Does the fretboard need work?

[demeyes]

On my Sl3 the fretboard is rosewood.I am not so sure the board is in good shape.It has been shipped a few months ago from the US to Ireland and I think it may have gone a bit dry.It has some small visable lines on it.You cant feel them and when I say small I mean miniscule.It has been oiled once since I got it but do you think it needs some more work.I've no pics but maybe you have some idea of what I'm talking about.
Also it seems to fret off notes on the high and low E off the edge of the board very easily.Much more than other axes, I've heard this is not uncommon with Sl3s.I've read you can fix it with some work on the frets.Is it true?

[thetroy]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

I have an SL3, and every single SL3 I've played has the problem of the E strings slipping off too easily. Jackson installs the wrong locking nut on these guitars, and also bevels the frets at too much of an angle. What I did with mine is just buy this:

http://guitarpartsdepot.com/Merchant...gory_Code=LKNT

It takes about 2 minutes to install and will bring the strings a little bit closer together, allowing you to actually play on the high E without it slipping off the frets all the time.

[demeyes]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

Thanks.Does it affect the playing of the guitar much? Yunno with the closer string spacing.
Is there anything else you'd recommend modding with an Sl3?I think I will get the guitar looked at by a tech in a few months so he can do the work for me.

[delt]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

What you can do on an original floyd (or schaller type) is push the saddles towards the low E side. This gives more fret space to the high E. Not sure if you can do that with the jt580 though.... in my experience the high E string needs more fret space because your hand is under the neck, not over it.. so your fingers tend to pull the strings downwards rather than up. I have an old ps-II that has the low E string just at the end of the frets, and i never have problems with it sliding off the fretboard.

[quiksilver]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

The SL4 has the same problem. Thanks for the link, Troy! I'm ordering one of those smaller locknuts tomorrow!

[kmanick]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

I know of 2 sl3's that had the same problem and we changed the lock nut to a smaller one and it pretty much fixed the problem

[quiksilver]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

Yeah, I had 2 SL4s myself that both had that problem. I've always been meaning to change the locknut, but been too lazy to get around to it. Now that Troy has been kind enough to post the above link, I finally ordered a new locknut that should fit better - and ordered a couple of new trem posts while I was at it (one of mine is slightly scored). To tell the truth, I thought the locknut was the same as for an OFR. I assumed mine was an R3, and I was going to order an R2. But the Guitar Parts Depot site linked above specifically points out that their 42 mm "licensed" lock nut is not a replacement for an OFR locknut. I wonder if that means it's a different size, or they're just warning people that they shouldn't expect the same quality?

[thetroy]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

I think the OFR nuts are in standard sizes (1 5/8" and 1 11/16"), not metric (42 or 43mm). From what I measured the string spacing on the 42mm licensed nut I linked was about the same as that of the stock SL1 locking nut. The stock nut on an SL3/SL4 spaces the strings out about 1mm further than the one they use on the USA's. That coupled with the fact that the fret edges are beveled at more of an angle than the USA's (and other import models I've seen) makes the high E much more likely to slip.

I've played my SL3 every day for 2+ hours since I got it new in July. I changed to the nut that I linked and the thing plays much better, there's not really anything else I would want to change on it. Though I'm considering removing the tone pot in favor of an EMG Afterburner since I never touch the tone control.

[quiksilver]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

I appreciate your looking into those specs, Troy. That's one of the last mods I still needed to perform on my SL4. Now that I know what to replace it with and have ordered it, I can't wait to get it! I agree on the uselessness of the tone knob. But then, I also found the neck pickup (and, thus, the pickup selection switch) useless, too! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Thus, I modded my SL4 quite extensively (1H direct-mounted, 1 vol, ebonized fretboard, fake binding, ghost flames paint), and I now like her better than ever! HERE'S A PIC in case you're interested.

[thetroy]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

Ah yes I saw that thread before. I don't use the middle or neck pickups on mine all that often either, but it's a trans red so kind of hard to fill them in and make it match. I actually think the unbound rosewood goes perfectly with the dark shade of trans red mine has.

The main reason I don't own a USA yet is because I have no complaints about my SL3. If you find an SL3 or SL4 for a decent price, just add that $10 locking nut and it's a great guitar.

[quiksilver]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

I agree. I have a beautiful USA Jackson (SL2H) which gets very little play compared to my SL4.

[demeyes]

Re: Does the fretboard need work?

Thanks for the tips.That SL4 looks killer man.What did you use for the fake binding?
The Sl3 is a nice axe but it stills feels very cramped playing very high up the neck but its not much of an issue.
I paid 475 dollars for the guitar and case by the way.The shipping did set me back another 100 though.Its black so I think the binding would look great.