Spot on, I figured this method on my own years ago. I put 3 frets in and use the fret leveler. I then work and level check the next as I proceed. Thanks for doing this video, I hope it helps DIY'rs in the home fretting world.
This is the best logical advise given about fret leveling. I have just started playing (or trying to learn how to in my 60s lol) and taken an interest on guitar setups and was never too keen on using a file to level one fret but having to file all the other perfectly fine frets in the process.
Excellent. It's great to see this approach being more widely talked about. I just saw a vid yesterday on this from Mark Gutierrez, and Highline guitars did one a while back. A few things. First, it works best if your fret slot is precisely the width of the tang without the barbs (see Kent Everett on this). Second, if you seat your frets with glue, the hammer method may not work as well as spot sanding/filing. Third, Glenn is an expert and is going through the process fast. A fret rocker is a simple tool, but isn't simple to use. You can't just hold it and rock; you need to get a feel for it and the best way to start is to hold it lightly in the centre and rock. Otherwise you hold too tight and you are either rocking it yourself when their isn't a high fret or stopping it from rocking (especially on little rocks) through your hand pressure. The final point, which Glenn doesn't dwell on and other commentators haven't really picked up is that this is a no lose approach. If you have a few rocks you are saving a whole lot of TIME, as well as metal. If you have loads of rocks that becomes clear in a matter of minutes and you can then just go ahead with the sanding beam. I hate it now if I have to use the beam, because I know it means my fretting wasn't as good as it should have been.
You're right about the rocker game....I just put 8 stainless frets in a Yamaha LL-16....plays okay but not perfect and all the frets are level via the rocker. This is the dilema of fretting....also a great fret job will capo to at least the 5th fret without buzzes. All the fretting video's are pretty much the same these days....nothing new. Deal with finding buzzes when the frets are level and you made a new video.
@@cugir321 If you know for a fact that your neck was straight and your frets are level, and you're experiencing fret buzz then there's only 3 factors that could be causing it 1. your relief in the truss rod could be off. that's the first place to start because it can move in a matter of hours after your initial setup. 2. the bridge may be to low and need raised a bit or bridge saddles may need to be raised and aligned to the proper arch. 3. your nut needs to be worked on or replaced because it has been notched out to much on a string or two. Sometimes even the best guitar builders take their builds in for a proper nut replacement because they can be quite tricky for a lot of builders.
if the neck/fretboard wood is not adequately dry that might cause fret sprouts and popped up frets later. Such frets seem like seated when you hammer or press them but since the slot is now wider those frets move back up again. So only way to repair them is done only by gluing. If you try to level such popped up frets it will be a waste of time, because they will be pressed down by the leveling file and cannot be perfectly levelled. So before levelling I gently hammer a high fret to see if it seats and then give it a day and check it to see whether it has popped up again. If it does I move to glueing process
Love this advice. I see people online doing refrets and they all level and crown the frets each time. Why not check your new frets first they might already be level. If not maybe only a couple are high. It makes no sense to do an entire fret level and crown if it is not needed.
To do it as perfect as possible, I eliminate the string tension, then use the ruler to set the neck straight and adjust the truss rod if needed, now the neck is ready and the leveling can begin, I always use crowning files to preserve the original location of the radius at the top of the fret and once the leveling is done, I ensure the notes at the frets are correct and when the set up of the instrument is completed the cheap instrument will be amazing, just my 2 cents.
Something caused the high fret to begin with. Improper radius or slot. If that's the case, then the problem will eventually come back. He said that he went up and down the fretboard 3 times, checking multiple spots on each fret. In that amount of time, you could just level, crown and polish them, and be done with it.
@@1sainteve1 It depends on how fast you are. :) My checking the frets a few times definitely took less time than it takes me to level, crown, and polish. But you would also have removed metal from your frets, which is what this method avoids.
I recently change frets on a PRS to SS frets and tried to do it so good there was no need for leveling. Flat neck, sanded with 10" radius, superglued and checked with a fret rocker. It all felt fine but the day after several frets needed leveling. My theory is that the superglue I put on somehow changed the wood while drying over the night? Maybe I should have put something on to have some press on them over night or superglues later?
i've done refretting of my old jackson first time ever recently and was wondering what i'm doing wrong, why i can't find any misleveled frets to sand them down? is that part really necessary? and here we go - i found your video and have the answer ) thank you )
It is a good idea to spot level instead of taking metal off all the frets with a beam.....problem is sometimes it works and sometimes it move the rock to the next three frets. I think you should get them close then do a light beam level. I hate it because then I have to crown all the frets with a file....takes a while.
I understand this was posted 2 years ago...but...you're a genius! I'm pretty lazy so i usually find easier ways to do things, but i never thought of this. And i was just about to do a fret level on one of my guitars. I'll try your method and let you know! I have seen evidence of frets not being all the way inserted as there will be a tiny bit visible gap between the fret edge and board as i was cleaning before but never thought of hammering them down! Plus, you mentioned SS frets and that's what i need to do. One little trick i learned from guns and guitars TH-cam channel is when leveling, you take a little extra off around 12 and up and this really helps. But if I've only got one or two that are higher than I'd like, i can just to those and not all 24. Thank you so much!!!
I've been watching several videos about refretting guitars with stainless steel and there's something I'm thinking about. Another gentleman who's been doing it for something like 30 years has a video explaining dull frets. He talks about if you should radius the fret slot and he says no you shouldn't. He goes on to explain that it's almost impossible to radius the slot with an arch and if you were to do so, you can introduce a deeper slot in one spot and then end up with a dull fret. He said a fret should have full contact inside the slot and also for the tip of the fret to touch the fretboard so there's no space. He also says he now fills in the slot with glue and then presses the frets in. Any glue will fill in any space making 100% contact with the fret and slot. This creates a solid fret and there's no way it will become a dull fret by this process. So what I'm concerned with is if your fret can be pushed in further, then it would be safe to assume you have a void inside that fret slot. The fret must go somewhere so it fills in that void and thus the fret gets lower. So what would happen if people like me followed that one guys video by filling in the slot with glue, pushing the fret in, and then we couldn't push the fret in any further like you have done here since we glued it? That's the method I'm planning on using for my first two guitar refrets coming up in a couple weeks. So then would it be wise to glue, fret, move on and check the prior 3 frets before the glue adheres? I have a feeling this isn't going to be so easy with this method. I am very excited to swap to stainless steel though!
Yes, that's a very good point! What I've shown here is really a method to follow when you have just built and fretted the neck. Any glue you've put in there isn't fully cured yet, so you'll still get a degree of movement if a fret isn't fully seated and you give it a tap. It would still work for a re-fret, because again any glue will still be soft. But if you're going to use this method to level frets in a neck that was already fretted, you might be out of luck. Give it a try, but you might find that you're going to have to file or sand the fret.
Thank you for this excellent video. I am building my first guitar from scratch since covid, I am very slow!! For the Frets installation, I didn't understand why I have to do a leveling and crowning for new frets .So I wasn't planing to do it. Few months back, I found your video, and I am really grateful, it confirmed my theory. I had done it your way and it worked perfectly. Thanks
Thanks! I used your advice and got rid of annoying buzz the 4th fret of the G string that was driving me insane for the past few weeks... Such a simple fix
The most sensible fret rocking solution I've seen. I haven't done any full builds but done a few refrets. Got the best results from using a fret slot cleaning saw that ensured the frets were seated equally. Like you said the fret wires themselves are the same height, so as long as they are seated properly, no need to spend hours taping, sanding, crowning etc.
