Rough fret edges on new guitar
I'm hoping somebody can help me here. I bought a new bass guitar, Dean 10A, great action, great sound, great price, it's a keeper. However, I've noticed that the fret edges are rough both on the top and bottom as I slide my hand from one position to another. I am wondering if these rough edges will eventually wear smooth on the frets, or do I have to hit them with a file? My old bass guitar's frets are smooth as silk, but this new guitar bites into my hand. I'm all for sacrificing for some good old rock and roll, but I don't know if I could play this bass with those rough edges all night without getting some cuts in my fret hand, and that might affect my ability to play.
I've watched some videos on YouTube.com about hitting the rough frets with a file, but before I do that, I just wanted to see if anyone else has a different idea to smooth the edges - or if the rough edges will eventually wear down from playing. Thanks for any suggestions.
I've watched some videos on YouTube.com about hitting the rough frets with a file, but before I do that, I just wanted to see if anyone else has a different idea to smooth the edges - or if the rough edges will eventually wear down from playing. Thanks for any suggestions.
Comments
BBoo 8)
some imported / econ guitars neck shrinks and the frets (although facty filed) now protrude and nab your fingers. In some cases, it's just a lesser fret job in a mass production facility. You'll probably have to file them yourself if they are like burred ends that cut you.
I promptly responded with \"well, this can be considered a return in that case.\" About 5 seconds later, the guitar was being shown to the in-shop guitar tech, who was really cool about it. He said he would do it, no problem.
A few days later, I got the guitar back, and was amazed at the incredible job the tech did. He was simply fantastic, and it brought the guitar to a whole new level of playability.
Try and bring the guitar back to the place you bought it, with the expectation that you are going to return it if its not fixed.
I wondered if the wood had actually shrunk since I first got the guitar, and now the fret edges bite into my hand. I suppose that is possible. At any rate, I am now playing more aggressively on the bass and noticed the edges catching my hand. The good thing is that as I become a better player, I really do notice more things about the quality of my guitars. The downside, of course, is that higher quality instruments cost more. So, I'll take a file to this bass and try to fix it myself. It's not like I have a fortune invested in the instrument, and I really want to learn how to fix things on my own on guitars that don't break the bank.
I'll be in town today to get a file, and a big magnifying glass to better see what I am doing. Thanks to everyone for your responses.
file the finger board or the finnish on the neck. Be gental and take your time.
And since you expressed an interest in learning how to do your own repairs and set up too? Take a look at http://www.stewmac.com/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=house_brands they sell the stuff you need and or tools specially made to do a certain job.
Particularly for fret shaping http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Shaping_and_crowning.html
As mentioned before, take your time.. anybody can learn to do anything... heck we all figured out the gnx! 8) I think
My guess is these budget guitars are put together with necks already pre-done and they just cut the fret wire, take a quick file or simply are not filing them all ( QC issue ). The other possibility I've heard from a tech is the rosewood top or maple shrinks since it's not often treated/dried etc as better quality necks are to avoid shrinkage of a mm or two. That's kind of questionable to me, so I'd chalk it up to just MASS Production and bad QC on the fretwork.
Anyway, get a file and clean up the burrs. Once under a magnified inspection you will see little metal jagged areas on the edge of the fret wire. That is what is cutting in or creating the rough spots as you fret the guitar and move your hand. When I took mine in, it only took the tech one or two passes with a tiny file and was so much easier than a dremel or high speed tool. He had a magnifier light and showed me what the before and after. It only took him 25 min, it shouldn't take you more than an hour. If you are unsure, take it to guitar tech and have it done right.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=magnifying+light&x=0&y=0
I really like the bass and I expected to put a little time in setting it up. I had to tweak the neck and raise a couple strings to improve the action and reduce fret buzz. No big deal. Plays great and sounds great. Now I just need to smooth out those fret ends to save my hands. I did not have much luck today finding needle files, but I have a few other places to check out this weekend. Also, I have started looking for a magnifying light that can clamp on to my workbench/table. I've been thinking about getting such a light for awhile. Now is a good excuse to finally buy one.
Doesn't mean you need the most expensive, just buy quality.
I personally LOVE to do things myself, I completely understand that. I've scalloped my strats. I've done fret leveling, and about everything else that can be done on a guitar with the exception of fret replacements. It's actually made me a different player because I no longer fear doing something to the guitar while playing.
But you bought a NEW guitar that has some flaws in the workmanship. Bring it back and get it professionally done FOR FREE. Unless this is a factory blemish, I wouldn't accept it as a new purchase.
As I've stated in my previous response, MOST Mexican strats have bad fret cuts. When I ask the salesperson, they tell me their tech will fix that for you free of charge. I then follow it up with why aren't they all fixed when they come in? The response it basically, not many people complain about bad fret edges, we only fix them when it becomes an issue with the purchase.
Take it back and get it professionally done. This is just my opinion. Obviously, I am in the minority on this one. :?
If you do it yourself don't forget to TAPE UP the neck well before you start fileing.
I just took it to my luthier buddy and he made very short work of it . A luthier has a better eye for these things as he's done about 2000 fret jobs
it was cheap as well. the neck has been smooth as a babys arse ever since and its beemn hangin in the studio garagage as a \"shop guitar\" with no issue ever for a year now so once it shrinks up I guess there pretty stable after that. Besides the Gretsch Electro series (wich is produced by Fender) I think the MIM Fenders are the best value bang for buck out there with just a little love there greeat guitars. JM2cents :roll:
Tucopeat has the same bass and the same rough fret edges. I don't imagine exchanging the guitar for another of the same model will solve the problem. To be fair to the guitar builder, this is a guitar that sells for $169 at Musician's Friend. http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dean-Edge-10a-4String-Electric-Bass-with-Active-Electronics?sku=512156 I got it for even less, new, from MF. The action is great and the bass really sounds good with the active pickups. Yes, the fret edges are rough, but I think any guitar shop would argue that there is technically nothing wrong with the guitar. At least, not at that price. But since I now play guitar 4 hours a night at our weekend gigs, I have started to notice more about the \"feel\" of my guitars, if that makes sense. I don't like those rough edges and I think I can smooth them out myself with a little effort.
I have compared this Dean 10A guitar to others here locally that sell between $400 - $700. It must be the active pickups that really are the great equalizer, because I like the sound of my Dean 10A every bit as good as the $700 active bass off the shelf at our local shop. I heard a big difference between the passive and active bass guitars, but not much difference in sound between the cost of the guitars themselves. For the sound I wanted, the active pickups beat out the passive basses. So, it came down to a matter of how much I was willing to spend on another bass guitar.
The Dean 10A, which I got for about $125.00 after discounts and credits, needs a little fret edge work for my personal touch, but I'm willing to do it. Also, although I had the money to buy a more \"expensive\" bass that would not have needed any setup work, I did not want to bring a $700.00 expensive (to me, at least) bass guitar to our bar gigs. We often let other people come up and play our instruments at our shows, so I am not too keen on having someone drop an expensive guitar of mine and break it, or knock it over, etc...
By the way, I do have a Yamaha 5-string bass guitar that originally sold for $1600.00 retail. It almost plays itself. But that one stays at home for recording purposes only. For the bar gigs, my only expectation is that the guitar sounds good and that it stays in tune. From there, the less expensive it is, the better. Just my opinion, but I leave my expensive gear at home. Thanks for your comments.
