Level a high fret
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.พ. 2011
- Leveling a high fret without the use of luthier specific tools. I own a fair amount of specialized tools (most of which are homemade) for guitar work, but the purpose of this video is to show people how to take care of a high fret with items/tools they might already own or can buy cheaply at any hardware store. A credit card is used as a fret rocker and a 3 square (triangle) file bought for $4 at Home Depot is used to take down the fret top and re-crown the fret. While I use MicroMesh to remove the tooling marks and polish the fret, various grades of sandpaper and/or steel wool will accomplish the same thing.
- เพลง
Pro tip: Before you level a high fret. Try re-seating it with your fret hammer first. You'd be surprised.
Thanks man, did this on my 34 017 Martin. Tapped her right back in place.
any alternatives for a fret hammer?
would a rubber mallet used for tiles work?
@@yanagida_01 take a round hard felt pad (the ones used on furniture feet) and stick pad on a small hammer head ! The hard felt pad works perfectly without harming fret while hammering fret in place ! I've done many of fret jobs this way ! Buy pads at any Lowe's / Depot !!
Thanks a lot.
Dude…that fixed my fret buzz in 30 seconds, no divots, no damage, no sanding. Thank you!!
One of rare useful clips how to repair single higher fret without too much useless talking. Great job.
Thanks for this simple demonstration. I bought a used guitar last night that has a few high frets and it's great seeing someone do this with a simple file I already have
Great video , thanks , i just leveled a high fret on my guitar and now it plays great with no buzz 🙏
Superb Video. As a guitar player who owns 20+ guitars and plays like a madnan this video is just perfect. Thank you so much.
Great video. I had a guitar with the same problem (high 13th fret on the middle strings) that was making a bad buzzing for a few of my strings when fretting on the 12th fret. I followed this video, performed the same steps and everything is great now. Saved me a lot of money. Thanks!
This is exactly what I was looking for!
I am greatly indebted to you sir and thank you for simplifying the lives of your fellow man!
I leveled the frets on my Squier affinity P bass with this video . Zero buzz now and the action is set incredibly low. Thanks for the video.
Really helpful video, before starting this process I only had one fret that tested level. I worked up and down the neck using that fret as a reference and it worked perfectly, well done mate :)
Thanks for this video!
I have one fret on my Dean Hardtail that is doing the same thing and I have been leery to attempt this. But watching you do it I have the confidence now. :)
What a great video! I just leveled the frets on all my guitars for $4!
Wow, as quickly and confidently as you work, you must have ALOT of experience! Good Job, Good video!
EXCELLENT and genuinely useful video. Thanks for posting this!
Great video!! Thanks! It's given my the information and increased my confidence that I won't destroy my guitar.
Before, when playing the 12th fret there was some fret buzz most prominent on the G string because the 13th fret was too high. Afterwards, it's clear as a bell when fretted at the 12th fret.
Yes the grade of sandpaper (actually micromesh) is getting finer. If using sandpaper you would start with 600, go up to 1000, and then polish with steel wool or a polishing compound. Micromesh just makes it easier.
Excellent demonstration, thanks for posting. One thing to note: this task requires patience, consistency, and attention to detail. Good lighting and minimal distractions don't hurt either. Trust me, I'm DIYing the frets on one of my guitars right now. Its a lot harder than than this video makes it look...
Theoretically, yes. However, I've seen plenty of $1000+ guitars that don't have the best fretwork.
This is a really great video, Im gonna try this on my high 3rd fret once i purchase a suitable file, thanks for the tutorial !
Awesome work!
Really nice demonstration of how to carefully perform a DIY repair. Lots of demo with just enough chat. Thanks Webster.
Really useful. I bought a new kramer that had a single fret that went high toward one side. Thought I'd need to order a whole set of expensive files from stewmac but got the job done with a jewelers file using this.
works perfectly,thank u..excellent video..i even do mine with a thin precision file so i don't have to pull the strings off..just kinda pull up on em a lil bit and check frequently with the rocker
Very nice demo!
Thank you, very easy to understand. I'm glad I don't need buy any fancy tools.
Simple and easy to understand 👍
Thanks man. The fix was easy to do with sand paper. Took less than 5 mins. I was about to take my Amazon bought guitar to a luthier lmao.
Good Video with some great tips. Thank you. Helped me address a high bothersome fret on my guitar without any drama. I will add if filing a fret, consider you’ll need to sand and polish the fret(s) to remove file marks so you might want to leave just a smidge high and then sand and polish to height .
exactly what i was looking for. thanks dude.
straight to the point, no bs. thanks
great video. I also made some DIY tools for fret work. I'm fresh in this so this video showed what i forgot to do when leveling. I bought some special files to round the crown but the crown was irregular then because in some guitars frets where a bit out of fretboard cause of higro problems. I glue them again but then not whole fret is to high but just a part of it so when using file the crown was irregular. I forgot to file the sides of the fret with some traingle file like You did. Thanx!
