Palmfrets, Minnesota guitarist's invention, strikes a new chord

Contributed / Ben Ranson By Mary Olson November 12, 2026 at 9:30 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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, was entirely artistic. He wasn’t thinking much about developing a commercial product. “That was not on my mind at all,” Ranson said. “And it wasn’t really until I made one that really worked that it sort of dawned on me like, oh, this is something that people are really going to want.” Ranson made an early-stage version of the invention in his garage, and said that, at first, he didn't recognize the importance of what he had created. He set it aside and left it in a corner for awhile — years, even. Eventually, he returned to his forgotten creation. It was then that he began to hear the music. ADVERTISEMENT He drafted his ideas and designs on paper, and enlisted the help of engineers. Together, they created new prototypes made from 3D printed plastic and laser-cut metal parts. It was during that time when Ranson said something shifted. “It hit me, like, I’ve really done it.” Ranson knew the plastic and metal version was not practical, and only lasted a matter of weeks. But it worked, and from there, Ranson said the engineering became more serious. Serious enough that Ranson applied for a patent, which he received on Oct. 6, 2026. Ranson had an inkling that this was something special, and recalled the first time he started playing the guitar with a solid prototype. “I was like, ‘I’m doing things that Chet Atkins never did,’” he joked. “I just had this sort of realization, like, other people are going to want to do this.” ADVERTISEMENT Fast forward to Oct. 28 in Fergus Falls, and Ranson’s invention is now in the hands of other guitar players. Mary Olson / Fergus Falls Daily Journal How it works Using the pisiform bone — a small, pea-shaped bone in the wrist, near the bottom of the palm — players depress a string on the palmfret, an extra fret or set of frets near the wrist of the picking hand. The player can then use the thumb of their picking hand to pluck the string fretted by the pisiform bone. This frees up the fretting hand — the hand which frets strings on the neck of the guitar — meaning the player can move up and down the fret board more freely, and fret other strings because the pisiform bone is doing some of the hard work. “So if you want to, you can move (the fretting hand) anywhere you want, play any other notes that you want to play,” said Ranson. Essentially, guitarists could play a bass line with their pisiform bone and play other melodies or chords that would have otherwise been, literally, out of reach. Learning curve Ranson had some rules when designing palmfrets. “One of the basic principles in inventing it has been: if it interferes with the normal way that you would play the guitar, it’s no good,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT “So the basic principle is you have to keep all of the function of the guitar as people know it,” he explained. “It has to add, but it can’t take away. That’s the basic principle.” Still, adding another element to the guitar introduces a learning curve, even for players as skilled as Ranson. He gave proof of the learning curve by showing a callus on his pisofone bone — a callus reminiscent of the ones beginning guitarists get on their fingers when first learning to play — and compared his skill-level with the palmfrets to being a teenager playing in their first band and only knowing six songs. “That is the stage I am at now, frankly.” During the reveal, other guitar players tested out the palmfrets, taking turns passing around acoustic guitars, electric, and even the bass. Darren Quam, a musician from Battle Lake, who was in attendance on Oct. 28, tried his hand — or palm — at the new invention. “At first, you know, it took me a second to kind of understand how you could use it,” Quam said. “But then — especially when Ben had us come up and try it — then, you know, trying it with my own hands, I was like, okay, I see how this could be very useful in certain situations.” ADVERTISEMENT Quam also commented on the learning curve. “It’s not a whole new instrument, but it’s a whole new way of playing.” Despite the new way of playing, during the reveal show, Quam seemed to catch on quickly, with Ranson joking “we’re going to have to take this away from you.” From a practical standpoint as a gigging musician, Quam thought the invention would be useful for solo players. “I think it really is probably the most useful in like a solo situation where you’re playing and you can accompany yourself, especially with those lower notes where you can fret with your palm hand and change the root note or the chords, and still be able to have the freedom to play on the higher strings as if there was someone else accompanying you, you know, like a bass player. “So it’s kind of like you’ve got a bass player on your palm all of a sudden.” Contributed / Ben Ranson And speaking of bass players, Ranson believes the bass guitar, as it now is, could become “obsolete.” ADVERTISEMENT “But for a great reason, as far as bassists are concerned,” he said. With the palmfrets, a bass player could play a bass line beneath a bass line, or play chords while playing a bass line. Meaning a bass player could accompany themselves, or add chords when playing with a group. “As a guitarist, you might want to play some jazz song, or whatever song you want — it’s got a clear melody, but you just need to have chords underneath it so that people can understand what that melody is.” With palmfrets, the bass player can play the chord and the bass line, rooting the listener, while allowing the lead guitarist to focus on the melody. Ranson explained that he expects the invention to make the bass into a very powerful instrument, “kind of like a piano.” The future For Ranson, thinking about how the invention will be used in the future is all speculation. “But I think it’s going to be really interesting. I mean, I can’t wait,” said Ranson. The true potential of the invention, according to Ranson, might not be revealed for many years. “Let’s say 15 years from now, there’s going to be some kid who got one of these as a teenager. Then you’ll know what it can do.” MORE STORIES BY MARY OLSON Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags FERGUS FALLS OTTER TAIL COUNTY MUSIC By Mary Olson Mary Olson is the editor for the Fergus Falls Daily Journal. Mary can be reached by calling 218-739-7036 or by emailing [email protected]. Listen to this article Conversation A