string location 12 spaced uniformly above the fingerboard 14 by a string support nut 16 at the left hand end and a bridge not shown on the instrument body at the right hand end for simplicity fingerboard 14 is shown as fretless however the present description applies equally to a fretted fingerboard i e a fret board in either case it is generally desired for ease of playing that the fingerboard 14 be kept substantially straight i e longitudinally flat so that the nut and bridge can hold the taut strings at a close spacing above the fingerboard or frets known as u201c low action u201d that is substantially uniform throughout the neck length to generally facilitate finger stopping and string tapping while preventing vibrating strings from buzzing against frets or fingerboard 14 the fingerboard 14 can be made as an integral part of the neck but more typically it is made as a separate thin layer of different material that is attached to and thus shaped by the neck 10 to the extent that an instrument falls short of providing ideal low action everywhere along the fingerboard fretboard it is more difficult to play the player is forced to compensate and develop corrective playing techniques fig2 depicts an instrument neck 10 as in fig1 but with.