Very satisfying
Take it to a luthier is all I hear when I talk about guitars.. No thanks, I'm proficient enough with my tools I can handle a simple guitar setup lol.. It's not that hard to learn and it's a good thing to know.
BurningTirez I know right? It's like... Who ties your shoes? Do you have 911 come over and make cereal for you? Amps? Yeah it's good to at least talk to someone but guitars aren't fuckin rocket surgery.
Exactly. The luthier over charges so much that when I pay him I feel like an asshole. After learning how to do it myself I feel like more of an asshole for paying him that much. Lol.
My guitars are worth less than a setup I am not paying setup plus fretwork when I can already do a setup.
I was quoted about $300 per guitar for Stainless Steel Refretting. I got at least 7 guitars to do. Rather than paying $300X7, I decided to invest in Refretting tools instead that cost me around the same about 300. Learn all the skills I need on youtube, Crimson guitars youtube help me a lot actually and now all my 7 guitars got the SS frets install and it's a once in a lifetime refretting job because SS frets can last me probably till I'm dead.....
Note: don't buy those cheap tools on China website, they're craps. Buy them from reputable websites like Crimson or Steward Mac, especially on the cutters and files if you're doing a Stainless Steel fret job. SS fret needs a high-quality tool.
@@zepp3lin What kind of guitars do you have that dont have SS frets????
Only complaint about Stew Mac, and I'm not sure if I can explain it properly, but the tool he sells for fret leveling is NOT long enough. It's only about 2/3rds the length of the neck and what happens is with every pass the center of the fretboard frets get sanded down with every stroke, while the frets by the nut and bridge only get sanded half as much. Resulting in an upside down rainbow effect when your all done. Using one that is the entire length will even all the frets perfectly. Also, sanding long ways, up and down the neck will result in the frets being higher or lower on the top or bottom. Going up and down from low E to high E will sand them all the same. Just an FYI.
Best video quality of all these how to DIY video s
Thanks a million!!! That was just the info I needed...
Brilliant !! you just saved me about 30/40 quid, worked like a charm. Although I used a nail file and buffer :)
Thanks! Great job
Great Job man!!!
This helped give me some confidence. Despite having done *so many* projects on lots of guitars & basses (some very expensive ones too), I'm *still* squeamish about doing this. I've got a $300 Jackson Dinky that plays & feels *great* for a Chinese guitar, but fret #17 is high on the treble side, which makes the guitar all but useless for shredding. What I'm worried about is that--with those huge Jackson frets--I won't be able to crown it and get the shape right again. That said, this method you've shown (which I imagine is how most all the pro's do it) seems straightforward. I'm a great sculptor anyhow, and it's not like I'm working on a Gibson or a Fender worth $1K+, so I might as well dive-in! Thanks for sharing the video!
Great demo thanks
Just Great, so cool video!
helped me a lot, thanks for your teaching.
Thanks, amazing work!
Thanks, great info.
OK sweet thanks for your help man greatly appreciated
I thank you for your video that made it pretty simple to fix my problem I appreciate it
This is great! Thanks!
Good stuff, good job, thumb up !
Any more guitar tech info/ how to videos would be much appreciated. I am a learning guitar tech with little: money, resources and tools. I know how to do many things but learning from a pro is always benefical. -PK
Excellent!
I got an Epiphone ES339 and I suspected some high frets and ordered a fret rocker. Man, what a difference. I guess that's one major difference between a cheap guitar and a more expensive one. Cheap guitars they just press the frets in and ship it out. Strange that such a tiny amount could make so much buzzing. I mean it was like the width of two hairs, but it was killing my tone.
Got a cheap epiphone Vintage Edition Black matte. And the higher frets slightly popped up and causing dead note. Quite disappointed
I used a credit card. 👍
awesome thanks! would love to see some videos of guitar work.
Great Vid!!! Helped me a lot!!! Thanx! greetings from chile!
Thanks 4 the vid, bro, you saved my guitar!!!
GREAT GREAT VIDEO!!!!!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!
I bought a plane blade at a hardware store which has a level edge. I ground down the sharp edge of the blade. It works very well and is cheaper than some of the stuff you get from Stew-Mac.
Fender gives you a lot of practice these days because their brand new off the shelf US made Telecasters come with anywhere between 10 to 15 high fret areas up and down the neck. Thanks Fender!
This was VERY helpful..Thank u!!!!... I have a guitar that the first fret is higher..than the second...I'm going to try this on that...
Good stuff
Very good!
good job!
Dude! Thanks, you just saved me 100$ for one high spot.
good job very helpful info!
Great video...Thanks much!!
