[Fowleri]

I have an Ibanez RG550 since I can't afford jem, way too overpriced and also I don't want to own a signature artist guitar. I'd rather make the guitar my own and be unique.

Scalloping the last 4 frets makes it easier to bend the string at those high frets, but anyone has idea how much it would cost to have something like this done. You'd basically lose the fret dots at the 22 and 24th fret?

 

[pteropid]

I did it with a JEMJR, luthier charged me about $150 AUD for it, but I was getting a lot of other work done at the same time.

Post is here...
https://www.jemsite.com/forums/f21/jemjr-mods-dont-try-home-164823.html

Expect to lose some fret markers or at least part of them. Hit or miss really.

 

[Fowleri]

I did it with a JEMJR, luthier charged me about $150 AUD for it, but I was getting a lot of other work done at the same time.

Post is here...
https://www.jemsite.com/forums/f21/jemjr-mods-dont-try-home-164823.html

Expect to lose some fret markers or at least part of them. Hit or miss really.

Hello

After the scalloping is done, did he put something on the scalloped frets to seal the wood? I have maple fretboard and wouldn't scalloping frets remove whatever sealer was on top of it and expose the wood and theorically make that part of the wood release an odor or something?

That's my concern

 

[LonePhantom]

If it's maple one would hope that sealing the wood in the same type of finish that is already on the neck is part of the service. The odor us the least of your worries, it's more the wood staying clean and undamaged.

 

[pteropid]

Rosewood fretboard, just the usual lemon oil.

 

[TJ777]

Scalloped my 87 RG550. It gave a much stronger sound in the 21st to 24th frets.
No loss of position markers.

 

[ibaraki_gaijin]

Scalloped my 87 RG550. It gave a much stronger sound in the 21st to 24th frets.
No loss of position markers.

That looks good.
Makes me tempted to do my PGM.
Although I'm not sure if the Sharks Fin inlays will cope as well as the dots did on yours.

 

[ruger9]

Scalloped my 87 RG550. It gave a much stronger sound in the 21st to 24th frets.
No loss of position markers.

Wow, those dots go deeper than I thought! I thought inlays were like 1/8" thick, maybe...

 

[lespauled]

Scallop the whole thing.

Use this as a guide: http://lespauled.com/projects.html

 

[Fowleri]

Scalloped my 87 RG550. It gave a much stronger sound in the 21st to 24th frets.
No loss of position markers.

Did he seal it with something?

Main concern is releasing wood odor lol

 

[BigBazz]

I don't think it's worthwhile personally, but sure if you wanna pay a luthier to do it go ahead. I wouldn't do it yourself either, seen so many hilariously bad scallop jobs by people who followed a guide but didn't have the experience to do a proper job.

Did he seal it with something?

Main concern is releasing wood odor lol

You're still convinced that maple smells? It's not a real thing.

 

[Designrol]

I've thought about doing the scallop on the last 4 frets, but realize it would be too expensive to replace the fret markers, especially on a Premium JEM that doesn't have the scallops. By, the way, I have sanded down the back of a few maple necks and never had an odor, so not sure where you heard that myth.

 

[scottrey14]

I've had this brand new beauty for a week now and it still feels surreal thinking that I own this and I feel blessed every time I pick it up. And boy is it hard to let go.

I've played guitar for something along the lines of 6 years now and never owned a premium instrument despite being financially capable to do so. I thought to myself that I will probably never stop playing, so why not get that guitar that made me drop my jaw when I was still a little kid? Especially after slight back and neck issues I've been tempted by a lightweight guitar.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Scallop the whole thing.

Use this as a guide: Lespauled

That's what I would do. If you have good technique, a scalloped fretboard is awesome.