Sometimes fret rockers can be defective, too. I had one where one side had a "step" instead of being straight and of course that rocker would always give wrong results. As a result, before I figured that out, I have already filed more metal off the fret tops than necessary. It turned out ok, but I ended up with "vintage" style frets, not the modern "medium jumbo". Which is ok since my guitar is an SSS strat, but I probably couldn't get the fret crowns as perfect as they were, even though I used the fret file and then polished the fret crowns extremely diligently with like several different grade sandpapers and automotive polishing pastes. And to be honest, I think that fret filing wasn't even necessary because I finally decided I liked a higher action more. And action that high would have eliminated the buzz anyway even if I didn't level the frets.
It's because the wood is not perfectly level. Sometimes hammering them will work at least part of the way. Most luthiers tell you to hammer in ALL the frets beforehand when you get a new guitar and are checking the frets.
True, if the groves where measured properly before the frets where inserted they it should be deep enough to insert the fret wire fully. Simply glue the fret wire after you've confirmed it's all level.
I get very consistent results from making sure the freboard is fretless-quality flat then pressing the frets in. The Jaguar neck I just did with stainless frets required zero clean-up. Hey, I paid for the whole fret wire. I'm not grinding off a bunch of material for no reason.
Yeah nice i’ve refretted 2 guitars with only a hammer 😁. Especially practicle with stainless steel frets. Less filing and they don’t get harmed as easily when bangung with a hammer. One thing that is essential though using the fret rocker is to make sure the ’high’ fret really is high as opposed to the adjacent one being too low.
For spot levelling you just have to file down and recrown one fret and not all of them as you says. You can use a brass fret setter or a fret hammer. But otherwise I agree - only file if hammering doesn't work. I also agree that it seems counter intuitive to level and recrowning brand new frets.
I repress the high frets, so same idea... BUT if I am working on a vintage guitar that I didn't want to plane the fingerboard flat for preservation, I still need to level the frets to compensate for inconsistent neck contours
You can always raise your action a quarter inch off the fretboard (or maybe 7mm if you're European)! That will get rid of any problems! Easy peasy! That's what the guitar companies do!
Ive had great success just polishing and crowning the frets on my guitars without leveling in many cases. I do the whole process with sand paper only. First i polish then i mark the frets with marker and lightly recrown them with the paper and the edge of my thumb. In most cases this makes the frets feel brand new without removing tons of meterial.
Just about to fret my third guitar and it’s my most expensive Nashville Tele .Using SS frets and going to do this to keep original crowns and spot crown where I need to.Thanks
Fret pressing helped a lot for this on my builds. With properly prepared fret slots, a perfectly enough level board and preradiused frets to a slightly tighter radius then the board i get near perfect results every time. Hammering was fun but the irregularities it caused drove me mad
There is an other side of this method. Say, you check 3 frets (1-2-3) by a rocker, and it is OK (they are leveled), then you move forward by one (2-3-4) and rocker shows that middle one (3) is higher. You file, or press, or hammer this fret, whatever, but after that the rocker in 1-2-3 will rock, because 3rd fret was lowered.
@@MonsterGuitars Anyway, I think that correct and accurate beam leveling is more efficient and time saving. If you have straight neck, straight beam, and good control and understanding, you are able to minimize fret height loss. Aneway, thanks for your thoughts and answer, cheers!
Well, maybe. The same also applies to almost any spot levelling. You have to be clear that the rock is caused by a high fret rather than a low one. so you should go one beyond the supposed high fret before you make any changes and check you don't have a low fret. if there is a low fret you can usually see this, even to the tiniest tolerance with a stong focused backlight, in which case you need to reseat the fret. This is rare. You cam also see him in the vid checking he hasn't made the affected fret too low, by doing exactly what I just said. Also, in another couple of vids on this topic, the posters (highline guitars and Mark Gutierrez) state clearly that if you have lots of uneven frets on a new fb then you are better off levelling. If not, not. It's up to you to set what you think is the right cut off point.
Sounds l8ke you've been there like me. If lucky, with 1 to 2 frets this could work. I've done it first. Often it rises again. Or, you end up chasing frets either sides. I hate leveling frets,but, most often necessary on every guitar I buy that all come with fret level issues.
Yeah, you need to be sure that you are truly dealing with a high fret on an otherwise level fretboard, rather than a fret that appears high because one of its neighbors is low. In the latter case, you are much better off leveling the entire fretboard right away (or perhaps replace that one fret if there are only 1-2 of them and you want to avoid reducing fret height).
Thanks a lot I'm newbie who has bought a kiss rocker ..and a cheap hammer. Thanks to your clear explanation, I've made my little Tele harley beton TE70, perfect and incredibe like a pro fender. ...
This is fantastic. This video made me think about it: if your fingerboard is leveled properly and the fret slots are deep enough, then you should try to make sure that all frets are hammered or pressed in flush with the wood. If you can achieve that, then why start lopping off metal and making more work for yourself? One thing I really like is that you clearly didn’t immediately break out the super glue when you pressed in the frets. If you had superglued in the frets then you probably wouldn’t be able to hammer down the high ones. I really enjoy Tanya Shpachuck’s videos, but it annoys me how she floods the frets with CA glue and then has to spray them with accelerator and then chisel off the excess glue. She’s probably breathing in all those fumes from the accelerator and glue, as well as making a mess that she has to clean up later on. I’m going to try to do this with my next guitar build: make sure the board is level, try to get all the frets in flush with the wood, then go right on to the polishing of the frets. Nice channel, great video, you just got a big fat thumbs up and a subscription from me!
This is only relevant if you’re fingerboard is perfectly flat. On a new build this “should be the case” but on a refret not necessarily and sometimes the end user doesn’t want the fingerboard sanded or it’s a finished maple neck and doesn’t want to pay for a respray. The best compromise is to get the fretting as good as possible and any that are high try hammering and then spot level the high ones as you may have 7 or less and thus you only need to level 7 and recrown and polish then just do a light polish of all the frets. It saves a lot of time and resources.
Good vid. To me the goal is always to remove as little fret metal as possible. So tapping in high frets is a great first step. The other very important thing (I don't think you mentioned) is to start with a perfectly straight neck (assessed with a slotted straight edge). It would be a real shame to attempt to "level frets" on a neck with a bow.
This is great on a rosewood fretboard. If you have a glossy maple neck and you start hammering on the frets you run the real risk of chipping the poly finish (voice of experience here). In which case, it would seem that fret leveling is inevitable,
Yes, what I've shown here is ideal (I think) for when you've just built and fretted the neck. On an already finished neck it might just be simpler to level the frets. Although - you might be lucky if you use a scalpel to score along the length of the fret first, then use a press rather than a hammer.
Your absolutely right! I always check first and if you get GOOD fret wire and you make the slots right you wont need to do much. I have found if I cant press them in or hammer them in to perfect level, I did something wrong it's not usually the fret wire. Check that there is nothing in the slot and you have cut it deep enough. I have redone frets and not had to do anything, this does require really good fret wire.
The frets come with edges and a small piece beneath the fret to insert into the slot, hammering all frets so the edges contact the fretboard won't this make them all leveled? There is a point where frets won't go any deeper into the fretboard due to these edges not passing the slot.
