Ej200 CE needs fretwork

[amoxom]

So my Ej200 CE bought in June 2012 has some major issues fret wise. Took it into my guitar guy and there are like 4 or 5 frets that are too high that need the tops crowned and polished. Is this normal on newish Epi's? I know that all guitars need maintenance, but am surprised this thing is so far out of spec fret wise so soon. I've only had it just over. 4 months.

[GuitarLight]

No it is not normal...however before you have work done, you should always remember to humidify it if you have not been doing so, to see if it fixes the situation. If it has not been properly humidified, all knd of nasty things happen to a guitar...like top belly and warpage which can affect action and fret buzzing.....and neck warpage which affect action and fret buzzing. The frets should not be filed unless there is no other way because once filed, it can not be returned. If your guitar has been stored in 35% humidity or less with house heating, or a dry air region, you risk MAJOR guitar repairs. Also beware of your luthier if you do not trust him. Many a people have had neck resets, frets filed and more by dishonest people. A luthier could, for example, tell you that you need the frets filed, when he really knows that all it needs is humidification to restore the neck and belly to mormal specs, thus making frets filed unneeded. A wise man once said... "Know Thyself." ... A wise guitarist once said ... "Know Thy Guitar!"

[amoxom]

I live in Minnesota, and the guitar has been kept in the basement since i bought it, and most of that has been in AC during the summer, and humidity is controlled pretty well down there and for the drier low humidity months of winter, a humidifier kicks in as part of my forced air/heat climate control. The guitar is not warped, but there are high spots with at least 5 frets where a straight edge rocks over the high ones. He looked the guitar over, and said that overall, its in good shape, but could be just the fact that it mght have been set up well at the factory, but settled and moved during and after shipment on the boat over from indonesia as it adjusted to the climate on the US.

[RIX]

Which frets are high. that may tell us more on what might be the issue. Additionally maybe you just need a truss rod adjustment, but like I said know which frets are high might reveal that. Have you changed string gauges recently?

[sparky349]

I had a small problem with the 13 fret(F) on the high E string after I had the saddle lowered & the the weather & humidity changed,(CHICAGO) I solved the problem myself by adjusting the truss rod while playing the problem note until it rang true & have not had that problem since

[RaysEpiphone]

Yeah, proper care in storage is key to having an instrument last (unless it's a very cheep one) I myself store my gear in constant balanced air environment so I don't need to use a case humidifier, if I was playing out regularly or didn't have a house with a nice air system it would be a different story. Of coarse your neck could be twisted or warped, solid wood has memory and if a piece of wood was growing on the tree in a particular way (not strait) it will naturally have a tendency to want to always keep that shape. If it's just 1 fret I'd say chances are that it's a defect, an improper sized fret or just not installed correctly.