|
|
Post by hotblooze on Jul 30, 2021 5:32:52 GMT -5
Some customers request for string height measuring .050"/1mm or less at the 12th fret which is sometimes a feat without the strings becoming muffled especially at the neck and body joint around the 16th or 17th fret. What I do is to cheat by reducing fretwire height from the 16th fret onwards to the 22nd fret after setting the neck really straight with very little relief. Maybe not so ethical but anyone does the same ?
|
|
|
|
Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jul 30, 2021 10:02:57 GMT -5
In our shop the 1/32" mark is the "super low shredder" mark, and usually is only possible with a fret level. .050" would be doable on a lot of guitars, but not many. You need the neck to be really straight for this, it just isn't possible if you like a bit of relief.
I semi-regularly do quick partial dressings to get a guitar where it needs to be. I don't think that is unethical if it is done right. The person is trusting my judgement. Effectively you're either creating a bit of fall-away or you're flattening the radius for better bends, and that seems like it would be a plausible solution much of the time, especially with skinny necks that will get the "dog tongue" thing going on for it. Besides, upper frets rarely wear out first, so you aren't reducing the playing life of those frets by doing that.
All that said, I try to discourage customers from giving measurements, because they rarely translate from bench to bench. If they are measuring themselves the measurements are frequently wrong, and sometimes way too low (cheap rulers are most inaccurate at the ends because of how the edges are ground), and I don't always trust other techs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Leftee on Jul 31, 2021 9:03:52 GMT -5
Funky says it well.
To me it’s been:
* Leveled frets
* Straight neck
* Perfectly slotted nut
And I, being the hack that I am, rarely measure. I just don’t go there. Funky makes great points about customers who bring measurements to you.
At least twice, now, I’ve sold builds and the new owners have come back to me saying, “this is the best-playing guitar I own.” That’s a great place to be.
And I think that, if someone came to me with measurements, I would politely pass.
|
|
MoJoe
Wholenote
Posts: 855
Formerly Known As: quiksilver
|
Post by MoJoe on Aug 1, 2021 3:17:42 GMT -5
Amen to that. Some of my guitars play like set really flat but are measuring way above. Professional luthiers around here are all levelling the way funkykikuchiyo does since forever, fall-away, flattening the fretboard and all. Way to go.
|
|