In my experience I found some frets won't stay down after hammering. Usually, my customers get the guitars back in hours or the next day so hammering 'could' result in the fret coming back up in hours, a day or two. Also, I find if you have a tall fret(s) and level them all with a file, they all look 'dressed' as I put magic black marker on them before. But the wierd thing is many times the fret will still rock! So I use my rocker and 600 grit and sand on the high fret(s) until it's level across its surface. Then I will sand the rest with 600 and a straight edge and roll the sides. Then I repeat with 800,1000,1500,2000 and polish them. This works good in my case. I mostly work on Mexican Fenders and they are notorious for high frets. I find this to be the best fix for this issue......although time consuming. I just set up a Hendrix strat last weekend and 11 high frets! Yes USA fenders can have high frets to. If all the Frets were squeezed in together and 'held' with pressure for a minute or even 30 seconds I would imagine they would most likely be seated far better.
Thank God I found your video. So many refret works in my country do fret levelling to all the frets because they believe it is part of the refret process. I against that belief.
Thank you my friend for confirming exactly what I was hoping! I’ve got the soft face hammer and the fret rocker but not a leveling beam or crowning tool. I thought the primary reason for the issue could be poorly set frets.
You should definitely get tools for levelling and crowning if you'll be making necks. They'll be necessary sometimes - but far less often than many think.
My concern would be whether it would hold or not. Maybe there's some sort of pressure, either from the wood or internal tension, that caused it to be high in the first place. Looks great when you tap it in, a day later it's worked loose again.
In my experience this largely depends on fret insertion technique and how soft the fretboard wood is. With some woods, you can be as careful as you possibly can, but there's still going to be significant (relatively speaking) fret height differences.
Not that I've seen extreme cases often. But refretting a roasted maple neck recently, that was literally like marmalade. Essentially the opposite of hard and brittle. Weird!
This video is great advice. However, “Chibsons” are known to have “dry” seated frets. Meaning no CA glue (superglue) to hold them in place. This allows the frets to move. If your frets aren’t staying level. This is probably why. (Glue them, or have them glued.) All too often I’ve seen content creators who, break out the sanding beam at every chance they get. If you’re working on your own guitar, don’t use a beam unless, a majority of frets are unlevel. Level them individually. It’ll take longer, but you’ll save lots of fret material.
I know some renowmed luthiers who press the frets and don't level new frets. The amount of times I see people sanding down fresh frets without evwn checking them (maybe they're level already)
How about some sort of pressure gauge on the fret press itself, so that you pull to whatever you find gives you the most consistent results? Btw, I’m pretty sure that PRS USA do not usually level their frets…
Does the neck shift after carving any if it does you adjust with the truss rod or something, I’ve never built just wondering I’m checking it out haven’t made the jump to building. Thanks informative 👍
The neck has not shifted with carving on any of my builds. But then, my wood is recycled, very dry and quite old, so it has probably done all the movement it's going to do before I get it.
This is so clever, why did no one think of this before lol. I have one concern though. Because the fretboard is untreated wood it will to some degree expand and contract from moisture in the air and if these frets aren't glued, wouldn't there be some possibility of them shifting around again and maybe pressing back up out of the wood?
If the fret rocker rocks, it doesn't necessarily mean that the middle fret is high. It could also mean that one of the outer fret is low. In that case, if you file down the middle fret you will now have two low frets. So ne careful and don't automatically assume the middle fret is high. I'm always surprised to see almost nobody in these videos points this out. I bet many fretboards have been messed up when people go by what is said in these videos. If you have one or two low fret, you should probably replace them. Otherwise you have to level the entire fretboard.
Enjoyed this video, though I have a couple of concern, which never seem to be answered in any of these 'fret levelling' videos: if the fret rocker is rocking, this might be due to one of the outer frets being LOWER than the other two frets: the rocker will still rock, but you may end-up lowering a fret which is actually in line with previous frets! You would ned to reposition the fret rocker two frets further along the neck: if it still rocks, this doesn't necessarily mean that you've found another high fret, it may be that one of your (outer) 'reference' frets is too low. Also: before hitting or pressing a fret to reseat it, you need to check if the underside of any part of the fret crown does not have any space between it and the top surface of the fretboard (does a thin feeler gauge slip under the fret crown? if so, reseating may do the job) If the fret is already sitting securely on the top of the fretboard, no amount of hitting or pressing will make any difference. Another thing to consider: if the frets are glued-in, this will normally prevent any re-seating being possible: if they are not glued-in, applying a very small amount of glue before pressing in the fret may be beneficial in preventing it from moving up again, but only if the fret remains clamped down securely until the glue has properly dried.
The fret levelling process makes all of your frets as low as the lowest fret. If two frets are fully inserted (which is really what the process in this video ensures) but one is lower than the others, then either there is a high spot in the fretboard (which is unlikely if you radiused it by sanding), or one fret is physically taller than the other, which is concerning. As for whether or not this process of hammering or pressing will work - all I can offer is the experience recorded in this video. It evidently does work. When it comes to gluing, you're right. If there is glue in the slots that has cured, you'll have problems with the method in this video. This is intended as a method to use when you are building the neck and you have just inserted the frets, so the glue is fresh. I didn't actually use glue in this neck, but if white glue was just recently put in the slots, this works fine. Superglue is another story.
That was really cool! I felt it's a clickbait first, but you really delivered your point here and it's hard to disagree with you. I wish this could also be applied to the worn frets )))
I used a soft hammer just like that one on a kit guitar and dented the fret a little. All the frets on the cheap kits and cheap necks have the frets not set 100% cus there rushing or something. I have an Indonesian jackson that has fret issues but I think it's due to the previous owner and a drop or knock over.
Great! This is a nice method unless the wood already has warped a bit. Then I think you have to level with a beam. I have never done a leveling job. What I noticed on my guitars. I play more often and harder at the nut. And whenever I use a bright amp like a JCM800 from my ampsims, I can literally pick up the buzz noise and it is annoying. It sucks because in digital modelling it sounds cheap, like a distortion when you exceed the input levels. I wonder if I just exchange the frets with visible dents at the nut. Whenever I play there I get this unpleasant buzz.
And you still have to be careful not to push down too hard on the press or you can actually push the fret INTO the wood and get a low fret. I have been thinking of using a scale to make pressing the frets in more consistent.
This is truly a great. I am no luthier but it seems this would be the first thing a luthier would do after installing frets. One thing though...If the problem is certain frets just not being seated correctly then would it not make sense to just go through ALL of the frets with the hammer to ensure they are all seated? Seems this would save having to test each one individually, hammer them seated, then have to go back over the fretboard two or three times repeating the process. It's seems once they are seated well they could be seated no further, therefore it would be easier to just go through all of them. then and only then, if they were still unlevel then leveling could be done. Just a thought. Great video! Rock on!
Hi Jerry, thanks for commenting! Yes absolutely, the first thing you have to do is install and seat all the frets. But two well-seated frets might still be slightly different heights, which is why people level their frets even after pressing them all in as well as they can.
Plus, when you file and crown, the frets are lower, crown or not. So this does not fix the lack of fret height and leverage that you had when the guitar was new or even several years in.
