Got my new Warmoth neck BUT !
- Thread starter lidesnowi
- Start date
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
It's the old neck that looks unusual to me. Those frets are practically square on the ends. The guy who'd have to clean those up would have had a lot more work than usual. The frets on the new one are cut in such a way that it won't take a week to smooth the bevels out. There should be about a 35 degree angle on the ends, which is what it looks like you got on the new neck.
SustainerPlayer
Hero Member
- Messages
- 2,702
Yes - it is the old one that has issues.
Marko said:
Yeah the E`s are going to slip of for sure and that's my only concern !
The reason I ordered this wide neck was that I wanted a lot width for the E strings to not slip off.
I have two vintage Fenders and they are more like my old Warmoth's
I don't see the reason why it should be 35 degrees, to me that is overkill.
10 - 15 degrees beveling is enough and you get more fret to play on.
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
lidesnowi said:
Vintage Fenders are unusual guitars in that they were highly inconsistent; you can't really judge anything by what you see on them. Actually, that's true of most old instruments, not just guitars. But, what you're asking for is out of the ordinary. Your playing style may dictate that you have more room at the edges to do what you do, and there's nothing wrong with that. But, it puts you in a minority, so you have to ask for special treatment if you want to be catered to. It may be that because you're used to playing some unusual instruments that you're stuck now with the requirement that all your instruments be unusual. Again, nothing wrong with that, but you need to know it on the going-in side or you're going to be consistently disappointed.
I don't know how long you're been playing, but it might be worth it to get a setup done in the standard manner, and adapt to it. It'll make your future purchases easier, and it'll make moving from one instrument to another easier as well. It's always a pain to have to adjust to weird frets or necks or whatever, so you're better off following the crowd on that sort of thing. Common practices exist for a reason, which is usually that empirical testing has shown a given setup to be the most practical.
Reminds me of the guys who get used to those goofy Dvorak keyboards, or Microsoft Natural keyboards on computers. Very few people use them, so the people who do are at a terrible disadvantage when they move from one machine to another. Their typing speed and accuracy goes right in the toilet and they look like amateur newbies.
erogenousjones17
Hero Member
- Messages
- 1,709
I look like an amateur newbie in everything I do. I'm consistent that way. :laughing7:
Seriously though, I'm not sure I understand the problem. The fret ends in the pic looks like pretty much like the fret ends on all my guitars...did I miss something?
Seriously though, I'm not sure I understand the problem. The fret ends in the pic looks like pretty much like the fret ends on all my guitars...did I miss something?
I think the Es slipping off is more a function of the string spacing at the bridge than the fret bevel. The only guitar I have that I really ever slip the E off of has a wide fender vintage spacing (2 7/32 I think) and the fret bevel is less severe than my others (I had them done at a different shop). I prefer the more extreme bevel and a bridge spacing of 2 1/8 or 2 1/16 like most newer guitars. A wider nut is generally only good for thick fingers or all-fingerstyle people - and it should not have too much to do with the high E slippage problem.
Maybe later tonight I'll post a pic of the perfect fret beveling / FB edge rounding that Rudy's (Rudy Pensa) guitar stop did for a couple of my necks, so you can see what we are all talking about.
Maybe later tonight I'll post a pic of the perfect fret beveling / FB edge rounding that Rudy's (Rudy Pensa) guitar stop did for a couple of my necks, so you can see what we are all talking about.
nathana said:
+1 to all of this. i would assemble it before i spent the money to have that work done. you might be very surprised. i doubt you'd be getting TOO close to the edge of the fretboard with the high E anyway, unless you pull down instead of push up when you vibrato or something. anyway try it out first, you might be surprised.
AutoBat said:From http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Necks/FretWork.aspx
"Fret edges are back-beveled to about 30°. By special request we can leave this edge square."
I never requested that they should make them like the top one in the second image!
I have two Warmoths like that and they are perfect in every way.
I always thought that, that was standard plus my brother has a couple of Warmoths too that have the same beveling as the top one in the second image!
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
Have you ever had the frets on those other guitars professionally finished? You might have found that they'd have knocked the bevel back and polished it smooth. Warmoth, by their own admission, does not finish or polish their frets. They more or less just install, level and dress them, which amounts to a lick and a promise. Many people leave them at that because newly installed and dressed frets are often pretty level and don't need a great deal of attention. But, you can't really completely finish a neck and fret job without installing it and putting it under tension, so they don't.
Seriously - spend the money with a good luthier and have those frets properly finished before you start yanking them out and replacing them. It'll cost you a lot less and I'll bet you'll be glad you did it.
Seriously - spend the money with a good luthier and have those frets properly finished before you start yanking them out and replacing them. It'll cost you a lot less and I'll bet you'll be glad you did it.
DangerousR6
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 15,478
I'd say as everyone else "If'n it ain't broke, don't fix it"...I have several Warmoth necks with their standard bevels and have no issues.... :icon_biggrin:
Here is a couple of images that show the difference between my old and newer Warmoth neck with the same type SS6100 frets.
The new one is more like 45 degrees beveled and the old is more like half of that ( 22.5 degrees)
Now 22.5 degrees isn't what I would call square ! Shouldn't square be 90 degrees ?
The new one is more like 45 degrees beveled and the old is more like half of that ( 22.5 degrees)
Now 22.5 degrees isn't what I would call square ! Shouldn't square be 90 degrees ?
You should return it if you are so unhappy, but the bevel is normal on your new one. I wouldn't be able to play your old one, it would go straight to the shop for a good fret bevel. I couldn't get a good pic of my most-rounded fret end, but that thing is super comfortable. Try getting a narrower bridge spacing and your slippage problem should go away unless you have a really unusual playing style.
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
I took a couple shots of some recent fretwork from Warmoth that I've received, and here what we see:
Look at the size of those buggers!
Mmmm... gold...
Aren't digital cameras great? I've had this thing for years and I'm still tickled every time I use it.
Anyway, the shots are deceptive so I got out a protractor and measured, and the bevel on these frets is about 30 degrees, give or take a couple, which is about what I'd expect since neither of these necks has been into the shop yet. I will say looking at the last picture you posted, it appears that those frets have been cut a little more acute than that. But, it's tough to say. I still think if you had them dressed up and polished, you'd be happy. That operation normally softens that angle and takes off the harsh edges so the bevel isn't quite so obvious.
Look at the size of those buggers!
Mmmm... gold...
Aren't digital cameras great? I've had this thing for years and I'm still tickled every time I use it.
Anyway, the shots are deceptive so I got out a protractor and measured, and the bevel on these frets is about 30 degrees, give or take a couple, which is about what I'd expect since neither of these necks has been into the shop yet. I will say looking at the last picture you posted, it appears that those frets have been cut a little more acute than that. But, it's tough to say. I still think if you had them dressed up and polished, you'd be happy. That operation normally softens that angle and takes off the harsh edges so the bevel isn't quite so obvious.
On the shots in your first post, it looks like the old frets are a good bit lower, and obviously if you have the new ones dressed the playing surface will lengthen. However, it does look like the "angle guy" got a little too enthusiastic. I always do my own frets, and I've never had a neck from Warmoth or USACG that didn't need at least a little work on the ends, though they are usually level enough to last a year or so before a full level/crown/polish. I would personally rather have them straight up and I'll decide what shape I want, my ideal is the classic "hotdog" ends and there's no way to reach that on a fret that's already over-beveled. Warmoth has a tricky call to make, because people will complain if they can't play immediately on a neck that isn't finish-dressed, but to dress a neck properly you have to do the fret ends individually and it would add $100 to each neck's price. So, they bevel... and bevel... :sad1:
