The strings need to bend down and over the fret to produce a clear note. A small amount of fallaway in the top few frets helps with playing and bending in the upper register and allows you to get very low action. Make leveling frets a snap with the gpc level frets. After checking the normal things like truss rod and fret level it was discovered that the frets were in need of leveling except after a fret level the buzz was still there. The best way to fix this without a partial refret, anyway is to have the frets leveled, and perhaps add a bit of fallaway to the frets in the upper register usually around the 15th fret on. Fret leveling, crowning, and polishing is crucial for a guitar to sound and feel right. This machine is a tool, i cannot stress that enough. I guess i could try spot leveling just the problem fret first. Kit contains two level detection dowels, one for frets 112, and one for above the 12th fret, and a handcrafted hardwood sanding block for fret leveling. I also put some fret fall away on using the tape over the 12th. The goal of fret leveling is to get the fret tops perfectly level with one another. However after trying to remove the sandpaper, i regretted buying it. This can be done with abrasives or files, but as mentioned, there must be enough fret material left to allow you to remove some and still have enough left after. I wish there were valid short cuts, but there just arent.
The idea is to take down all of the high spots until they are even with the lowest spots. Leveling in the desired relieffallaway only makes sense if there is enough fret material to spare for your fret preferences. Fret leveling is the process of filing the higher frets to even it thereby eliminating guitar fret buzz. Some folks use the side of a carpenters level faced with self stick abrasive paper. The heavy weight of the steel beam allows for no down pressure when leveling which keeps the frets cool and seated. I did a little bit of fret levelling on a project guitar and gave it a little fall away, using a 8 sharpening stone and careful judgement. Rothstein guitars serious tone for the serious player.
It requires some tools as well as some materials to perform such task. In fact, theres no way to know what the correct bridge or nut height will be until youre done removing metal. I attempted my first fret levelingcrowningpolishing today. After the frets have been basically leveled, you need to remove just a little more in the upper register to create some fall away to allow for the strings vibrational arc and keep buzz and choke to a. Once the frets are all seated, its time to begin leveling them.
With so many uses in the shop, if you only get one levelerthis is it. Fall away means different things to different people whatcha getting at. One way i add fallaway is by shimming the 14th fret with several layers of tape so that a leveling beam will rest on this raised area adding a taper to the. To me, fret leveling and crowning is the most important and labor intensive part of any setup. Where you see the masking tape on the shorter beams is to let the tape ride on say the 12th fret while milling in fallaway on the extension. Fret leveling fret crowning nut slotting bridge slotting acoustic guitars bridge pin locating acoustic guitars fingerboard levelling fingerboard slotting fingerboard inlay. Like any tool, it can be poorly, well, and exceptionally well used. Even if you remove your strings for fret refinishing after leveling them with rectify master, when you put them back on and tune your guitar, the fretboard returns to that shape. Besides simply having a great name, the product is an easytouse kit that eliminates fret buzz caused by a high fret. Or maybe the fall away on an acoustic guitar where you keep the end of fretboard angled back to introduce height at the bridge, and subsequently need to introduce an arch in the upper.
Find great deals on ebay for fret leveling file and fret crowning file. Unfollow fret leveling to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. I use one of those old fret leveling planes made by ken donnell. This all in one fret file is helpful for recrowning any fret. Typically at the 12th is were we get a read when chasing say the martin setup spec but with fallaway the action increases to the last. Everything is included tools, sandpaper, steel wool and instructions. Utilise both narrow edges of the tool and use the luthiers masking tape trick to keep two different grades of sandpaper at your disposal at all times. The fret leveling files have singlecut teeth with a steeper angle to eliminate chatter.
Epiphone les paul classic, buzzing above the 12th fret. To compensate for the strings wide rotational pattern, fall away is milled into the end of the fretboard, or, accounted for when the instruments frets are leveled. To compensate for the strings wide rotational pattern, fall away is milled into the end of the fretboard, or, accounted for when the instruments frets. If you use a shorter implement for leveling the frets you will need to pay very close attention to keep everything even. Here you can see the dust from how much, and where, the most fret metal is being removed. It is a piece of mdf faced with a piece of float glass, it is about 14 long. If the guitar didnt buzz or fret out when you had lighter strings on it, then you should be able get your guitar back to that state without leveling the frets. Most acoustic guitars have whats called a fall away or drop off at the end of the fretboard. To learn more about johns repair and restoration workshops for players. The fingerboard leveler is a doublecut file for ebony, rosewood and pearl inlays. The frets are then recrowned and polished to an incredible shine. I was referring to my own workflow, the emphasis being on getting the neck straight before.