I'm sorry I missed this question, Jay! I've seen guitar builders do it both ways, so I suppose everyone has their own process. I glue the fretboard on (after it is already slotted), then I sand a radius onto the surface, and then I install the frets.
@@MonsterGuitars I appreciate your great and practical insight on frett leveling. I will be installing frets in a few days. I have the StewMac frett rocker and will use that first to get the fretts into that magical plane.
It not true that if there's no rocking then yoyu wouldn't need to level.....I've seen many times were the frets were level and there were slight buzzes.....stringing it up changes everything.
Stringing it up bends the neck due to tension. Before checking the frets as shown in this video, use the truss rod to straighten the neck. Then carry out the levelling shown here. Yes, stringing up the guitar will create some relief (front bow). You can use the truss rod to adjust the neck back to a straight position, or just play with that relief. Front bow won't create buzzing.
tapping them in should be the first step always. leveling the fret before is just leading to a situation where if the fretboard dries out at all, the "leveled" fret is not going to be low.
Literally saved by the bell, was about to fiddle with a couple of inexpensive guitars that came with some obnoxious fret buzz but will try the hammer instead.
I tried it on my dead frets and it did not help. the frets were already pushed down as far as they can go on the fretboard. Plus fret wire has a edge that won't allow you to push them lower than they can. So, you have no choice but to level and recrown.
Very often bad things happen when people take hammers into their hands. It's a logical process, but hammers are scary, unless you are super-duper careful.
Thanks for this. First time I'm about to refret two guitars and, seeying the perfect round shape of the new frets, I was wondering if there was a another way than sanding all the frets. I took a look around your other videos. Very interesting, it makes your want to build your own guitar. I have a question about changing the frets. Do you put some glue? If so, what kind? Most of people use wood glue, and later use soldering iron to take them off when it's time again to change the frets. Aren't the bone or skin glue more appropriate?
I've used PVA glues in the past - wood glue. But I sometimes use no glue at all, and I haven't had problems. The point of the glue is just to fill the remaining empty space in the fret slot so the result is a solid fretboard with no gaps inside. Some use superglue, to also hold the frets in. There's no need for that.
Can you get your action down to 2/64ths of an inchs at the 12th fret and play cleanly without buzzing with a light touch? If not, then the frets can stand a little levelling. And NOI fretjob is ever THAT good without a little bit of levelling, not to get the action that low. Guitar tech/luthier for forty freaking years here.
Come back when you've been doing it for forty-one freaking years. 😉 But before you do, try it! That's the only advice I would give a skeptic. Try it for yourself and see how good the outcome is. If, after trying it, you encounter problems playing without buzz, then sure, take extra measures. I haven't been doing this as long as you, but I am yet to run into issues of buzz after doing this. Perhaps I will one day.
@@MonsterGuitars All my frets are fully seated and banging them down any farther will just compress the fingerboard. It's not good practice to do that. I let my results speak for themselves. Don't need to change anything when I'm already the top ranked fret guy in the area.
@@Turboy65 It's not good practice to hammer or press (not "bang" in my workshop thank you) frets beyond fully seated, no. That part is true - and of course, part of what I have said here. This video is about frets that are not all the way in, and the reality that if you can get frets perfectly seated, it's actually a misconception that levelling is always required. As explained in the video, you should always check first to see if it's necessary in your case. I'm glad your business is going well. I'm also glad that others have been open to hearing something new, and many of them have put it into practice and gotten great results! Thanks for commenting.
@@MonsterGuitars Always make it a point to fully seat every fret. Close isn't good enough. And even when they are fully and perfectly seated on a perfectly level and straight board, a little bit of hand adjustment WILL be required to get the lowest possible action because the fret height profile of the lowest possible action IS NOT DEAD STRAIGHT FRET TOPS. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Get every fret top matched in height to the micron and you won't get 2/64" buzz free action.
Yes, if your hammer is harder than the fret. So don't use, for example, a steel hammer on nickel frets. If you use a soft face hammer like the one in this video, then no, there will be no flattening at all.
@@MonsterGuitars I definitely assumed that a metal hammer on metal frets would be a No-No, but I wasn't sure if even a hard plastic could do a little damage to the crown. Thanks for the answer.
@@RBadding it's best do do this as part of the build process, and is easiest to do before the neck is installed. If you're doing it with a guitar with a set neck that's already glued in, yes you can do it. You just have to be very careful to support the neck well, and do not tap too hard.
Never trust fret rockers i had one that had a slight curve, besides you run into issues with the first 2 frets and last 2 frets with rockers as you cant tell if the first and last are too low or high to start with.....so gives a false reading in the next frets.....
G'day Mate, I am doing a bit of deep dive on this topic, to get n understanding of guitar fretwork. I really like your take. Almost medical in terms of do no harm. I have a cheap guitar (new from fatory) that I bought specifically to learn about setup and fretwork. It has some buzzy frets, I was about to go and level all frets, but I will try your approach first. Thanks, I will look into your channel. Where are you based?
Spot on, I figured this method on my own years ago. I put 3 frets in and use the fret leveler. I then work and level check the next as I proceed. Thanks for doing this video, I hope it helps DIY'rs in the home fretting world.
This is the best logical advise given about fret leveling. I have just started playing (or trying to learn how to in my 60s lol) and taken an interest on guitar setups and was never too keen on using a file to level one fret but having to file all the other perfectly fine frets in the process.
Excellent. It's great to see this approach being more widely talked about. I just saw a vid yesterday on this from Mark Gutierrez, and Highline guitars did one a while back. A few things. First, it works best if your fret slot is precisely the width of the tang without the barbs (see Kent Everett on this). Second, if you seat your frets with glue, the hammer method may not work as well as spot sanding/filing. Third, Glenn is an expert and is going through the process fast. A fret rocker is a simple tool, but isn't simple to use. You can't just hold it and rock; you need to get a feel for it and the best way to start is to hold it lightly in the centre and rock. Otherwise you hold too tight and you are either rocking it yourself when their isn't a high fret or stopping it from rocking (especially on little rocks) through your hand pressure. The final point, which Glenn doesn't dwell on and other commentators haven't really picked up is that this is a no lose approach. If you have a few rocks you are saving a whole lot of TIME, as well as metal. If you have loads of rocks that becomes clear in a matter of minutes and you can then just go ahead with the sanding beam. I hate it now if I have to use the beam, because I know it means my fretting wasn't as good as it should have been.
You're right about the rocker game....I just put 8 stainless frets in a Yamaha LL-16....plays okay but not perfect and all the frets are level via the rocker. This is the dilema of fretting....also a great fret job will capo to at least the 5th fret without buzzes. All the fretting video's are pretty much the same these days....nothing new. Deal with finding buzzes when the frets are level and you made a new video.
@@cugir321 If you know for a fact that your neck was straight and your frets are level, and you're experiencing fret buzz then there's only 3 factors that could be causing it 1. your relief in the truss rod could be off. that's the first place to start because it can move in a matter of hours after your initial setup. 2. the bridge may be to low and need raised a bit or bridge saddles may need to be raised and aligned to the proper arch. 3. your nut needs to be worked on or replaced because it has been notched out to much on a string or two. Sometimes even the best guitar builders take their builds in for a proper nut replacement because they can be quite tricky for a lot of builders.
if the neck/fretboard wood is not adequately dry that might cause fret sprouts and popped up frets later. Such frets seem like seated when you hammer or press them but since the slot is now wider those frets move back up again. So only way to repair them is done only by gluing. If you try to level such popped up frets it will be a waste of time, because they will be pressed down by the leveling file and cannot be perfectly levelled. So before levelling I gently hammer a high fret to see if it seats and then give it a day and check it to see whether it has popped up again. If it does I move to glueing process
Love this advice. I see people online doing refrets and they all level and crown the frets each time. Why not check your new frets first they might already be level. If not maybe only a couple are high. It makes no sense to do an entire fret level and crown if it is not needed.
