The hardware project originated from a multi-year effort to draw extra bass notes from the guitar, culminating in a patent issued on Oct. 6, 2026. Players fret strings by applying the pisiform bone at the base of the picking hand's palm against specialized frets, subsequently plucking the note with the same hand's thumb. Ranson refined the device from basic garage builds into advanced units crafted from 3D-printed plastic and laser-cut metal. He publicly showcased the invention during an Oct. 28 performance at Stella’s restaurant in Fergus Falls.
Key points
Transferring fretting duties to the picking hand allows the standard fretting hand to exe…: Transferring fretting duties to the picking hand allows the standard fretting hand to execute more intricate chords and melodies.
Engineering collaborators helped advance the prototypes by implementing laser-cut metal a…: Engineering collaborators helped advance the prototypes by implementing laser-cut metal and durable 3D-printed plastic components.
The new mechanical playing technique demands practice to master and physically causes a c…: The new mechanical playing technique demands practice to master and physically causes a callus to form on the palm bone.
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FERGUS FALLS — The back room of Stella’s restaurant in Fergus Falls filled with people on Oct. 28, all there to see musician Ben Ranson play.
Ranson, who grew up in Sebeka, Minnesota, and currently lives in Sandstone, is a regular performer at venues across the region, including in Fergus Falls. But Oct. 28 was no ordinary gig. That night, Ranson revealed something he’d been working on for years.
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It wasn’t a new song or a clever guitar lick, it was an invention called “palmfrets” — something Ranson believes could change the way guitarists use their instrument. It allows players to play new bass lines or melodies using their palm, a special set of frets called palmfrets and a technique called palmfretting.
The invention
The idea for palmfrets came to Ranson over five years ago.
Ranson had already been doing musical experiments — even constructing organ-like foot pedals and learning the seven string guitar — all in a quest to get more notes out of the guitar, specifically more bass notes.
He said the reason behind the invention, initially,…
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