The idea is that you file the fret back into shape but leave the top of. Both types of set ups are the same, excepting, of course, the fret leveling process which includes leveling, recrowning and polishing the frets. I bought a neck from warmoth, beautiful woodwork but the fret work is terrible. I know it needs to be very little but will be helpful to read some experiences. I took the guitar to my tech for a complete overhaul, some routing wor. In this video ill get the neck ready for a fret level and then create some fall away on the last frets. The highly acclaimed patented invention has revolutionized the art of fret leveling, crowning and polishing and has made the job of restoring a fingerboard for any fretted stringed instrument to like new condition easy, quick and safe. Also got a fret rocker, all id need is a leveling beam and notched straight edge. I recently took in this beautiful les paul studio that had a not so beautiful fret buzz on various places on the neck. Ive looked at a few fret leveling kits, some cheaper than others, and im.
The tape creates a very slight angle downward helping to create that fallaway while at the same time leaving the 12th, or what ever fret we want to leave in the rest of the fret plane untouched. They cut faster and smoother than most fret leveling files weve used, they work quickly, and theyre great for dressing and beveling fret ends. Product description use this kit to find and level the high fret that is making your guitar buzz. In practice, the conic surface described by the frets can have a greater taper than that of the board width, creating some fallaway at the higher frets. I have read that some luthiers do a more pronunced fall away for some strings. The disparity from the 14th fret to the last only needs to be a few thousands of an inch to make an appreciable difference and a slightly raised action from 14th to last fret is not felt. The kit will level, crown and polish frets for an optimal set up. Would like to fret level a neck for the first time. Fret levelling beams are now a mainstay in our luthier workshops and prove to be an incredibly versatile tool. Fret leveling on a compound radius neck ultimate guitar. Its also perfect for creating fallaway on acoustic. Then i take the tape off and use a straight edge to check it, it should have just a little rock in the straight edge at the 14th. How much fretfingerboard fall away do you use in your refretsleveling. I wont claim to be the first to come up with this method, but as far as i know im the only one doing it.
In this video ill get the neck ready for a fret level and then create some fall away on the last frets, to give them a little extra room, and possibly a. Tradition guitars g10 strat guitar setup part 2 fret. The buzzoff fret leveling kit can fix fret buzz due to high frets and optimize your guitars set up. Fret leveling involves abrading the tops of the frets until they are all level with each other. I knew fret leveling was the next step in the linear progression to the. Buy iluiz guitar fret leveling sanding beam bass guitar leveler leveling file. Littlebone fret file littlebone fret file is our original concept and exclusive product.
Fret leveling how to create fallaway the gear page. Thoughts on this fool proof fret crowning system page. The fall away keeps the frets out of the way of the strings rotational pattern. Heres part 2 in the tradition guitars g10 strat guitar setup video series. Fret height is of course a big factor when considering fret leveling and there is a limit to how short a fret can be and still do its job, well. Frets being leveled at successively lower heights from nut to bridge to reduce buzzing. After you are finished, the frets all have the same height and need to be put back in shape. The 45th episode of the guitar builders basics video podcast from a daily vlog where master luthier ben crowe. John levan has written five guitar repair books published by mel bay. There should be a estrings worth of clearance at most. If you can use a level and sandpaper and have some patience, you can do it all yourself. The marker makes it very accurate, fairly easy and provides excellent results. And if you put fallaway into the frets above the neckbody joint, you dont need to see all the frets at once.
Tbh, bridge and nut height are irrelevant to fret leveling. It is good for renewing worn frets or reshaping them after that they have been leveled. This is the simplified version of a more complex project based on. Fallaway is simply making those frets ever so slightly lower than the rest, so that they dont buzz even if. It is easy to use and everything you need is included. Good ol elbow grease is what it takes on each step. After i finish the basic fret level i put about 4 layers of masking tape over the 14th fret.
On electric guitars, i additionally add some fallaway over the central area of the board in the higher fret range where players tend to do a lot of. For players and makers looking for a fret leveling system that will level your frets without removing the strings and give you a quick, affordable and. John also authored pgs guitar shop 101 column, hosted several pg diy videos, and is an authorized warranty technician trainer for taylor guitars. It looks scary sometimes to see how some frets are sanded away, they really become square but its normal. Just not sure whether its better to level the whole board or just the higher frets. Not only do all frets work now, but i can do whole step bends all up the high e and b strings with no fretting out. And to complete the picture, the radiused bars and blocks are best saved for putting a radius on a blank board, imo. The kit is being used by instrument importers for setting up guitars before shipping to. Set uplevel frets archive finger lakes guitar repair.