Rough frets

brianlux said:

They irritate the crap out of me: rough or sharp ends on guitar frets (or any other fretted instrument). This is especially annoying as I age and my skin becomes thinner. I wouldn't be surprised if high-end guitars have smooth fret ends (but not too smooth on top or rounded off to the side such that outside strings slip off to the side which, by the way, is also highly annoying.) But, hey, I'm not in that tax bracket.

So the rhetorical question, of course, is, why don't fret manufacturers make them right for all but the cheaper guitars (for example, I wouldn't expect primo frets on a cheapo Rogue guitar)?
Right?! Makes me, makes me, makes me crazy!

cheaper guitars get skimped on typically. they cut corners any way they can, and not doing fret dressing is a way for them to save money on manufacturing. 

i bought a kurt cobain signature jaguar, made in mexico, a number of years ago. the fret ends on the treble side were terrible. i snagged my shirt sleeve on them when i picked it up one time. i paid like $1500 for it i think brand new, ended up taking it to my tech and he filed all of the fret ends down. he said it was the worst fret finish job he had ever seen and it should not have left the factory that way.  so if it can happen on a guitar that costs that much, it can definitely happen on guitars in the 3 or 400 range for sure.

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

brianlux said:

They irritate the crap out of me: rough or sharp ends on guitar frets (or any other fretted instrument). This is especially annoying as I age and my skin becomes thinner. I wouldn't be surprised if high-end guitars have smooth fret ends (but not too smooth on top or rounded off to the side such that outside strings slip off to the side which, by the way, is also highly annoying.) But, hey, I'm not in that tax bracket.

So the rhetorical question, of course, is, why don't fret manufacturers make them right for all but the cheaper guitars (for example, I wouldn't expect primo frets on a cheapo Rogue guitar)?
Right?! Makes me, makes me, makes me crazy!

cheaper guitars get skimped on typically. they cut corners any way they can, and not doing fret dressing is a way for them to save money on manufacturing. 

i bought a kurt cobain signature jaguar, made in mexico, a number of years ago. the fret ends on the treble side were terrible. i snagged my shirt sleeve on them when i picked it up one time. i paid like $1500 for it i think brand new, ended up taking it to my tech and he filed all of the fret ends down. he said it was the worst fret finish job he had ever seen and it should not have left the factory that way.  so if it can happen on a guitar that costs that much, it can definitely happen on guitars in the 3 or 400 range for sure.

That's pretty sad!  I would think Fender would not want to jeopardize their reputation by botching a signature model.  Did you ask them to reimburse for the work? 

The guitar I'm having the most trouble with is my C. F. Marltin LX1, Little Martin.  It's not a high end Martin, but the name alone should be reason to not have to deal with this.  I suppose I should have a reputable tech look at it.  I thought about getting a diamond grit file and trying to do the fix myself, but my hands are not so steady these days.  I'd hate to botch the job!

yeah it was made in mexico. back then qc there was not the greatest. the mccready mim strat i got over the summer was nearly perfect from the factory. just needed a setup to lower the action to my liking.

i'd take it to a tech. i wouldn't want to mess it up. that way they can address any other issues you might be having with it at the same time.

Generally speaking, the winter months should be the worst for fret sprout since the wood shrinks a little in a colder, drier environment while the metal frets stay the same size.

If I had a guitar that had frets sticking out, I would deal with it during that time so I only had to do it once.

A friend of mine bought a Fender American Elite Precision Bass that had the worst frets I've seen. I filed the ends and treated the fretboard and it has been good since then. Super smooth. That was a pretty expensive instrument to have this type of problem but sometimes things slip through the cracks. 

FWIW, I would expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $100 to deal with it, depending on where you live. 

brianlux said:

dudeman said:

Generally speaking, the winter months should be the worst for fret sprout since the wood shrinks a little in a colder, drier environment while the metal frets stay the same size.

If I had a guitar that had frets sticking out, I would deal with it during that time so I only had to do it once.

A friend of mine bought a Fender American Elite Precision Bass that had the worst frets I've seen. I filed the ends and treated the fretboard and it has been good since then. Super smooth. That was a pretty expensive instrument to have this type of problem but sometimes things slip through the cracks. 

FWIW, I would expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $100 to deal with it, depending on where you live. 

Thanks for chiming in, Dudeman! 

It looks like the issue with my Martin LX1 is more simply rough fret edges but will ask about fret sprout as well.  I found a guitar tech about a half an hour from here in Citrus Heights who has outstanding customer feedback, so will look into making an appointment in the not to distant future.

Thanks for good advice!

Hey Brian. I feel like I should have clarified. "Fret sprout" is the term we use for frets sticking out past the edge of the neck.

I think we're talking about the same thing, just using different terms. 

I hope you're able to get your Little Martin sorted out as those are cool and handy guitars. It should be pretty simple and inexpensive for any repair person to tackle. 

Good luck!

dudeman said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

dudeman said:

brianlux said:

dudeman said:

Generally speaking, the winter months should be the worst for fret sprout since the wood shrinks a little in a colder, drier environment while the metal frets stay the same size.

If I had a guitar that had frets sticking out, I would deal with it during that time so I only had to do it once.

A friend of mine bought a Fender American Elite Precision Bass that had the worst frets I've seen. I filed the ends and treated the fretboard and it has been good since then. Super smooth. That was a pretty expensive instrument to have this type of problem but sometimes things slip through the cracks. 

FWIW, I would expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $100 to deal with it, depending on where you live. 

Thanks for chiming in, Dudeman! 

It looks like the issue with my Martin LX1 is more simply rough fret edges but will ask about fret sprout as well.  I found a guitar tech about a half an hour from here in Citrus Heights who has outstanding customer feedback, so will look into making an appointment in the not to distant future.

Thanks for good advice!

Hey Brian. I feel like I should have clarified. "Fret sprout" is the term we use for frets sticking out past the edge of the neck.

I think we're talking about the same thing, just using different terms. 

I hope you're able to get your Little Martin sorted out as those are cool and handy guitars. It should be pretty simple and inexpensive for any repair person to tackle. 

Good luck!

you mention fret sprout. i have 14 guitars and i keep them all in the same room in my basement, which is climate controlled. the only guitar that has fret sprout that has actually chipped off some of the lacquer is my 2003 sg, blue teal that i got because i saw ed smash one on the cover of live at the garden dvd. i am not sure why, but that is the only guitar that has done this. could it be the wood that was used for the neck?

Yes, if the wood that was selected for the neck on your SG was not properly dried, it could absolutely have shrunk enough for that to happen. Sorry that happened to yours. 

A lot of mass produced, low end guitars have this happen after the first year or two, along with the occasional neck warp or twist. It's less common on higher level instruments but it still happens, especially if that manufacturer is struggling to keep up with demand.

I have seen several Gibson and Fender guitars and basses from the pandemic years that are pretty bad. I've come across a handful of Martins from that time period that already needed neck resets too. That should not happen after only a couple years.

yeah it is weird that it is only that one guitar. i will try to get a pic next time i am playing it.

a neck reset that quick is inexcusable. man that bums me out just thinking about it. i think it costs about 500 bucks to do a proper neck reset, if i remember correctly.