Fret Problems

[Jem]

I've been looking closely at my SL3 and have noticed that the 16th and, to a smaller extent, the 17th fret are both not sitting fully down on the fretboard on the B/E strings... here's what I mean - difficult to see but the 16th fret is certainly not all the way down:



I guess what I want to know is what do I do about it? To me it looks like a manufacturing fault or is it to be expected on a new instrument? How do I deal with it - I'm thinking it either needs filed down or somehow needs seated better on the board (heh pass me that hammer! )?

This is still the guitar that's due to be returned (shipping damage) whenever (if ever!) a replacement arrives in the UK. I'm being told it's going to be mid-April before one arrives so I don't want to do anything too costly or drastic, but equally it worries me that the new one may arrive and have the same kind of defects.

Any thoughts?

[dg]

Is the problem just cosmetic, or are you having playability issues? If it's playable, I'd just wait for the new guitar. Raised frets can be re-seated by clamping & gluing them down, but it can be tricky. This thread goes into it:

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=98520

IMO, if you don't have a major problem with fret buzz, I'd leave it alone rather than risk causing a problem that could screw up your exchange for the new one.

[Jem]

Thanks for that link, interesting reading. I agree if the procedure is in any way risky I'm not going to touch it! Despite the fact that the instrument will probably be sold off as damaged stock for next to nothing when it gets back to the supplier.

It's playable, but certainly when I was setting up the guitar I was having great difficulty getting the action down as low as I expected it to be. Once I get past the 17th fret everything is great, but I can't get closer than 1/16" on the 12th fret without the 16th fret in particular buzzing away.

Maybe I'm expecting too much - what action do people manage to get on their soloists (measured at 12 fret)? I'm comparing it with the Model 6 Charvel I used to own 15 years ago and memory can be distorted over that many years!

[Budman68]

Just curious about something here, if you take a straight edge across (perpendicular to the fret direction) the fret that you say is high, does it actually sit above the other frets (will it rock back and forth?)? Reason why I'm asking is because I've seen this before and it's because the fret was not seated down properly to start with and the frets were leveled afterwards therefore taking away the chance to "seat" the fret later because it would sit below the rest of the frets. Possibility?

[Jem]

Yeah, I checked that as well - the fret is definitely higher and there is a little bit of a rocking action - if I lay across 15/16/17 the straight edge definitely pivots around the 16th fret. If I slide the edge up from the 15th it sticks on the 16th if I'm anywhere between the G and E strings, on the D to low E side of the fingerboard everything is fine.

Can anyone give me any idea of the action I should be able to get here?

[Jack The Riffer]

My New Copperhead SL2H had a high fret on the 11th fret. I took it to my local guy, should have it back next week and he said he was sure it was covered under warranty as the guitar was only in my hands for 1 week and I'm the original owner.

[Jem]

Argh! I hope this isn't going to be a habit of Jackson... if my replacement finally turns up in April (hey, what am I complaining about, I've only been waiting for the real guitar since ordering it back in January!!!) and it has ANY problems I swear I'll lose it big time

Maybe I'll buy some cheapo crap that I'd expect to have these issues... surely when they are set up before leaving the factory this sort of defect should be spotted immediately

[dg]

As far as how low you should be able to set the action (at least when you get your new one), I think you should be able expect to get a little lower than 1/16" (about 1.6mm) for sure. My unscientific measurement is to set mine up so a Jazz III pick (1.3mm) just catches in the strings at the 12th, so they're probably about 1.2mm or so. All of my C/J guitars, import & USA, go there or even lower with little or no buzz.

[charvelguy]

I think some places like Gibson used to spec out on some guitars as 1/8" on treble side.. 3/16 on the bass.
Now.. some factories are wisely getting the plek for some of their higher end lines. Heritage has it for all. They were one of the first in the USA. Gibson had to follow suit after that.

I've had 1200.00 'retail list' Epi's come to me with this problem and they were supposedly setup and 'inspected' in the USA. Granted, they were a fairly mid grade line guitar, but still.

I think it happens when the fret tang is cut quickly, the fret end gets bent slightly and doesn't seat under clamp.

[RobRR]

Ive got that problem on two necks... only its the fret ends lifting up. 2-3 frets on a DK2 neck, and almost HALF of the frets on my virtually NEW, UNPLAYED RR7R. I hope this doesent become common practice.

[Jem]

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[Jem]

Hmmm 1/8" seems a heck of a lot of distance for a well built guitar. I always liked the action on the ol' Model 6 and what dg says seems to agree with my faded memory, there's a fairly tangible difference between 1.6 and 1.3mm. Just for reference, I'm getting about 1/16" on the bass side as well. Hell my '60s Eko acoustic has 3/32" bass and treble!!!

Here's hoping the replacement doesn't have these issues - I'm buying from a shop in London so it's being shipped to me. I don't fancy the idea of trying to get any warranty work done. Not that I won't be able to, but I'll be without for some time plus no doubt will have to cover shipping costs (and risks!) so if it's bad I guess it'll just be going back for a refund. This is not inspiring my confidence here !

So Rob - can you return your RR7R and have it fixed up or is it a major job having so many frets repaired?

[Nazgul]

Wow! You guys really like ultra-low action (<1.3mm). My RR PRO catches Jazz III pick at 12th fret too, so I guess it must be around 1.2mm. My other Jackson Stars RR-J2SP doesn't catch the pick and it must be around 1.6mm or so and I think that it plays better. They both have very very little buzz on the lowest string, but it's not really noticeable and it doesn't buzz when amplified.