Greazzzy Kid Stuff

[mikesr1963]

So, you bought that budget guitar your mouth was watering over but you think to yourself, I'm just not jelling with it. Why? Because you when you do bends if feels like you're playing on a gravel road. Fix it brother! Magnify the photo, you can see my freaking lamp in the polished fret.

[mikesr1963]

Yep. brushed stainless is a blackboard scraping nightmare. People buy whole kitchens of it, I could never understand that.

Nor would I drive a DeLorean

 

 

Those aren't stainless steel brother.

[*BLEEP*]

So' date=' you bought that budget guitar your mouth was watering over but you think to yourself, I'm just not jelling with it. Why? Because you when you do bends if feels like you're playing on a gravel road. [/quote']

 

 

 

Fret polishing is a very good thing to do as a regularly scheduled maintenance task, and even certainly more so if you pick up a used geetar from some slacker type, because virtually nobody polishes their frets, much less cleans the fretboard of grime.

 

Just as important: Have you checked to see if you have level frets up and down the scale? Done a fret to fret rocker test? Done an overall level test?

 

So-called "cheap" geetars often don't have a really good level set of frets because they normally spend five minutes or less at the factory doing fret leveling and checking on the cheap-o geetar manufacturing line. At Gibson or Fender, they might spend 15 minutes performing fret leveling, or just stick the neck into a Plek (at Gibson).

 

 

 

Sharp fret ends are sometimes another problem that needs to be taken care of because they spend virtually no time doing each fret on the cheap-o geetar manufacturing line. They just quickly sand the ends flat with a bit of angle and barely hit the ends with a flat file to break off any burrs that might be left. They ship 'em out with rather squared-up fret ends that are often still sharp enough to cause a bit of hand grief later on when you run your hand up or down the scale.

 

Some people take the post-purchase fretboard work a little farther by rolling the edges of the fretboard between the frets -- basically just putting a 1mm to 2mm radius on the fretboard edge as if it were a well-used neck.

 

 

 

 

 

Magnify the photo, you can see my freaking lamp in the polished fret.

 

 

 

Yes, and you really should be wearing some clothing when publishing these sort of photos.

 

 

 

 

.

[mikesr1963]

Fret polishing is a very good thing to do as a regularly scheduled maintenance task, and even certainly more so if you pick up a used geetar from some slacker type, because virtually nobody polishes their frets, much less cleans the fretboard of grime.

 

If you just play at home or occasionally out that polish should last you a couple of years if you wipe down the strings after playing. When you change the strings just wipe the frets down with a cotton cloth and it will buff out.

 

Just as important: Have you checked to see if you have level frets up and down the scale? Done a fret to fret rocker test? Done an overall level test?

 

No because that guitar had no buzzes on any string throughout the entire fretboard. Do you know how to check for that? Takes about 2 minutes. Also the action on this guitar is fantastic.

 

So-called "cheap" geetars often don't have a really good level set of frets because they normally spend five minutes or less at the factory doing fret leveling and checking on the cheap-o geetar manufacturing line. At Gibson or Fender, they might spend 15 minutes performing fret leveling, or just stick the neck into a Plek (at Gibson).

 

Most guitars have a decently level fretboard and if they don't they will buzz. It's easy and fast to check for fret buzz along the entire neck. More important to insure it that the neck does not have a twist because that's a new neck issue. What you will not get is a highly polished fret that allows the guitar to play like butter or like a much much more expensive guitar. I'm talking about string bends like you're playing on ice.

 

 

Sharp fret ends are sometimes another problem that needs to be taken care of because they spend virtually no time doing each fret on the cheap-o geetar manufacturing line. They just quickly sand the ends flat with a bit of angle and barely hit the ends with a flat file to break off any burrs that might be left. They ship 'em out with rather squared-up fret ends that are often still sharp enough to cause a bit of hand grief later on when you run your hand up or down the scale.

 

Do you see any sharp ends on my frets? No, what you see are ends perfectly finished with a mirror finish that catches light like diamonds.

 

Some people take the post-purchase fretboard work a little farther by rolling the edges of the fretboard between the frets -- basically just putting a 1mm to 2mm radius on the fretboard edge as if it were a well-used neck.

 

In the photo I see a ruined fretboard with frets sticking out need to be finished. The second fret is worse than the first fret. To fix it you'll need a fret dress and setup. I'll do a precision level, re-crown and polish (like my photo) of your instrument's frets along with a complete set-up of the truss rod, string height and intonation. I'll clean and polish the hardware, inspect the electronics (clean and lubricate) for $125.00. If it has any type of floating bridge add $25.00. If it has a floating bridge you have tried to fix yourself by changing strings and re-intonating it's an extra $50.00. I don't do mail in's you must bring it in and pick it up in person. You must also try out the instrument before you walk out the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, and you really should be wearing some clothing when publishing these sort of photos.

 

 

 

 

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[DeepEnd]

Fret polishing will certainly help in some instances. A decent setup will help in many more. After I bought my gone-and-not-lamented Fernandes Strat copy, I polished the frets but I still never bonded with the guitar. I never liked having a trem and the intonation was never right. It was my first electric and the first thing I ever sold on eBay so it will always have a place in my heart but it just wasn't the guitar for me (or, frankly, anyone, IMHO).