Fret Leveling Question

[Superconductor]

I bought an almost brand new Geddy Jazz from a guy in Florida, and it was shipped with the neck and body detached. When it arrived to me in Canada, I brought it to my local setup guy, who was backed up about 3 weeks.

Well, the 3 weeks are up, and he says there is a problem. He says the frets from about 14-20 are too high, and he said they may have to be re-dressed or leveled. He also says, that the problem might fix itself, as the neck has not had tension on it for about 4 weeks.

Could this possibly fix itself? Is it a major issue? Could something like this have happened with no tension on the neck for 4 weeks, or would the previous seller have known before selling? Is it worth the extra $75 to get the frets leveled? He says this might not fully fix the problem either.

Thanks

[RockStarNick]

in all honesty, a I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a Fender in that price range just came from the factory with a less than perfect fret job.

Depending on how long he had it, and played it, he could have just worn down the frets from the 12th fret down, especially if he never played up high.

I know it's sad, but for me, unless I'm buying an instrument that is over $1000, I'll just assumed that I'll have to get the frets professionally done in order to have it up to my playing standards.

In my opinion, spend the $75, have it done REALLY nice, and i bet you'll be able to get the action nice and low.

[GeoffByrne]

.....on the other hand, you could spend $75 and then the neck could straighten & you can't put the metal back on the frets.

If your tech is 'right' he should be able to set up the neck straight (testing the straightness of the fretboard using a notched straight edge) and then check out the frets with a short 'rocker' to ascertain whether there *is* a bump or not.

[dbcandle]

Is the neck on the bass now, with the strings tuned to pitch?

Probably worth letting the neck settle-in before proceeding.

[Superconductor]

Originally Posted by dbcandle

Is the neck on the bass now, with the strings tuned to pitch?

Yes, I believe it was done this morning. I haven't seen the bass yet, as I've been crazy busy the last few days, so it's still with my setup guy.

[dbcandle]

A new neck should not have a "rising tongue" (high frets as you describe). Even an "almost new" neck should not have this problem. For a tech/luthier with the correct files and experience, this should be an easy repair, but again, I'd not expect a "rising tongue" on a newish neck.

If you really have a "rising tongue", it would be useful to check the year of construction from the serial number. Maybe it is several years old, but sat in a store or closet for a long time.

Assuming this is a good tech, if you're going to the trouble of having some frets filed, you might as well ask him to really check-out the neck, and smooth out any other less-than-perfect frets. Since he'll have to take off the neck anyway, the additional cost to check-out the whole neck should be minimal. Assuming the frets are not worn to start with (nothing left to file-down), you should find that this gives you a VERY playable instrument, better than most new instruments (Fenders, anyway...)!

[Superconductor]

Originally Posted by dbcandle

A new neck should not have a "rising tongue" (high frets as you describe). Even an "almost new" neck should not have this problem. For a tech/luthier with the correct files and experience, this should be an easy repair, but again, I'd not expect a "rising tongue" on a newish neck.

If you really have a "rising tongue", it would be useful to check the year of construction from the serial number. Maybe it is several years old, but sat in a store or closet for a long time.

Assuming this is a good tech, if you're going to the trouble of having some frets filed, you might as well ask him to really check-out the neck, and smooth out any other less-than-perfect frets. Since he'll have to take off the neck anyway, the additional cost to check-out the whole neck should be minimal. Assuming the frets are not worn to start with (nothing left to file-down), you should find that this gives you a VERY playable instrument, better than most new instruments (Fenders, anyway...)!

I have the Serial number handy, how do I check the year?

[202dy]

A couple of things can be noted. The problem is affecting roughly one third of the neck. Florida to Ottawa is a pretty drastic change in environment. It may have an affect on the neck. We do not know if the truss rod was neutral when the guitar was shipped. If it was not, it could have an adverse affect. It is also unknown how much the guitar was played prior to your purchase.

Someone suggested that it could be a rising tongue. This problem is caused by too much torque on the neck bolts. As such, a rising tongue usually affects the playability beyond F16-17.

Anything is possible. Unfortunately, there is not enough data in you post for anyone to diagnose if or what the problem is with the neck and frets.

[Superconductor]

Originally Posted by 202dy

A couple of things can be noted. The problem is affecting roughly one third of the neck. Florida to Ottawa is a pretty drastic change in environment. It may have an affect on the neck. We do not know if the truss rod was neutral when the guitar was shipped. If it was not, it could have an adverse affect. It is also unknown how much the guitar was played prior to your purchase.

Someone suggested that it could be a rising tongue. This problem is caused by too much torque on the neck bolts. As such, a rising tongue usually affects the playability beyond F16-17.

Anything is possible. Unfortunately, there is not enough data in you post for anyone to diagnose if or what the problem is with the neck and frets.

It was in transit from Florida > Canada for about a week or so, the neck separate from the body. I'm not sure about the truss rod being neutral. Then, I put the neck on the body without strings to bring it to my setup guy. (Note: I distinctly remember carefully putting the neckbolts in, making sure they weren't too tight, though I'm not an expert). My setup guy gets backed up for over three weeks, finally calls me today and explains the problem (frets from about 14-20 too high). The guy who I bought it from (TB'er) said he played it occasionally for about two weeks (after he bought it, floor model) before he shipped it to me, and that he didn't experience the fret problems. My tech also said that the leveling may not fully fix the problem.

I'm just really frusterated.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by Superconductor

It was in transit from Florida > Canada for about a week or so, the neck separate from the body. I'm not sure about the truss rod being neutral. Then, I put the neck on the body without strings to bring it to my setup guy. (Note: I distinctly remember carefully putting the neckbolts in, making sure they weren't too tight, though I'm not an expert). My setup guy gets backed up for over three weeks, finally calls me today and explains the problem (frets from about 14-20 too high). The guy who I bought it from (TB'er) said he played it occasionally for about two weeks (after he bought it, floor model) before he shipped it to me, and that he didn't experience the fret problems. My tech also said that the leveling may not fully fix the problem.

I'm just really frusterated.

Problems due to over torquing the neck bolts take a long time (think years) to happen.

Quite frankly, if there is something wrong with this guitar, there is more here than meets the eye. It is unlikely that (what appears to be) a large problem in the frets would occur in transit. While anything can happen, it sounds like either a condition that existed before purchase or the tech may not have the experience or tooling to understand and handle this procedure.

Again, there is not enough data for anyone to diagnose this instrument.

[dbcandle]

Originally Posted by Superconductor

I have the Serial number handy, how do I check the year?

Here's one place: http://www.fender.com/support/usa_instruments.php

Please take the advice of 202dy over any of my above comments; he actually does this for a living!

[SDB Guitars]

I'd recommend placing a straight-edge on the neck from the first fret to the last, and checking for gaps. It could be something as simple as truss rod adjustment or neck shimming. I have setup several Fender guitars and basses, and even the Squier stuff is generally made well enough that the necks can be properly adjusted to play well across all frets..

[jrfrond]

As a Fender-authorized guitar tech, I will tell you that Fender's approach will be to have the service center perform fret leveling on the neck to correct the problem. You will NOT receive a new neck, unless a Fender-authorized tech has deemed it unrepairable, which, as describe, does not seem to be the case.

To answer the OTHER question, about the problem correcting itself: it won't. This was not caused by tension on the neck or lack thereof. The truss rod has little to no effect in this area of the fretboard.

[john c]

I have a fender jazz - would like to level my frets. What stone or fret leveling device should I purchase ?

[theshadow2001]

What I find unusual. Is that the frets are too high, yet your set up guy says that doing a fret leveling on them might not solve the problem. I mean do frets grow back or something?