Fret sanding - What's your opinion about it?

carlos seo · #1 03-18-2001, 08:55 PM

Some days ago I've played a RG with its frets modified. My friend had made them plain using sandpaper. My first impressions is that it really improves the playability.

What do you guys think about it? Does it worth all the work?

Thanks!

(Edited by carlos seo at 6:21 pm on Mar. 19, 2001)

Josh Blagg · #2 03-19-2001, 12:45 AM

I'm not quite sure what you mean by sanded.

carlos seo · #3 03-19-2001, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Quote: from Josh Blagg on 1:45 am on Mar. 19, 2001
I'm not quite sure what you mean by sanded.

Read the message edited... I think now it's easier to understand.

darren wilson · #4 03-19-2001, 05:45 PM

I'm still lost. What do you mean by "made them plain using sandpaper"?

Josh Blagg · #5 03-19-2001, 06:02 PM

Yeah you lost me. *Maybe a difference in terminology? *Do you mean he "planed" the frets and made them flat?

carlos seo · #6 03-19-2001, 10:18 PM

It's something like this... When you see the frets of your guitar, you may notice that they have the top (where the strings touch them)a little rounded. My friend, by using sandpaper, had made their top flat.

If I had a picture, it would be much easier to understand...

Sorry for bad English, anyway... It's not my primary language!

Josh Blagg · #7 03-20-2001, 12:07 AM

So he planed them, or, I guess you could say that he seriously re-radiused them in an extreme sort of way. *I've never played a guitar with completely flat frets, so I have no idea what they feel like.

Project Guitar · #8 03-20-2001, 01:30 AM

First thing I would think about before doing such a thing is " Are my frets Tall enough to handle such an operation? "

The second would be " Will they wear down even faster thus causing the need for a re-fret job? "

And of course the third is " Am I ready to invest in more frequent string changes? " Think about the contact point of your strings going from a rounded smooth edge to a sharper cornered edge,they will wear more with playing...

To do it right your going to need a*perfectly level block to handle the sand paper your thinking about using..

You should only concider doing a group of frets at the same time and moving up or down the fret board as you go depending on where you started to keep them all level to avoid string buzz in the future.......

Remember even though it is minute you are moving the focal point of tuning on each fret a fraction of an inch verses open tuning.....Why? Because your going from the center of a rounded point to the edge of a flat one when you hit a note.....

Just my opinion, doesnt matter either way just like ice cream theres a whole lot of flavors in the world...

ripl3y · #9 03-20-2001, 04:37 AM

I've played a friends charvel that had a very similar fret job.
they were amazingly flat.
this meant the action could get ridiculosly low without buzz.
as far as feel, i didn't really notice much of a difference, obviously due to the super low action speed came easier, but that was all.

Steve

darren wilson · #10 03-20-2001, 10:04 AM

Wouldn't flat frets make accurate intonation of the neck nearly impossible?

rgr · #11 03-20-2001, 10:22 AM

Yeah, flat frets would be terrible for intonation. *Can't think of any positive side to doing except you may be able to get ridiculously low action. *If you need your action that low, maybe you need some time in the finger gym:sarcasm: *I've played a few old LPs that had pretty flat frets but it's not for me. *

darren wilson · #12 03-20-2001, 12:30 PM

Yeah, those old late-70s Les Paul Customs were called "fretless wonders" for a reason. Super low frets and fast playing, but personally, i wouldn't want the intonation headaches. I would imagine you'd also get greater friction when bending because there's more metal-to-metal contact when fretting notes.

Also, if you remove that much material from the crown, you've got less life on the frets to do subsequent fret leveling, dressing, crown-and-polish jobs, etc. before requiring a complete refret.

Personally, i prefer nicely rounded crowns polished to a high shine. Nothing else feels quite as smooth.

Josh Blagg · #13 03-20-2001, 06:18 PM

If you go the website that sells chapman sticks (not sure of the web address, maybe just chapmanstick.com), they have a type of fret that is interesting. *It is called the "rail," and it is stainless steel fret that comes up to a point like a steeple, not a round crown. *so it looks like this --> * /\ and not like a semicircle. *Just thought you might want to know.