HELP: ??? about warping ...

[pennypusher]

Ok, here's the dish:

 

I've just sent a guy an MO for a Yairi WY1K that was listed on an HC classified. He got the MO yesterday, and now he calls and tells me that he did a pre-shipment examination and found that the "frets are sticking out".

 

He attributes this to the fact that it was left at his dad's house, unplayed in a hardshell case all winter, and the lack of humidity during the winter caused this. He says that it's really common, and no problem to fix, you just have to leave the guitar in a room with a humidifier running and it's back to normal.

 

But as I understand it, frets sticking out indicate a shrunken fretboard, and a shrunken fretboard is caused by warping due to heat exposure and general poor guitar maintenance, and once a fretboard shrinks there's no way to restore it - you just have to either file the frets or remove/replace them.

 

What do you guys think? Is he bull{censored}ting, or is this actually a common problem?

 

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[Jerry NT]

If it were mine, I'd try to humidify it with steam. Since it is his, and he's trying to sell it to you, I would say fix it first or give me a discount to have a good luthier repair it.

[notgonnadoit]

hmmm.... Well it really depends on the severity of the protrusion as to how you would go about repairing the situation. If it's bad, there may be other, more serious issues resulting from poor care and storage. Unless I've had the opportunity to closely inspect a guitar with those types of problems, I pass on them.

Edit. It was decent of the seller to notify you prior to shipment but he really should have had a full understanding and disclosure of the guitar's condition prior to listing. It could be minor but it might not be. If he's not willing to repair it on his own, I'd hope that he would be willing to hold the money order and give you an opportunity to recieve the instrument for an assesment before you decide whether or not you want to go through with the transaction. It would be fair in my opinion for you to pay shipping both ways should you choose to return the guitar.

[FingerBone Bill]

This is not a big deal. If the frets still protude after a couple of weeks at normal humidity just run a fine toothed file along them.

An easy job well within the abilities of the most ham fisted.

I think your seller is being very honest.

[bjorn-fjord]

Yeah, it's probably not a big deal. As a builder, I often have to refile the fret bevel a few weeks after completion. Does this particular guitar have an ebony fret-board, by chance? Ebony is much less stable than rosewood and this is actually a fairly common problem with ebony fretboards. I played a Larrivee in a shop the other day and it had the same problem. This was a brand-new guitar.

[Jerry NT]

Originally posted by bjorn-fjord Yeah, it's probably not a big deal. As a builder, I often have to refile the fret bevel a few weeks after completion. Does this particular guitar have an ebony fret-board, by chance? Ebony is much less stable than rosewood and this is actually a fairly common problem with ebony fretboards. I played a Larrivee in a shop the other day and it had the same problem. This was a brand-new guitar.

 

 

 

Well you do learn something every once and awhile on this forum.

[Andrewrg]

If the guitar is so dry the fret ends are noticeably protruding,the body may have issues also.This is not incurable but you might have unseen cracks which might develope into bigger ones over time.Be cautious.

[notgonnadoit]

Originally posted by Andrewrg If the guitar is so dry the fret ends are noticeably protruding,the body may have issues also.This is not incurable but you might have unseen cracks which might develope into bigger ones over time.Be cautious.

 

 

That's my suspicion as well but the builders and techs who know better than I have spoken and don't seem to be overly concerned.

[bjorn-fjord]

Do consider what Andrew said. Don't take my declaration that "protruding fret ends is a common problem" as an all-clear on the guitar in general. One would assume that if the seller went out of his way to tell you about a relatively minor problem he would have mentioned some other symptoms of a dangerously dried-out guitar if any had been present. But maybe not.

[Jerry NT]

Originally posted by bjorn-fjord Do consider what Andrew said. Don't take my declaration that "protruding fret ends is a common problem" as an all-clear on the guitar in general. One would assume that if the seller went out of his way to tell you about a relatively minor problem he would have mentioned some other symptoms of a dangerously dried-out guitar if any had been present. But maybe not.

 

 

 

There are dealers who don't tell the whole story. I bought an old Epi Texan with some slight damage on its back where it had been dropped. When I got it, it also had a sunken in top where the fret board comes in to the sound hole. He didn't say anything about that. It was only $50 plus shipping, but I don't like being lied to.