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🎸 Fret Position Calculator
Calculate fret positions and fret-to-fret spacing for guitars, basses, ukuleles, cigar-box guitars, and other fretted instruments.Fret Distance From Nut Spacing From Previous Fret Remaining String Length Equal Temperament Formula
Fret Position = Scale Length × (1 − 2−n/12)
where n is the fret number.How fret spacing works:
Frets do not have equal physical spacing. Each higher fret is placed slightly closer to the next one because every semitone divides the remaining vibrating string length by the same musical ratio.
The 12th fret is especially important because it should sit exactly halfway between the nut and the theoretical bridge position. That location divides the string length in half and produces a note one octave above the open string. -
A Fret Position Calculator helps guitar builders, luthiers, bass builders, and DIY instrument makers determine exactly where each fret should be positioned along a fretboard.
Enter the instrument's scale length and the number of frets you plan to install. The calculator displays the distance from the nut to every fret, the spacing between consecutive frets, and the remaining vibrating string length at each position.
Modern guitars and many other fretted instruments commonly use 12-tone equal temperament. In this tuning system, an octave is divided into 12 equal musical intervals. Because each fret raises the pitch by one semitone, fret spacing gradually becomes smaller as you move toward the bridge.
The 12th fret is an especially useful reference point. It should be positioned exactly halfway along the instrument's theoretical scale length because fretting a string there reduces its vibrating length by half and produces a note one octave above the open string. The 24th fret, when present, divides the remaining length in half again.
Accurate measurements are important when laying out a fretboard. Even small placement errors can affect intonation, particularly higher up the neck.
Remember that the calculated measurements represent theoretical fret locations. Finished instrument setup can also involve nut compensation, bridge saddle compensation, string gauge, action, and other intonation adjustments.
Tip: Measure every fret position from the nut rather than repeatedly measuring from one fret to the next. This helps prevent small measuring errors from accumulating across the entire fretboard.
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