"fretting out" I gotta dead spot
Hello all.
My third post here, please help.
My old tele............she's "frettin out". Big bends on the high e string from the 13, 14 15 frets.
B string is fine.
16'th fret and up are a little squeaky, but livable.
But the 13th........man, what a stinker!
I screwed up enough guitars in my time to know I personally won't attempt a fix.
Please help.
What is happing here? High frets?
Warp?
Thanks for your time.
Kindest regards,
Brian
Re: "fretting out" I gotta dead spot
Quote:
Originally Posted by 68 maple cap
Hi all!
Thanks for the info!
The tele has a factory bigsby, uses a jazzmaster type bridge.
Threaded saddles, kind of a pain, but it works.
I raised the offending saddle, enough to allow the bend to be heard
:)
I can live with the new action/string height but it's not quite following the radius curve.
I printed out the link on guitar set up, a truss adjustment may be in order.
Fret dressing as a last resort.
Monster Mike!
Thanks for your input. You sir are a great player. I really should pick up a cd of yours.
Again, my thanks to all.
Kindest regards,
Brian
Get a fret dress. It won't cost much. Raising the action is only a temp fix.You can run but you can't hide.
Re: "fretting out" I gotta dead spot
Necks with a smaller fingerboard radius (more curvature) tend to fret out more easily making low action almost impossible. Also, the previously mentioned fret wear along with the possibility of a hump in the fingerboard will only compound the problem. I don't like low action anyway, IMHO high action and heavy strings = better tone.
Re: "fretting out" I gotta dead spot
I had the same problem with my Strat, I finally broke down and took it to Lays Guitar (Great place by the way). After a setup by them it plays better than ever. Fret level and Polish, setup and new strings was 85.00. Money well spent.
Re: "fretting out" I gotta dead spot
Y'all quit guessing. and STOP sighting down guitar necks. Your neck could have a hump in it.....or two humps.....or it could be shaped like a roller coaster or the loch ness monster. It does not matter.
A simple straight edge will tell you everything you will ever want to know about your frets. Stewart McDonald (stewmac.com) sells a good one for about $45. Can't afford a good one? Got to the local hardware store and purchase a metal 2 ft measure or metal yard stick and cut it at 2 feet with a hack saw. File off the rough edge.
Lay the edge on the fingerboard and check for space between the frets and the edge. I usually backlight this with a draftsman's lamp. With the instrument strung up, there should be a slight clearance above the fifth fret. If the frets are level, it does not matter about the shape of the neck.
If you are still unsure, take it to a qualified guitar tech.
Good luck.
:)
Quality Fretted Instrument Repairs since 1977
Re: "fretting out" I gotta dead spot
When ever I am unsure or need a reference, I look in "D.I.Y. GUitar Repair" by, Pieter J. Fillet. It is one of those half books that fits into a case, great for at the gig repairs.