related questions. I did not agree to do this so I could simply plug my guitars, I did this so you could finally have answers to many of those burning questions you may have had about your guitar.

Answers for Matt:
Scale length: You begin the scale length at the center inside face of the nut where the string is actually pinched off at the precise point where the string starts to sound and the other end of the scale is at the bridge saddle inside face of the point it is starting its sound. In other word the entire length of the string that moves or makes sound.

18 Rule fret distance: This is not a factor in my way of thinking or applies anywhere I know of. The distance between frets varies. Each set of frets continue to get closer together as it goes up the neck. The 12th fret is exactly 1/2 of the distance between the nut and the bridge which is also one full octave higher in pitch. You can calculate the distances between each set of frets or just use a scale template premade for this that has each fret properly laid out. The best way is to purchase the fretboard already preslotted. If you can buy the wood fretboard for $10 you can get it preslotted for about $14.

Fretboard radius: The Gibson fretboard radius is 12" all the way from nut on to the end. It stays the same 12" radius. The fretboard is wider at the other end but the radius is still 12" all the way.

Neck radius: The neck has no radius if you are thinking about where the fretboard glues to the neck wood itself. The bottom of the fretboard is flat and glues to the flat top side of the neck. Then the top side of the fretboard is cut to the 12" radius all the way down. To change that radius would be rediculous to do and much harder to keep accurate. That is why the standard is always the same radius. The back side of the neck does look like it has a radius appearance but is not a true radius. It is more of an elipse shape with a tighter curve at each edge and a bit flatter at the center line. A true radius would be perfectly round and too thick for comfortable playing.

Vintage Les Pauls . . acoustic chambers: Not any that I know of. All the Les Pauls I have seen apart are just solid blocks of wood and cut out only for the pickups, and wiring cavities. There would be no advantage to do this unless it was totally hollow body. I think they may have made a model that was hollow with f holes but the normal Les Pauls had no such accoustic qualities as far as I know of.