Epi Les Paul Fretwork

[jszfunk]

I watched a review of a new 2020 .Just concerned about the fretwork on the Les Pauls. Sounds like an ongoing issue. Is it being addressed? Please refer to the attached YouTube review starting at 11:14 and the comments section.

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by jszfunk

[kidblast]

High frets unfortunately are a fact of life for any guitar.  Some times they're not high, they just need to be re-seated with a few gentle taps of a fret hammer.

Plek or not plek, dont matter,  wood moves (climate changes. too dry, to wet,) and, the frets respond to that.  it's not uncommon.

Sure, sometimes there are high spots, and need to be addressed to get the action as low as it can go..  It has nothing really to do with Epiphone,  or any "import" brand.

I've had gibsons, taylors strats and teles all US made, that needed to be checked and tweaked.   It's just good to know what to look for and what to fix and what to leave alone is the thing.

Learning how to diy as the guy who runs that channel is working on is really what we should all be doing.  It's not rocket science,  a little know how and a few tools, and you're there.

 Just my 2 cents here...

 

[iankinzel]

It wouldn't shock me if the fretwork on the early-run 2020 Epis wasn't up to snuff. When I worked in guitar retail, my store wouldn't see stuff from NAMM until May or June. Having stuff in the hands of customers in February shows that Epiphone was committed to getting the new lineup out the door as quickly as possible.

I've generally been quite happy with the fretwork of my Epi's from about 2010 going forward (of course, excluding the cheapest ~$99 instruments or whatever). And I suspect that once the urgency of getting the new lineup onto store shelves has died down, the QC procedures will be less rushed.

For what it's worth, the worst fretwork I ever had was also on the most expensive guitar I ever had (a 2012 Gibson SG).

[Pinch]

On 2/25/2020 at 3:28 AM, Lord Summerisle said:

I really enjoy Trogly's channel, but remember he is clearly a man of very considerable financial means as he can buy new guitars with abandon, review them, and ship them out the door for resale without being too alarmed by the financial realities of it all. Note: I am aware he also has sponsorship here and there. But, in any case, he buys very expensive guitars, mid-range guitars, and also cheap guitars, and sometimes in his videos he's bought so many guitars he doesn't even recall buying a particular guitar when he opens the box!

The question should never be: is this cheap Epiphone as good as a Gibson? And yet that's the very question so many Youtube reviewers insist on asking - Trogly doesn't directly ask that, but perhaps because he has so many high-end guitars through his hands, you always get the sense his expectations are lofty. But the real question is (or should be) - for what you paid, are you happy? If you buy your purple Epi Les Paul for pennies on the dollar compared to a Gibson, it arrives, and it has a high fret, are you happy? If you take it to the luthier at the local music shop and he charges you another $100 for a fret job and a set-up and now the thing plays perfectly, are you happy?

So yeah, I drop the money on a Fender Custom Shop, it had better show up at my door in perfect condition. I buy a purple Epi Les Paul with a finish that looks like the sanding job on the underside of a knock-down Lowes economy range kitchen cabinet......it's all relative at that point, I guess: am I happy with what I bought, for what I paid, and with what I might need to pay on top to make me fully content with my purchase?

Very well put. 

[Pinch]

FWIW, my Epi Plustop from 20...15? has perfectly level frets. (The fret wire issue I went on about coupla years ago, well, they do look a little worn and pyramid-like, but haven't really gotten worse since, and it's certainly not a problem.)