This is by far the most sensible approach to building a nice playing neck.
To do it as perfect as possible, I eliminate the string tension, then use the ruler to set the neck straight and adjust the truss rod if needed, now the neck is ready and the leveling can begin, I always use crowning files to preserve the original location of the radius at the top of the fret and once the leveling is done, I ensure the notes at the frets are correct and when the set up of the instrument is completed the cheap instrument will be amazing, just my 2 cents.
The danger with this is if you hammer to hard you can end up with a sunken fret and then you need to level everything anyway
I guess a light step by step approach is called for.
I would also highly recommend using a 1 or 2 pound dead blow hammer to avoid any unwanted sinking from a bounce
Agreed and should have been mentioned.
Something caused the high fret to begin with. Improper radius or slot. If that's the case, then the problem will eventually come back.
He said that he went up and down the fretboard 3 times, checking multiple spots on each fret. In that amount of time, you could just level, crown and polish them, and be done with it.
@@1sainteve1 It depends on how fast you are. :) My checking the frets a few times definitely took less time than it takes me to level, crown, and polish.
But you would also have removed metal from your frets, which is what this method avoids.
It's almost obscene - - the good, simple, common sense on display here.
To a man with a sanding beam and a fret crowning file, everything on looks like a high fret. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Words to live by.
I recently change frets on a PRS to SS frets and tried to do it so good there was no need for leveling. Flat neck, sanded with 10" radius, superglued and checked with a fret rocker. It all felt fine but the day after several frets needed leveling. My theory is that the superglue I put on somehow changed the wood while drying over the night? Maybe I should have put something on to have some press on them over night or superglues later?
i've done refretting of my old jackson first time ever recently and was wondering what i'm doing wrong, why i can't find any misleveled frets to sand them down? is that part really necessary? and here we go - i found your video and have the answer ) thank you )
This is great! There’s a lot to be said for spot levelling, too. If only a few are stubbornly high, don’t level the lot, just deal with the high ones.
It is a good idea to spot level instead of taking metal off all the frets with a beam.....problem is sometimes it works and sometimes it move the rock to the next three frets. I think you should get them close then do a light beam level. I hate it because then I have to crown all the frets with a file....takes a while.
@@cugir321 It does, but I find it a meditative thing to do.
What about a low fret that's been worn down
@@dxfordummies You can either replace that one fret or dress the rest down to its level.
@@JJDoole You say the rest you mean the entire fingerboard or just the surrounding?
Great idea. I already tried it on two guitars I built and it worked fantastically. Many thanks for excellent tip!
Same here Bought a squire and it had a couple of High frets. Did this and its works
I understand this was posted 2 years ago...but...you're a genius! I'm pretty lazy so i usually find easier ways to do things, but i never thought of this. And i was just about to do a fret level on one of my guitars. I'll try your method and let you know! I have seen evidence of frets not being all the way inserted as there will be a tiny bit visible gap between the fret edge and board as i was cleaning before but never thought of hammering them down! Plus, you mentioned SS frets and that's what i need to do. One little trick i learned from guns and guitars TH-cam channel is when leveling, you take a little extra off around 12 and up and this really helps. But if I've only got one or two that are higher than I'd like, i can just to those and not all 24. Thank you so much!!!
So, how did it go with the hammering?
I've been watching several videos about refretting guitars with stainless steel and there's something I'm thinking about. Another gentleman who's been doing it for something like 30 years has a video explaining dull frets. He talks about if you should radius the fret slot and he says no you shouldn't. He goes on to explain that it's almost impossible to radius the slot with an arch and if you were to do so, you can introduce a deeper slot in one spot and then end up with a dull fret. He said a fret should have full contact inside the slot and also for the tip of the fret to touch the fretboard so there's no space. He also says he now fills in the slot with glue and then presses the frets in. Any glue will fill in any space making 100% contact with the fret and slot. This creates a solid fret and there's no way it will become a dull fret by this process. So what I'm concerned with is if your fret can be pushed in further, then it would be safe to assume you have a void inside that fret slot. The fret must go somewhere so it fills in that void and thus the fret gets lower. So what would happen if people like me followed that one guys video by filling in the slot with glue, pushing the fret in, and then we couldn't push the fret in any further like you have done here since we glued it? That's the method I'm planning on using for my first two guitar refrets coming up in a couple weeks. So then would it be wise to glue, fret, move on and check the prior 3 frets before the glue adheres? I have a feeling this isn't going to be so easy with this method. I am very excited to swap to stainless steel though!
Yes, that's a very good point! What I've shown here is really a method to follow when you have just built and fretted the neck. Any glue you've put in there isn't fully cured yet, so you'll still get a degree of movement if a fret isn't fully seated and you give it a tap. It would still work for a re-fret, because again any glue will still be soft. But if you're going to use this method to level frets in a neck that was already fretted, you might be out of luck. Give it a try, but you might find that you're going to have to file or sand the fret.
Thank you for this excellent video. I am building my first guitar from scratch since covid, I am very slow!! For the Frets installation, I didn't understand why I have to do a leveling and crowning for new frets .So I wasn't planing to do it. Few months back, I found your video, and I am really grateful, it confirmed my theory. I had done it your way and it worked perfectly. Thanks
Thanks! I used your advice and got rid of annoying buzz the 4th fret of the G string that was driving me insane for the past few weeks... Such a simple fix
Excellent! I'm glad to hear it.
The most sensible fret rocking solution I've seen. I haven't done any full builds but done a few refrets. Got the best results from using a fret slot cleaning saw that ensured the frets were seated equally. Like you said the fret wires themselves are the same height, so as long as they are seated properly, no need to spend hours taping, sanding, crowning etc.
Sometimes fret rockers can be defective, too. I had one where one side had a "step" instead of being straight and of course that rocker would always give wrong results.
As a result, before I figured that out, I have already filed more metal off the fret tops than necessary. It turned out ok, but I ended up with "vintage" style frets, not the modern "medium jumbo". Which is ok since my guitar is an SSS strat, but I probably couldn't get the fret crowns as perfect as they were, even though I used the fret file and then polished the fret crowns extremely diligently with like several different grade sandpapers and automotive polishing pastes.
And to be honest, I think that fret filing wasn't even necessary because I finally decided I liked a higher action more. And action that high would have eliminated the buzz anyway even if I didn't level the frets.
Perfectly leveled frets are not necessary if you can't hear any buzzing, fret material and fret height are precious, don't waste them unnecessarily
It's because the wood is not perfectly level. Sometimes hammering them will work at least part of the way. Most luthiers tell you to hammer in ALL the frets beforehand when you get a new guitar and are checking the frets.
True, if the groves where measured properly before the frets where inserted they it should be deep enough to insert the fret wire fully. Simply glue the fret wire after you've confirmed it's all level.