Neat trick with the Sharpie - I was wondering abut the flattening
Very informative thank you very much
I have been repairing gtrs for years and have found a better way to do this as it is possible to file the individual fret too low . Use a small dead flat stick - like a gtr nut blank and stick a small width of sandpaper in the middle of this . Then put masking tape either side of the sandpaper , one or two strips or combo of masking tape / parcel tape until you have a flat levelling block that is smooth at each end . You then stone that high fret in the direction shown above until the frets either side stop you going lower - you can feel when you're no longer sanding and it saves having to keep stopping and checking the height
Yes. I have put the sandpaper in the middle. Then put it on the ends, but soft side down. This makes the cutting surface exactly level to the ends.
awesome video, just bought a new acoustic and i have some high frets, only a couple, would rather do this myself than pay £120 for a some else to do it. Might give it a go over the weekend. Got all the tools here too
@seasonedtoker, when dealing with a 3 fret span it's not as critical. When doing a full level/recrown I'll use a slotted ruler to ensure the fretboard is level before leveling the frets.
To re-crown frets I filed a depression lengthwise in a small piece pine with a small round file. The 600 and 800 grit automotive sand paper conformed to the depression and did the trick. I am kind of a clod so I am sure if I tried to crown the fret with a flat file I would gouge through the tape and into the neck.
good vid, will try it, wish me luck
Thank you Sir
You can't be scaring me about my headphones like this. Thought my hd 280s were broken for a second
Informative is what what matters ;-).
Nicely done! I really appreciate the quality of the video and just as important...the audio! Most of the time these youtube vids. are really crappy but yours is very well done. Nice camera work!
Thanks. This was recorded on nothing more than an iPhone4. I don't recall what I used to hold the phone in place.
Hey, they are making feature length movies with iPhones now, so... Nothing wrong with that.
good info thank you sir
Thanks, this is helpful..
True, if the fretboard is radius'ed properly and the frets installed with a fret press then they will be VERY close to being level right after installation. I don't humidify a neck before re-fretting. I don't want the neck at some artificial humidity level.
very useful, THX A LOT! :)
Thank you for this video. This gives me the confidence to work on my guitar which has a high fret. I was under the impression that you gotta have some expensive files and equipment specifically built for luthier do perform such task.
@CrabtreeGuitar, Nope, no extra wear on the fret. The 4 square file allows me to put whatever profile I want on the crown....a dedicated crowning file can only produce the profile ground into it.
Thank you.
Superb! I'm not afraid anymore! LOL!
If you have the skill this works fine.If you Never deed this before you might want to start on a cheap guitar or get a regular fret file Good show Great skill
Good points. I just got a guitar where the 19th fret is high. The D string buzzes and if you stretch the G and B strings on the 18th fret they will fret out. I will give this a try. If there any other things to be careful of, all advice welcome. Thanks.
Phil
NYC/Jersey Shore Area
You really made that look easy? I love the way the micro mesh makes the frets have a Mirror effect!
Where can i get that to do all my frets?
@pleximanic, Not really. It can definitely be more consistent but it doesn't allow you do crown at whatever profile you would like.....only the profile ground into it.
awesome work man :) an easier crowning method would be to get a specially designed crowning file... it'll get you an OCD consistent crown across an entire fretboard... and it'll be a little less hassle to polish the fret after since the tooling marks will be straight across the fret instead of being in a crosshatch like they are with the bastard file.
TheSoxmania, I own true crowning files. However, the whole point of this particular video was to show how to do with the work with tools you can find in any hardware store.
webster miller Fair do's man :P still a great example of an awesome crowning job anyways :)
@DarkdeviI725, yes, but it would take a lot of filing. Let a flat file knock it down and then recrown with the crowning file.
@MrTyBaloo, it's a tape called Frog Tape but I use just plain old blue painter's tape as well.
good job... iwant to try it my gitar
great video! how should i go about leveling the neck before measurin the high spots and working on the frets?
great men, I think triangular file is better then crowning file, more time consuming but 100% success
nice
GREAT VID...its helpful...the one your working on that has tape on both sides IS your high one of course...but, I moved down the neck checking for rocking and found like THREE in a row that rocks...WHICH ONES are the REAL CULPRET...??
Thanks I had two high frets ✌
@sinisterskid, if you watch the video you will clearly see that Sharpie line on the fret's top allows you to see exactly where the crown is centered as I re-crown the fret.
thanks!
any details on the file and the grade of sandpaper?
thanks for this
400 grit
Thank you for replying the 20th position rings clear until the bass side the 21st buzzes like hell on the low e and a a little bit on the treble side and a bit more on the d string i took the credit car didn't rock and i adjusted the action still the fret buzz i don't know whats wrong
Satisfying to watch lol
I really appreciated that video. Thank you. Can you tell me what type of tape you are using to tape the fretboard and not leaving any glue on it or remove some wood when taking it off?