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PR350 At the Doc's


Thawk Dean

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Recently my PR350 developed a "twang" on the B-string. I was advised by other players that the problem was either a worn nut or saddle. I took it to the doc's to have both replaced. I stopped there today to "visit" my baby. Doc showed me where the first 3 fretts are quite grooved from the strings. Poor Baby!! He told me he didn't have the equipment or expertise to redo the fretts and that they are grooved too deeply to just "dress". I've heard where some shops that don't do a good job of making sure the fretts have the proper radius to match the board return a git that does not play up to par. I'm relatively new to this git thing, not quite 2 years. Right now I'm planning to have him complete the nut and saddle work and see how it plays. Any comments or suggestions on what to look for and procede with would be appreciated. BTW, I totally enjoy playing it. Thanks and Keep It Fun, Dean

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Grooved frets can be the cause of 'twanginess', if that twanginess is actually a buzz.

 

While the professional luthiers have special machines which impart the required arc to a two foot stick of essentially straight fret wire, making the required radius can be done with a steady hand and a couple good pairs of pliers.

 

Having re-fretted exactly on guitar neck in my life, I wonder how well a radiused piece of cut fret wire will keep it's arc after enduring the hammer tapping required to seat the fret wire in it's slot. Though, there are special fret set tools which push the short piece of fret wire home with a single blow.

 

Bottom line, a new nut and saddle is not likely to ablate the 'twanginess'. Find a competent luthier and get the work done. It can be a spendy operation. However, doing a half a fret replacement can be done, say frets 1-12 only, or only the frets which are badly grooved might save you a few bucks, if you can get someone to do a half job.

 

If all this seems foreign to you, spend an afternoon perusing Frets.com. Frank will explain the facts of guitar life to you.

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Thanks for the quick reply, TK. I just read the part in Frets.com on fret problems. I understand the issues. I know my PR350 is not a top end, expensive git (only paid $125usd used). But it is my first git and I love playing it. My wife doesn't understand my sentimentality toward it. She's encouraging me to just trade it off for a new git. I'm going to check out the cost of refurbishing, though. My problem is where I live, there are no convenient places available. The middle of the north woods of Wisconsin is not a "hot spot" for music shops/luthiers. Thanks again and Keep It Fun, Dean

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I just got my PR350 back from the Doc's today. He had a problem finding a pre-made/modifiable saddle so I told him to just go ahead with the nut and that I'd play it for a while before deciding what my next step would be. It plays and sounds very good. The twang is not noticeable at all. In context of strumming, you'd never notice it. SO, I'm HAPPY with it, again. But, I'm still going to take my wife up on her suggestion to find a new guitar. How can I refuse an offer like that!!!!! Keep It Fun, Dean

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The frets would have to really be grooved deep to prevent a good fret level and recrown. A mild fret level and recrown may not take away the grooves, but may make the frets play cleanly anyway, saving you from making a decision on a re-fret for a while. You may also get by with a partial re-fret, where they would only replace the first 3 or 4 frets, the ones most acoustic players wear out due to heavy chording. I think the local shops here charge about $15 per fret on a partial re-fret. Then after the new frets are in, they would level them to the other, original frets, crown the new frets, polish them up and you are back in business! And, as for whether or not a fret will hold it's radius after being hammered in......the answer is yes. You over-radius the fret so that when you tap it in the fretboard, it flattens out to the radius of the board, causing the barbs on the tang to go sideways in the fret slot.....this keeps the fret from springing back up since there will be fresh wood above the tangs ;)

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