Mispositioned frets? (PICTURES!!!)

[Cederick]

Right now he says he's finishing the guitar so there's tape over the frets and he will make a double check once it's done.

I guess that frets that doesn't even look too bad can be incorrect by small numbers: which makes those that you can SEE must be horribly out of intonation. That's what I think right now

 

[Cagey]

I find it difficult to believe such an egregious error would have escaped attention to the point where somebody would waste time finishing it. To me, that neck is scrap. Firewood. A rudimentary weapon. A leg for an art deco side table. Certainly nothing you'd use on a guitar.

 

[Updown]

To me, that neck is scrap.
Firewood.
A rudimentary weapon.
A leg for an art deco side table.
Certainly nothing you'd use on a guitar.

Or a bedside weapon .....

 

[Cagey]

Well, it would be good for that, if you were the type who could pound the snot out of someone. Lighter than a baseball bat, easier to hold, but harder and less likely to break. You could use a Strat neck to beat someone unconscious, then tie them up with your bedside lamp cord, then jam a soldering iron up their ass and wait for them to wake up so they could watch you plug it in and sit back to watch what happens.

 

[Updown]

I think I just wet my self    :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

Yeah. Guitar necks. They're not just for breakfast any more.

 

[stubhead]

And then again -

I find it difficult to believe such an egregious error would have escaped attention to the point where somebody would waste time finishing it. To me, that neck is scrap. Firewood. A rudimentary weapon. A leg for an art deco side table. Certainly nothing you'd use on a guitar.

"I find it difficult to believe such an egregious error would have escaped attention to the point where somebody would waste time finishing it." - I agree with this part, at least. Given that the guy is a professional luthier with a long list of satisfied clients, with his own shop since 1980, and given that it would be impossible to pound frets into slots blind, I think it's very likely that the distortions induced by electronic cameras, e-mailed photos and all are far more likely a real cause of this. And it's not even cheap cameras, low-rent (AKA "free") photo-storage sites, e-mail that has to be the cause, it's just some electronics don't get along with others. It would be interesting to see any "real" luthier deliver something that had genuinely mis-placed frets, he could be famous pretty quick. Of course it's possible he just handed a yardstick & saw to his unemployed brother-in-law, said "cut some slots and jam frets in there before you're too drunk" - we shall see.

EDIT: I just read some of the interviews he's done with people - he's a very good musician, able to pick up on some of the odder effects off of Jeff Beck records for example.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I really think if the neck is wrong you should give him a chance to make it right.

 

[Cagey]

The sarcasm is not lost on me, And while I appreciate it and acknowledge that I'm no professional photographer, I can usually see lighting errors, parallax views, angular error, piss-poor reproduction, etc. So, being a self-proclaimed badass in picture posting I'd be the first to call shenanigans. But, look at this picture again...

There's clearly a problem there. I don't care if the guy's been doing it since 1904, that neck's a problem child.

 

[Cagey]

I really think if the neck is wrong you should give him a chance to make it right.

Absolutely. The fact that he'd cut fret slots and pound frets into them means he's got bigger balls than most. But, at this point, I'd be a little bit afraid, considering he didn't notice or didn't care about the last go-round on that job.

 

[Cederick]

The problem is that he makes a neck-through construction and the fretboard is glued to the neck...  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Cederick]

Here's one of his earlier guitars... I don't want to out him, even if he seems to have screwed up my order, so I covered the logo.

It looks great, just like some of his other guitars (mostly Strat copies). I cannot see anything wrong with the frets here tho... Would be weird if he went by the same template for the 22 fret necks and then cut out the next two for my 24 fret guitar at random... :icon_scratch: :dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

Looks almost as good as a Warmoth. Hipshot bridge, DiMarzio pickup, well-appointed Tele body...

 

[croquet hoop]

The problem is that he makes a neck-through construction and the fretboard is glued to the neck...  :icon_biggrin:

A fingerboard can be unglued, no problem. It is tedious, quite a PITA actually, but it can be done.

Let us know how it turns out, but if he's an established luthier I doubt he'll tell you "it's okay, everything's fine" and hand you an unplayable instrument.

 

[Cederick]

He's not yet "established", he's pretty new. Which is why I will give him another chance.

 

[Cagey]

The problem is that he makes a neck-through construction and the fretboard is glued to the neck...  :icon_biggrin:

A fingerboard can be unglued, no problem. It is tedious, quite a PITA actually, but it can be done.

I'm not sure if that's completely true any more. Used to be, they glued guitars together with hide glue. Separating parts was a matter of carefully heating them up. Now, it's more likely they'd use something like Franklin's Titebond.

It's a much better wood glue, but it's pretty permanent. You wanna separate parts joined with that, you're dreaming. You'll break the wood before you'll break the joint.

 

[croquet hoop]

I have seen plenty of how-tos that involved steam/clothes iron and were successful, but yes, I believe the feasibility depends of the kind of glue used. Anyhow, the burden of the task will be the luthier's, if the fret problem is confirmed.

 

[stubhead]

So he's not Paul Guy, then - this "guy" seems pretty sharp, his interviews cover different ground.
http://www.guyguitars.com/eng/index.html

 

[Cederick]

Haha nope its not him  :doh:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah, if he can't get the freboard off then he has to supply a new neck (or a refund of course).