frets-sharper?

seanw1010

suddenly mt frets on my tele are feeling extremely sharp on the edges.is there anything i can do? thanks!

exhausted

humidify the room or get a tech to file the edges down. the wood is shrinking slightly.

who's_pearljam?

Yup!

Let the guitar rehumidify and it may go back. The wood shrinks when it dries. If it doesn't go back, then the ends will need to be filed down. It's not TOO hard, but you have to be steady haned with the file.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Files/Fret_End_Dressing_File.html

For exhausted, too!

seanw1010

question- i have a humidifier, but all my gear is in my bedroom which is small, so i dont have the instrumnets hanging or anything.i just keep them in cases. do i need to take them out for the humidifier to work on them? thanks!

who's_pearljam?

Your best bet is probably to humidify the case on each guitar.

You can get a guitar humidifier that goes in the case, but I just get a zip lock bag and a piece of sponge rather than pay 15 bucks each for 40+ guitars. Wet the sponge and put it in the bag, and leave the bag open a bit and stick it in a spot in the case. You kind of want to keep the guitar at about 35% humidity or so. It's not an exact science, but you get to know each guitar after a while. The main thing is a reasonable humidity and not to subject it to wild changes.

Temperature and humidity changes are the worst things for guitars.


Ok, in the old days, Pete Townshend may have been the worst thing!


I have a whole pile of guitars,,, (In the gear share thread) so I keep a whole room humidified for them.

seanw1010

who's_pearljam? wrote:

Your best bet is probably to humidify the case on each guitar.

You can get a guitar humidifier that goes in the case, but I just get a zip lock bag and a piece of sponge rather than pay 15 bucks each for 40+ guitars. Wet the sponge and put it in the bag, and leave the bag open a bit and stick it in a spot in the case. You kind of want to keep the guitar at about 35% humidity or so. It's not an exact science, but you get to know each guitar after a while. The main thing is a reasonable humidity and not to subject it to wild changes.

Temperature and humidity changes are the worst things for guitars.


Ok, in the old days, Pete Townshend may have been the worst thing!


I have a whole pile of guitars,,, (In the gear share thread) so I keep a whole room humidified for them.

in my acoustics i just use a cheap 3$ humidifier thing...is that good enough for my high priced les pauls and teles?

All Those Yesterdays

Your guitar case will not stop humidity from the room from getting to the guitar, so don't worry about it. Humidity will travel thru just about anything.

who's_pearljam?

I guess this all depends on how humid your room is and where you live.

If you have forced air heat, and you live up north, then you're sending the humidity all through the house and a humidifier really isn't doing a consistant job unless you really are cranking that thing.
If you live where it's really dry, then your guitar shrank when the wood dried out. Some cases will absorb moisture, but a plastic shelled case is pretty airtight. Either way, sticking a humidifier in the case and monitoring it is a good idea.
. You want about 35-40% humidity on a guitar. The key is consistency. Big swings in humidity can cause wood to swell or shrink. If your frets weren't sticking out before, and they are now, the wood shrunk, or shrank, or hath shrinken,,,or whatever the the right word is!

You can get a humidity gauge from Radio Shack for like 12 bucks. It's a good purchase if you have a few guitars.

I have a temp/ humidity controlled room for all mine, and the ones I'm fixing for other people. I blocked off the air vents and keep a humidifier in there, and have a little electric heater to keep the room warm. It does a nice job.

This is REALLY important for acoustics! Good acoustics are built in controlled humidity and they can potentially crack, and get a hump or depression in the top when it changes.

lucylespian

who's_pearljam? wrote:

I guess this all depends on how humid your room is and where you live.

If you have forced air heat, and you live up north, then you're sending the humidity all through the house and a humidifier really isn't doing a consistant job unless you really are cranking that thing.
If you live where it's really dry, then your guitar shrank when the wood dried out. Some cases will absorb moisture, but a plastic shelled case is pretty airtight. Either way, sticking a humidifier in the case and monitoring it is a good idea.
. You want about 35-40% humidity on a guitar. The key is consistency. Big swings in humidity can cause wood to swell or shrink. If your frets weren't sticking out before, and they are now, the wood shrunk, or shrank, or hath shrinken,,,or whatever the the right word is!

You can get a humidity gauge from Radio Shack for like 12 bucks. It's a good purchase if you have a few guitars.

I have a temp/ humidity controlled room for all mine, and the ones I'm fixing for other people. I blocked off the air vents and keep a humidifier in there, and have a little electric heater to keep the room warm. It does a nice job.

This is REALLY important for acoustics! Good acoustics are built in controlled humidity and they can potentially crack, and get a hump or depression in the top when it changes.

Oh man, sounds like I'm a swinging acoustic. I had a hump last week, but now I'm really depressed !!