I get very consistent results from making sure the freboard is fretless-quality flat then pressing the frets in. The Jaguar neck I just did with stainless frets required zero clean-up. Hey, I paid for the whole fret wire. I'm not grinding off a bunch of material for no reason.
Yeah nice i’ve refretted 2 guitars with only a hammer 😁. Especially practicle with stainless steel frets. Less filing and they don’t get harmed as easily when bangung with a hammer. One thing that is essential though using the fret rocker is to make sure the ’high’ fret really is high as opposed to the adjacent one being too low.
Its good to see a youtube title that has the contents the same as the title. Great content, Sir.
For spot levelling you just have to file down and recrown one fret and not all of them as you says. You can use a brass fret setter or a fret hammer. But otherwise I agree - only file if hammering doesn't work. I also agree that it seems counter intuitive to level and recrowning brand new frets.
I repress the high frets, so same idea... BUT if I am working on a vintage guitar that I didn't want to plane the fingerboard flat for preservation, I still need to level the frets to compensate for inconsistent neck contours
extremely glad I stumbled across this video. I'm about to do a stainless steel refret on my vintage P Bass.
"I'm getting too good ... that's not good." 🤣
You can always raise your action a quarter inch off the fretboard (or maybe 7mm if you're European)! That will get rid of any problems! Easy peasy! That's what the guitar companies do!
Ive had great success just polishing and crowning the frets on my guitars without leveling in many cases. I do the whole process with sand paper only. First i polish then i mark the frets with marker and lightly recrown them with the paper and the edge of my thumb. In most cases this makes the frets feel brand new without removing tons of meterial.
Just about to fret my third guitar and it’s my most expensive Nashville Tele .Using SS frets and going to do this to keep original crowns and spot crown where I need to.Thanks
Fret pressing helped a lot for this on my builds. With properly prepared fret slots, a perfectly enough level board and preradiused frets to a slightly tighter radius then the board i get near perfect results every time. Hammering was fun but the irregularities it caused drove me mad
There is an other side of this method.
Say, you check 3 frets (1-2-3) by a rocker, and it is OK (they are leveled), then you move forward by one (2-3-4) and rocker shows that middle one (3) is higher. You file, or press, or hammer this fret, whatever, but after that the rocker in 1-2-3 will rock, because 3rd fret was lowered.
Yes, I mention this in the video. So you have to go along the whole fretboard more than once.
@@MonsterGuitars Anyway, I think that correct and accurate beam leveling is more efficient and time saving. If you have straight neck, straight beam, and good control and understanding, you are able to minimize fret height loss. Aneway, thanks for your thoughts and answer, cheers!
Well, maybe. The same also applies to almost any spot levelling. You have to be clear that the rock is caused by a high fret rather than a low one. so you should go one beyond the supposed high fret before you make any changes and check you don't have a low fret. if there is a low fret you can usually see this, even to the tiniest tolerance with a stong focused backlight, in which case you need to reseat the fret. This is rare. You cam also see him in the vid checking he hasn't made the affected fret too low, by doing exactly what I just said. Also, in another couple of vids on this topic, the posters (highline guitars and Mark Gutierrez) state clearly that if you have lots of uneven frets on a new fb then you are better off levelling. If not, not. It's up to you to set what you think is the right cut off point.
Sounds l8ke you've been there like me. If lucky, with 1 to 2 frets this could work. I've done it first. Often it rises again. Or, you end up chasing frets either sides. I hate leveling frets,but, most often necessary on every guitar I buy that all come with fret level issues.
Yeah, you need to be sure that you are truly dealing with a high fret on an otherwise level fretboard, rather than a fret that appears high because one of its neighbors is low. In the latter case, you are much better off leveling the entire fretboard right away (or perhaps replace that one fret if there are only 1-2 of them and you want to avoid reducing fret height).
Thanks a lot I'm newbie who has bought a kiss rocker ..and a cheap hammer. Thanks to your clear explanation, I've made my little Tele harley beton TE70, perfect and incredibe like a pro fender. ...
This is fantastic. This video made me think about it: if your fingerboard is leveled properly and the fret slots are deep enough, then you should try to make sure that all frets are hammered or pressed in flush with the wood. If you can achieve that, then why start lopping off metal and making more work for yourself? One thing I really like is that you clearly didn’t immediately break out the super glue when you pressed in the frets. If you had superglued in the frets then you probably wouldn’t be able to hammer down the high ones. I really enjoy Tanya Shpachuck’s videos, but it annoys me how she floods the frets with CA glue and then has to spray them with accelerator and then chisel off the excess glue. She’s probably breathing in all those fumes from the accelerator and glue, as well as making a mess that she has to clean up later on. I’m going to try to do this with my next guitar build: make sure the board is level, try to get all the frets in flush with the wood, then go right on to the polishing of the frets.
Nice channel, great video, you just got a big fat thumbs up and a subscription from me!
Thank you very much, that made lots of sense, unlike the ordinary fret leveling videos.
This is only relevant if you’re fingerboard is perfectly flat. On a new build this “should be the case” but on a refret not necessarily and sometimes the end user doesn’t want the fingerboard sanded or it’s a finished maple neck and doesn’t want to pay for a respray.
The best compromise is to get the fretting as good as possible and any that are high try hammering and then spot level the high ones as you may have 7 or less and thus you only need to level 7 and recrown and polish then just do a light polish of all the frets. It saves a lot of time and resources.
Right, your theory work with a new neck, where the fret board is leveled properly and the frets are brand new.
Good vid. To me the goal is always to remove as little fret metal as possible. So tapping in high frets is a great first step. The other very important thing (I don't think you mentioned) is to start with a perfectly straight neck (assessed with a slotted straight edge). It would be a real shame to attempt to "level frets" on a neck with a bow.
A very useful tip.Thanks!
This is great on a rosewood fretboard. If you have a glossy maple neck and you start hammering on the frets you run the real risk of chipping the poly finish (voice of experience here). In which case, it would seem that fret leveling is inevitable,
Yes, what I've shown here is ideal (I think) for when you've just built and fretted the neck. On an already finished neck it might just be simpler to level the frets. Although - you might be lucky if you use a scalpel to score along the length of the fret first, then use a press rather than a hammer.
Your absolutely right! I always check first and if you get GOOD fret wire and you make the slots right you wont need to do much. I have found if I cant press them in or hammer them in to perfect level, I did something wrong it's not usually the fret wire. Check that there is nothing in the slot and you have cut it deep enough. I have redone frets and not had to do anything, this does require really good fret wire.
Thanks for this.... what are the hammers called that dont dent the frets
It's called a soft face hammer. There are plenty of brands that make them.
Thank you for this piece of advice it really comes in handy.
Brilliant! Appreciate your insight!
Slight rocking is okayish and your approach is nice because it's non destructive and i like it !
The frets come with edges and a small piece beneath the fret to insert into the slot, hammering all frets so the edges contact the fretboard won't this make them all leveled?
There is a point where frets won't go any deeper into the fretboard due to these edges not passing the slot.
In my experience I found some frets won't stay down after hammering. Usually, my customers get the guitars back in hours or the next day so hammering 'could' result in the fret coming back up in hours, a day or two.
