Whitmore Willy Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 As I am about to try my hand for the first time at fret leveling, I have a question. Does anyone know about or heard of "fret roll off" above the 12th fret? I have researched fret leveling both here and other resources. I have seen fret roll off mentioned a couple of times but, no specifics. Any suggestions or information would be appreciated. Edit: I have changed the name of the post from fret roll off to fret tapering as I believe RobinTheHood has given me the correct "term". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarxBros Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 As I am about to try my hand for the first time at fret leveling' date=' I have a question. Does anyone know about or heard of "fret roll off" above the 12th fret? I have researched fret leveling both here and other resources. I have seen fret roll off mentioned a couple of times but, no specifics. Any suggestions or information would be appreciated.[/quote'] Suggestion? I hope you try this on a guitar you don't care about. Get some POS and try and improve it's frets first before even attempting to work on a guitar of any real value. There's little room for error, other than more material removal, then more material removal.....soon you'll have a fretless wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Willy, are you talking about fret-tapering from the 12th to the 21st (22nd, 24th)? I dont have any working knowledge of this technique, but I know that some people graduate the upper reg frets to get lower action and eliminate fret buzzing. Each fret wold be slightly lower than the previous from the 12th up. I dont know the specifics or technicalities of it, but I do know that I wouldnt attempt it for the first time on a guitar with a lot of personal value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I wouldn't do it at all. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Thanks guys. RobinTheHood....Yes, I have heard it referred to as fret-tapering. I probably should have added that in my first post. Marx and Twang.... I agree 100%....but... I am doing this strictly for the sake of learning. I have purchased an inexpensive guitar strictly to practice on. I wouldn't think of doing it on my L.P. Standard. At least, not untill I have had much more practice. I plan on taking my time. ( I promise) If, in a worst case senario, I screw it up I will be giving myself a crash course in refretting. (LOL) but I hope not. I"m hoping to save that for another time. Thanks for the concern. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emetry Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I'm not too familiar with the process, but from what I've read, keep a steady hand and have a good "sticky" surface to work on. I'd recommend those no-slip cabinet liners. Best of luck dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Thanks Emetry, I have set up a secure work area. It includes a secure work surface and a neck caul. I have been reading up on this for the last couple of months and am looking forward to the project. As I have gone along I have purchased (or made) the tools I believe I will need. I have worked with my hands all my life. (mostly in metal, wood and stone). The doctors have told me I can no longer do heavy lifting. (doctors suck) Soooooo, this seemed kind of interesting. I don't expect to make a living at working on guitars but it might be a constuctive way to pass some time. (aside from playing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Whitmore Willy, this is one pictorial that outlines the procedure. As long as you have an understanding of the process, the skills and a tool to set the neck flat using the truss rod, and a feel for the mechanics of the procedure, it's not exactly rocket science. I like the magic marker method. I think it allows you to remove the minimum material to achieve the result. If you feel that you have to buy all the tools necessary to do a one time fret level, you will spend the price of a Plek job. If you have several guitars to do, it might be worth it to buy the tools. I did mine for almost nothing and got great action as a result. You can make the tools you need if you are handy with a grinder and other shop tools. http://www.guitar-mod.com/rg_fretlevel.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Dave, Bingo! Thanks Dave. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I am a "one thing at a time" kind of guy so I don't think I will be trying the tapering "fallaway" first time out of the box. (if ever, at all) I do believe, however, in gathering all the information I can before going into any project. This is only additional information I wanted to get a clearer understanding of for future referrence. When I reviewed "Goldie gets a fret dressing" (and many other articles), I have noticed that most fret leveling jobs do not include the fret tapering. TWANG also warned me not to do it. I just wanted a better understanding of what was involved and how it is done. Thanks again one and all. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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