Yep I absolutely agree gtaus. Over the years I've seen some absolute disasters happen to other people's expensive equipment that would make you cry. Everything from a neck broken on a beautiful Les Paul to someone pouring a thickshake into a MarkIV Boogie :evil: I think the most common I've seen for us is people dancing drunk and falling over, or into, the floor wedges and busting them. Chicks kicking their toes on the wedges while dancing is pretty funny though
Worse still, I've seen musos go up and abuse someone else's guitars etc too. I remember at a jam night years ago I took my (at the time) brand spanking new sunburst Wolfgang to try out at a gig for the first time. When I finished playing I was putting it away and these guys (complete hacks I'm sorry to say) came up and said they wanted to use it to jam on and I said 'sorry but no way'. I just knew these guys would flog the hell out of my new guitar. They then abused the hell out of me saying that because its a jam night its expected of me to let everyone use my guitar and I said you're expected to bring your own gear to these jams and if you were half a musician thats exactly what you would do. Its not exactly a 'brotherhood' where you are given access to anyones stuff regardless. They kinda didn't like that but I think there's an etiquette that other players should respect someone else's gear. It might not be the most expensive gear but it is someones pride and joy and people should think of that. Needless to say, I didn't go back to another jam night. I was trying to help the organiser (buddy of mine) to promote band playing and music in his town but I told him to count me out of it if that was the 'musicians' he was trying to attract.
I've got some really expensive guitars that took a lot of work time to save up for over the years and they are my pride and joy. I do use them at gigs but I've just accepted I have to be ultra careful that they don't get hurt. I guess I'm fairly picky where we play these days too - we try and stay out of the flea holes if we can.
I knew before purchase that the guitar would need some setup work. I found the action to be a little low for my tastes and it had some fret buzz. I tweaked the truss rod and set the bridge to my personal tastes( but doesn't every guitar need this) and cured the fret buzz as well. yes my frets were a little rough . but I filed them and polished them and they are now like butter. The strings were also an issue to me but I didn't expect it come with Rotosounds either. I got a new set of my favorite flatwounds and put them on . This Bass no longer sounds and plays like a $ 113 bass but more like some $600- $700 models I have tried out locally. I am very pleased with my Dean 10A and for the price i paid you couldn't buy the active electronics aftermarket.
When buying these \"value guitars\", if the neck is stright and the tone is good then i say its a real bargain, and everything else like setup and fret edges is just cosmetics that can easily be rectified with very little effort. If you want great feel right out of the gate you had better be prepared to shell out some serious scratch for a custom shop guitar (like the ones I make lol),
Just my opinion as a player and luthier.
That's the way I felt about my purchase. I'm willing to put some time in setup and finishing touches to make this guitar even better. My biggest eye opener when shopping for bass guitars was how little difference I was able to hear between the my old Kramer (passive) and brand new bass guitars (passive). Played through the same amp, they all pretty much sounded the same. The bass guitars with active electronics were completely in a different zone. But here again, my Dean 10A for $125 sounds pretty much the same as the $700 bass I compared it to. Granted, the $700 guitar had better quality and workmanship in the finish, but the sound was not that much better.
By the way, although I agree that the Dean 10A may be a \"value guitar\", I know some people who would not look at a $400 guitar, and even a $700 bass is \"underpriced\" for one guy I know. Having said that, this guy has a $2000 bass guitar that does not impress me very much, or rather, it does not sound like it is worth $1800+ more than my new bass. I would not even want to bring a $2000 bass to any of our bar gigs. My good stuff stays at home.
I may not bring my best gear to the bar gigs we play, but I always bring my best effort.
And who in their right mind would bring a $2000 bass to a gig where gawd knows who's going to pick it up, play it, or drop it?!?
I agree with that also. I have a AAAA top Les Paul (est value $4000) that has NEVER been out of my house. I always bring my strat and Epiphone Les Paul, and Charvel. The Gibson is an investment.
+1!!!!.......or is it 3 now
ya get what ya pay for to a degree :roll:
I would not use a small file and do the frets individually because then they'll look irregular or inconsistant and basically worse than before
I would use a standard fine file(comparible to 80grit) and hold it 45degrees to the fret board and file full board length strokes in a forward only direction using mild pressure.Check every other path and see if your getting a desirable effect.After you get it back far enough to not feel it catch.......then i would use 180grit,320grit and then 600grit wet/dry 3m sandpaper to get it really smooth.then polish with some steel wool xxxx or some rubbing compound
if you get in the paint a little,then just use some of the compound,or lemon oil.Sometimes you can just rub it with sweat on polyester finishes
hope that helps