Members graysonb Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 Just bought a new guitar and I love the tone and the playability, but I noticed the frets look weird to me that I haven’t seen on my other guitars. Is this a normal thing at all? Should I take it back for another of the same model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 this guy has probably thought better too deep than too shallow ,in my case it wouldn`t bother me ,,if it played fine and the actual frets were finished and were all nice and level and firm i wouldn`t think there was a problem and dependant on how much i paid for the guitar which looks like not a lot.all i can say is who ever did it has done a bad job hiding his work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 Are you talking about the fact that the fret slots are deeper than the tang of the fret? That is normal and desirable, you do not want the fret to bottom out in the slot. On an unbound fretboard like yours people will sometimes wick some superglue into the slot from the ends which partially hides the slot and helps hold the end of the fret in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members graysonb Posted August 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 this guy has probably thought better too deep than too shallow ' date='in my case it wouldn`t bother me ,,if it played fine and the actual frets were finished and were all nice and level and firm i wouldn`t think there was a problem and dependant on how much i paid for the guitar which looks like not a lot.all i can say is who ever did it has done a bad job hiding his work.[/quote'] Its a $1100 Taylor that is still returnable for a new replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members graysonb Posted August 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 Are you talking about the fact that the fret slots are deeper than the tang of the fret? That is normal and desirable, you do not want the fret to bottom out in the slot. On an unbound fretboard like yours people will sometimes wick some superglue into the slot from the ends which partially hides the slot and helps hold the end of the fret in place. Some have noticeable glue in the slots but some don’t seem to or it is not visible to the naked eye in the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 Some have noticeable glue in the slots but some don’t seem to or it is not visible to the naked eye in the light. I doubt that Taylor goes thru the bother of gluing the fret ends, its mostly hand builders who are (1) trying to hide the slots and (2) trying to stabilize the fret ends (which can tend to loosen). Of course another way to hide the slots is to bind the fretboard, which Taylor does on some more expensive models. If it bothers you, take it back and hand pick one the it isn't as bad. However, as I said, its normal. Ps - before I forget my manners, welcome to HCAG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 When I do a fret or refret job, I have a little piece of fret wire that I've filed the barbs off. I use it to make sure the slots are at least as deep as the tang so the new frets won't bottom out and pop back up. This happens to be a bound fretboard but basically I'm checking the depth of each slot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 I just looked at one of my Martins, in which the first 9 moneymaker frets have been redone. It's a touch overcut, but buffed and polished really nicely. I have to put on some reading glasses to see it.The Martin MC 28 was like 1300 bucks some 30 years ago. It's had a neck reset too. I also check one of the Taylor GS minis I have. This one had no overcut frets, and I assume it was done on a CNC machine. If it sounds good and plays well and you like the wood grain pattern, I'd keep it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 Hi and welcome to the Forum. Freeman is correct as usual. To be honest, I looked at it a while and couldn't for the life of me figure out what you meant. I thought maybe the frets weren't crowned correctly but I couldn't really see anything wrong. Personally I'd live with it but it's important to have a guitar you like so it's up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted August 21, 2018 Members Share Posted August 21, 2018 well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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