144 fretboard positions — notes and fret distances
Six strings across 24 positions each. One fret is one semitone, so every note and frequency follows — and so does the distance from the nut, from the very same ratio.
Browse by string
String 1 is the thinnest. The string printed at the top is the one that sounds highest.
Why standard tuning goes 5-5-5-4-5
If every string were five semitones apart, common chords would not fit under four fingers. Narrowing the third-to-second gap to four is what makes them reachable.
The frets crowd as you climb
Frets are spaced by ratio, not by equal steps: each one divides the remaining length by the twelfth root of two. That is why the 12th fret lands at exactly half the string — the octave.
| fret 1 | 648 mm (Fender) | 628 mm (Gibson) | 650 mm (classical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36.4 mm | 35.2 mm | 36.5 mm |
| 3 | 103.1 mm | 99.9 mm | 103.4 mm |
| 5 | 162.5 mm | 157.5 mm | 163.1 mm |
| 7 | 215.5 mm | 208.9 mm | 216.2 mm |
| 12 | 324 mm | 314 mm | 325 mm |
| 17 | 405.3 mm | 392.8 mm | 406.5 mm |
| 19 | 431.8 mm | 418.4 mm | 433.1 mm |
| 23 | 476.4 mm | 461.7 mm | 477.8 mm |
The same note sits in several places
Unlike a piano, a guitar repeats the same pitch on different strings. Which one you take changes the tone and the shape your hand has to make.
string 1 · E4
string 2 · B3
string 3 · G3
string 4 · D3
string 5 · A2
string 6 · E2
How to read this
- One fret is one semitone; twelve of them make an octave.
- Frequency multiplies by the twelfth root of two per semitone — A4 is 440 Hz.
- Fret position = scale length × (1 − 1 ÷ 2^(fret/12)).
- String 1 is the thinnest; standard tuning reads E-B-G-D-A-E from there.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Why is the 12th fret at the middle of the string?
Halving a string doubles its frequency, and that is an octave. Frets divide the remaining length by the twelfth root of two each time, so twelve divisions land exactly at half.
Q. Why do the frets get closer together?
Because they are placed by ratio, not by equal distance. Each gap is a fixed share of what is left, so past the twelfth fret the spacing is half what it was at the nut.
Q. Why is the gap between strings 3 and 2 different?
With five semitones everywhere, common chords would not fit under four fingers. Narrowing that one gap makes C and G playable — at the cost of shifting shapes by a fret when you cross it.
Q. Does the same note sound different on another string?
The pitch matches, but a thick string high up sounds fuller while a thin string low down sounds brighter. Choosing between them is part of playing.
Q. What changes with a different scale length?
Every fret distance scales with it. 648 mm and 628 mm differ by about 3%, which changes both the stretch under your hand and the string tension at the same gauge.