Rough Frets

[XtromatriX]

I have a MTD Z5 and what has happened is over the last year or so the neck wood has shrunk and now I can feel the frets protruding slightly out of the side of the neck on each side. The're not so bad that they're cutting my hand to bloodshead, but they do make the bass neck feel rough and less pleasant to play. I asked the repair man at the music store about it and he said he could take care of it, but I'm quite curious to know how he's going to fix this problems without somehow damaging the edge of the neck in some way... it's a maple neck with a maple fingerboard. Does anybody know how this problem can be corrected or if I can even do it myself? Any advice? Thanks in advance.

[artdrtr]

I had the same issue with an MIM J I bought used. I filed the ends down with a small hobby file, then finished it off with extra fine sandpaper. The file I used was slightly wider than the fret ends itself, so I had very little exposure to the surrounding wood. It turned out nice.

[envika]

It's not difficult to do on your own as long as you're careful not to file away too much neck finish...

[XtromatriX]

Thanks Guys! at rehearsal today I was so irritated at the way the neck felt I decided to take a shot at it myself and I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the results. Because I was so afraid of making a mess of the finish on the side of the neck, I took small pieces of masking tape and placed them around the fret edge on the side of the neck, then I took a small hobby file and started to carefuly file down one of the fret edges and when I took off the tape the fret was pretty flush but the finish wasn't disturbed, so I continued doing the rest... It's very tedious and I've done one side of the neck, it feels great, so now I'm taking a little break before I start on the other side. Thanks agan!