Also, I find if you have a tall fret(s) and level them all with a file, they all look 'dressed' as I put magic black marker on them before. But the wierd thing is many times the fret will still rock! So I use my rocker and 600 grit and sand on the high fret(s) until it's level across its surface. Then I will sand the rest with 600 and a straight edge and roll the sides. Then I repeat with 800,1000,1500,2000 and polish them. This works good in my case. I mostly work on Mexican Fenders and they are notorious for high frets. I find this to be the best fix for this issue......although time consuming. I just set up a Hendrix strat last weekend and 11 high frets! Yes USA fenders can have high frets to. If all the Frets were squeezed in together and 'held' with pressure for a minute or even 30 seconds I would imagine they would most likely be seated far better.
Its when frets get warn through playing that they need levelling.
YES! This makes so much sense! Thanks for sharing. In your honor, I'm going to check and hammer my frets one handed with a hard candy in my mouth, lol
Thank God I found your video. So many refret works in my country do fret levelling to all the frets because they believe it is part of the refret process.
I against that belief.
Thank you my friend for confirming exactly what I was hoping! I’ve got the soft face hammer and the fret rocker but not a leveling beam or crowning tool. I thought the primary reason for the issue could be poorly set frets.
You should definitely get tools for levelling and crowning if you'll be making necks. They'll be necessary sometimes - but far less often than many think.
My concern would be whether it would hold or not. Maybe there's some sort of pressure, either from the wood or internal tension, that caused it to be high in the first place. Looks great when you tap it in, a day later it's worked loose again.
In my experience this largely depends on fret insertion technique and how soft the fretboard wood is. With some woods, you can be as careful as you possibly can, but there's still going to be significant (relatively speaking) fret height differences.
Not that I've seen extreme cases often. But refretting a roasted maple neck recently, that was literally like marmalade. Essentially the opposite of hard and brittle. Weird!
@@Dimiguitar im just imagining how sticky a marmalade fretboard would be lol
@@musicplaylists59 Not as sticky as marmite/vegemite
I'm not keen on hitting high frets, but it makes sense to reset them if they've popped out. I'd rather do it with a press though.
finally some one with common sense about frets
This video is great advice. However, “Chibsons” are known to have “dry” seated frets. Meaning no CA glue (superglue) to hold them in place. This allows the frets to move. If your frets aren’t staying level. This is probably why. (Glue them, or have them glued.)
All too often I’ve seen content creators who, break out the sanding beam at every chance they get. If you’re working on your own guitar, don’t use a beam unless, a majority of frets are unlevel. Level them individually. It’ll take longer, but you’ll save lots of fret material.
I know some renowmed luthiers who press the frets and don't level new frets.
The amount of times I see people sanding down fresh frets without evwn checking them (maybe they're level already)
Great vid fella. Be careful hitting brass frets, they’re very soft and will flatten. Always use a fret hammer with plastic or rubber ends.
I'm wondering if this coukd work on older guitars also? Or guitars new from the factory?
How about some sort of pressure gauge on the fret press itself, so that you pull to whatever you find gives you the most consistent results?
Btw, I’m pretty sure that PRS USA do not usually level their frets…
Does the neck shift after carving any if it does you adjust with the truss rod or something, I’ve never built just wondering I’m checking it out haven’t made the jump to building. Thanks informative 👍
The neck has not shifted with carving on any of my builds. But then, my wood is recycled, very dry and quite old, so it has probably done all the movement it's going to do before I get it.
Most fret leveling I've seen is on a cheap import guitar... not a beautiful hand made neck. Or a worn out old guitar.
This is so clever, why did no one think of this before lol. I have one concern though. Because the fretboard is untreated wood it will to some degree expand and contract from moisture in the air and if these frets aren't glued, wouldn't there be some possibility of them shifting around again and maybe pressing back up out of the wood?
What happens when the string tension is on?
When you add string tension, the neck bends. You adjust it back to straight (or with as much relief as you prefer) using the truss rod.
Amazing vid man! OMG how did I not think about this earlier, it's so obvious!
If the fret rocker rocks, it doesn't necessarily mean that the middle fret is high. It could also mean that one of the outer fret is low. In that case, if you file down the middle fret you will now have two low frets. So ne careful and don't automatically assume the middle fret is high. I'm always surprised to see almost nobody in these videos points this out. I bet many fretboards have been messed up when people go by what is said in these videos. If you have one or two low fret, you should probably replace them. Otherwise you have to level the entire fretboard.
Enjoyed this video, though I have a couple of concern, which never seem to be answered in any of these 'fret levelling' videos: if the fret rocker is rocking, this might be due to one of the outer frets being LOWER than the other two frets: the rocker will still rock, but you may end-up lowering a fret which is actually in line with previous frets! You would ned to reposition the fret rocker two frets further along the neck: if it still rocks, this doesn't necessarily mean that you've found another high fret, it may be that one of your (outer) 'reference' frets is too low. Also: before hitting or pressing a fret to reseat it, you need to check if the underside of any part of the fret crown does not have any space between it and the top surface of the fretboard (does a thin feeler gauge slip under the fret crown? if so, reseating may do the job) If the fret is already sitting securely on the top of the fretboard, no amount of hitting or pressing will make any difference. Another thing to consider: if the frets are glued-in, this will normally prevent any re-seating being possible: if they are not glued-in, applying a very small amount of glue before pressing in the fret may be beneficial in preventing it from moving up again, but only if the fret remains clamped down securely until the glue has properly dried.
The fret levelling process makes all of your frets as low as the lowest fret. If two frets are fully inserted (which is really what the process in this video ensures) but one is lower than the others, then either there is a high spot in the fretboard (which is unlikely if you radiused it by sanding), or one fret is physically taller than the other, which is concerning. As for whether or not this process of hammering or pressing will work - all I can offer is the experience recorded in this video. It evidently does work.
When it comes to gluing, you're right. If there is glue in the slots that has cured, you'll have problems with the method in this video. This is intended as a method to use when you are building the neck and you have just inserted the frets, so the glue is fresh. I didn't actually use glue in this neck, but if white glue was just recently put in the slots, this works fine. Superglue is another story.
The times I've put frets in and they needed leveling, it's because I put them in wrong, and then it's usually beyond leveling.
That was really cool! I felt it's a clickbait first, but you really delivered your point here and it's hard to disagree with you. I wish this could also be applied to the worn frets )))
I`ve said for years that fret leveling was invented by people who sell tools to do it with
Exactly the last video I watched.
Just de-buzzed my guit-box in 3 minutes! Thanks!
I used a soft hammer just like that one on a kit guitar and dented the fret a little. All the frets on the cheap kits and cheap necks have the frets not set 100% cus there rushing or something. I have an Indonesian jackson that has fret issues but I think it's due to the previous owner and a drop or knock over.
Great! This is a nice method unless the wood already has warped a bit. Then I think you have to level with a beam. I have never done a leveling job. What I noticed on my guitars. I play more often and harder at the nut. And whenever I use a bright amp like a JCM800 from my ampsims, I can literally pick up the buzz noise and it is annoying. It sucks because in digital modelling it sounds cheap, like a distortion when you exceed the input levels. I wonder if I just exchange the frets with visible dents at the nut. Whenever I play there I get this unpleasant buzz.
I stopped using a hammer on frets. A press with the proper caul is more accurate.
And you still have to be careful not to push down too hard on the press or you can actually push the fret INTO the wood and get a low fret. I have been thinking of using a scale to make pressing the frets in more consistent.
