Members Les Paul Lover Posted August 26, 2017 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2017 Ah! Life gets in the way of stuff. In between shopping, taking kids to swimming pool and an afternoon of pointing, I just managed to get the old strings off and out in are set, and a very approximate set up. I'm away all day tomorrow, so (I can't play it ) the neck can settle with the new strings ahead of full set up hopefully Monday. Looking forward to trying it at it's best!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted August 27, 2017 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2017 And here comes the spanner in the works. New string fitted, started a basic set up..... and quickly realised that guitar has a couple of raised frets. 15th in the treble side only and another further up the neck. 2 solutions...- send it back, get my money back- fix it To fix it, I will need to try and tap them down, and if it doesn't work, do a fret level. And now, I'm really split. I got th8s guitar dirt cheap, and paying someone to fix it, would still make this a great deal. I also have another guitar, mentioned earlier, that needs a refret....... and refret = fret level too. So that could be an opportunity to learn a skill and acquire tools for another needed job down the line...... I'm pretty split at this stage. The guitar is otherwise really nice and sounds fantastic. I do really like it, and that would make sending it back all the much harder...... I'll sleep on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crustoleum Posted August 28, 2017 Members Share Posted August 28, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted August 28, 2017 Members Share Posted August 28, 2017 Congrats. Love G&L Tribute build quality and all. Those are P-90s, not singles, so won't sound like typical tele (which I think are a bit thin). I have a P-90 tele, and love that difference. Like it's been pumping iron at the gym. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 28, 2017 Members Share Posted August 28, 2017 And here comes the spanner in the works. New string fitted, started a basic set up..... and quickly realised that guitar has a couple of raised frets. . . . . . . I got th8s guitar dirt cheap, and paying someone to fix it, would still make this a great deal. I also have another guitar, mentioned earlier, that needs a refret....... and refret = fret level too. So that could be an opportunity to learn a skill and acquire tools for another needed job down the line...... Sorry to hear about the poor setup and fretwork. If you can have it put right and still come out ahead I'd go for it. As for DIY fretwork, I can do setups but I'd be inclined to leave fretwork to the pros. If you're confident go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted August 28, 2017 Members Share Posted August 28, 2017 I agree with Deep here. Your first fret job should not be done on a new guitar. Hire someone. Between the price of a fret hammer, files, crowning tool, and polishing, you could pay someone to do it, without the fear and aggravation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted August 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2017 Totally agree with you. These large MFD pick ups sound really different to a classic tele, in a way that will make it a lot more usable for me. A love other people playing teles, but I find them a bit thin sounding in my own hands. These pick ups aren't quite like P90 - they seem to have more slow and high end, and slightly less mids. Very interesting variant. As for their build quality..... it looks really good.... it sounds really good..... The frets were horrible as I explain it later..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted August 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2017 Sorry to hear about the poor setup and fretwork. If you can have it put right and still come out ahead I'd go for it. As for DIY fretwork, I can do setups but I'd be inclined to leave fretwork to the pros. If you're confident go for it. Well..... I was reasonably confident, and im also stubborn. Since the frets weren't seated properly, I decided it try and reseat them before to consider a fret level - which I may still consider later on. I've got a light small hammer, and a small metal ruler I sacrificed for the job - to put between the hammer and the frets and avoid marking them. It's worked great, I'm really pleased. I'm very disappointed with the fret work on the B stock. All the frets were well pressed on on the low side. On the treble side, what i thought was 3 or 4 raised frets was more 8 or 9 raised frets. On a number of them, i could fit my nail underneath!!! As I dealt with the obvious one, the rocking check revealed more.... Anyway all good now .... but how a guitar passes their QC with soooo many bad frets.... it was bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 30, 2017 Members Share Posted August 30, 2017 Well..... I was reasonably confident, and im also stubborn. . . . . . . Anyway all good now .... but how a guitar passes their QC with soooo many bad frets.... it was bad. Glad it worked out for you. I'm also mystified how the guitar passed QC. I don't think any of my guitars have had fretwork that bad and that includes the Jay Turser Jay Jr. beater with bad intonation that sold for $50 brand new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted August 30, 2017 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2017 Glad it worked out for you. I'm also mystified how the guitar passed QC. I don't think any of my guitars have had fretwork that bad and that includes the Jay Turser Jay Jr. beater with bad intonation that sold for $50 brand new. Yes, that's pretty mystifying. The action was quite high, and whoever set up that guitar at the factory clearly must have realised it was fretting out in places on the treble side and set the neck back for rework. Anyway, it's a happy ending. I managed to play it again..... man, with fresh strings and a decent set up, that guitar really sings. Great smooth highs, and very full fat sound, but not honky like a typical P90, and the sustain is fantastic. I'm really glad I persevered with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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