This is truly a great. I am no luthier but it seems this would be the first thing a luthier would do after installing frets. One thing though...If the problem is certain frets just not being seated correctly then would it not make sense to just go through ALL of the frets with the hammer to ensure they are all seated? Seems this would save having to test each one individually, hammer them seated, then have to go back over the fretboard two or three times repeating the process. It's seems once they are seated well they could be seated no further, therefore it would be easier to just go through all of them. then and only then, if they were still unlevel then leveling could be done. Just a thought. Great video! Rock on!
Hi Jerry, thanks for commenting! Yes absolutely, the first thing you have to do is install and seat all the frets. But two well-seated frets might still be slightly different heights, which is why people level their frets even after pressing them all in as well as they can.
Plus, when you file and crown, the frets are lower, crown or not. So this does not fix the lack of fret height and leverage that you had when the guitar was new or even several years in.
Great observation !
Question: do you install the frets before or after glueing fretboard to the neck ?
I'm sorry I missed this question, Jay! I've seen guitar builders do it both ways, so I suppose everyone has their own process. I glue the fretboard on (after it is already slotted), then I sand a radius onto the surface, and then I install the frets.
@@MonsterGuitars
I appreciate your great and practical insight on frett leveling. I will be installing frets in a few days. I have the StewMac frett rocker and will use that first to get the fretts into that magical plane.
It not true that if there's no rocking then yoyu wouldn't need to level.....I've seen many times were the frets were level and there were slight buzzes.....stringing it up changes everything.
Stringing it up bends the neck due to tension. Before checking the frets as shown in this video, use the truss rod to straighten the neck. Then carry out the levelling shown here. Yes, stringing up the guitar will create some relief (front bow). You can use the truss rod to adjust the neck back to a straight position, or just play with that relief. Front bow won't create buzzing.
tapping them in should be the first step always. leveling the fret before is just leading to a situation where if the fretboard dries out at all, the "leveled" fret is not going to be low.
Thanks a bunch . Got a fret hammer on the way . Let ya know if it works out on one of my guitars .
If the hammering doesn’t work, rather than using a fret leveler, can you just use a fret crown tool to shave the single fret?
The problem is its most likely to pop back up again but still worth a go first
Literally saved by the bell, was about to fiddle with a couple of inexpensive guitars that came with some obnoxious fret buzz but will try the hammer instead.
Good luck! Here's hoping you can get them level without having to remove anything.
Hmmm I did this before n found other frets dislodge on occasions on older guitar especially
I bought pre-cut frets 😢 can't be bent in a fret bender because they are too short, any ideas on how I can bend frets this short? 😅
Thanks so much for this very good advice - it works!
I tried it on my dead frets and it did not help. the frets were already pushed down as far as they can go on the fretboard. Plus fret wire has a edge that won't allow you to push them lower than they can. So, you have no choice but to level and recrown.
Yeah, it won't fix things in every situation. You do need to file / sand sometimes. I want people to see that as a last resort, though.
I completely agree. Nice job on your vid and showing this. love the inlays❤
Very often bad things happen when people take hammers into their hands. It's a logical process, but hammers are scary, unless you are super-duper careful.
"The man who is a afraid of his hammer is not yet ready to build guitars" ~ Ancient luthier proverb.
Thanks for this. First time I'm about to refret two guitars and, seeying the perfect round shape of the new frets, I was wondering if there was a another way than sanding all the frets.
I took a look around your other videos. Very interesting, it makes your want to build your own guitar.
I have a question about changing the frets. Do you put some glue? If so, what kind? Most of people use wood glue, and later use soldering iron to take them off when it's time again to change the frets. Aren't the bone or skin glue more appropriate?
I've used PVA glues in the past - wood glue. But I sometimes use no glue at all, and I haven't had problems. The point of the glue is just to fill the remaining empty space in the fret slot so the result is a solid fretboard with no gaps inside. Some use superglue, to also hold the frets in. There's no need for that.
Underrated video
Thanks, I agree! You should share it with *everyone*!
Wish I had come across this piece of advice a little while ago:)
Can you get your action down to 2/64ths of an inchs at the 12th fret and play cleanly without buzzing with a light touch? If not, then the frets can stand a little levelling. And NOI fretjob is ever THAT good without a little bit of levelling, not to get the action that low. Guitar tech/luthier for forty freaking years here.
Come back when you've been doing it for forty-one freaking years. 😉 But before you do, try it! That's the only advice I would give a skeptic. Try it for yourself and see how good the outcome is. If, after trying it, you encounter problems playing without buzz, then sure, take extra measures. I haven't been doing this as long as you, but I am yet to run into issues of buzz after doing this. Perhaps I will one day.
@@MonsterGuitars All my frets are fully seated and banging them down any farther will just compress the fingerboard. It's not good practice to do that. I let my results speak for themselves. Don't need to change anything when I'm already the top ranked fret guy in the area.
@@Turboy65 It's not good practice to hammer or press (not "bang" in my workshop thank you) frets beyond fully seated, no. That part is true - and of course, part of what I have said here. This video is about frets that are not all the way in, and the reality that if you can get frets perfectly seated, it's actually a misconception that levelling is always required. As explained in the video, you should always check first to see if it's necessary in your case. I'm glad your business is going well. I'm also glad that others have been open to hearing something new, and many of them have put it into practice and gotten great results! Thanks for commenting.
@@MonsterGuitars Always make it a point to fully seat every fret. Close isn't good enough. And even when they are fully and perfectly seated on a perfectly level and straight board, a little bit of hand adjustment WILL be required to get the lowest possible action because the fret height profile of the lowest possible action IS NOT DEAD STRAIGHT FRET TOPS. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Get every fret top matched in height to the micron and you won't get 2/64" buzz free action.
Great advice!
I don't think they leveled frets back in the 50's in Fender and Gibson factories, or am I wrong ?
A new guitar probably doesn't need a fret level at all. I agree,,, If you have a high fret it probably just needs seating better.
Wouldn't hitting the top of the frets with the hammer slightly flattened the crown of the fret?
Yes, if your hammer is harder than the fret. So don't use, for example, a steel hammer on nickel frets. If you use a soft face hammer like the one in this video, then no, there will be no flattening at all.
@@MonsterGuitars I definitely assumed that a metal hammer on metal frets would be a No-No, but I wasn't sure if even a hard plastic could do a little damage to the crown. Thanks for the answer.
Can I do this with a set-in neck? Or will I break the seal?
@@RBadding it's best do do this as part of the build process, and is easiest to do before the neck is installed.
If you're doing it with a guitar with a set neck that's already glued in, yes you can do it. You just have to be very careful to support the neck well, and do not tap too hard.
That sounds like very good advice to me!
Never trust fret rockers i had one that had a slight curve, besides you run into issues with the first 2 frets and last 2 frets with rockers as you cant tell if the first and last are too low or high to start with.....so gives a false reading in the next frets.....
Out of curiosity, what do you use to detect a high fret, if not a fret rocker?
G'day Mate, I am doing a bit of deep dive on this topic, to get n understanding of guitar fretwork. I really like your take. Almost medical in terms of do no harm. I have a cheap guitar (new from fatory) that I bought specifically to learn about setup and fretwork. It has some buzzy frets, I was about to go and level all frets, but I will try your approach first. Thanks, I will look into your channel. Where are you based?
I'm sorry I missed this comment, Rob. I'm in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand. We moved house after this video was made.