Some months ago I bought the four-string all-natural Tribute, and it certainly is one of the finest sounding, most versatile, and visually captivating bass I've ever owned; people remark on its appearance and and I couldn't be happier except for the fact that the fretwork is just horrible! The maple neck is great--I love the big, P-bass style of it--but the frets are sharp, somewhat uneven, and I actually cut my middle finger sliding up on a run last week. Now, I'm not a guy who expects boutique quality here; I play MIJ & MIM Fenders and an ATK700 whose neck and fretwork is to die for. I've been around a bit and I think I ought to know something of these things, and the frets on the Tribute are just too rough. Oh, I'll keep it anyway because it looks great, but I'll be reaching for that new ATK700 (also great looking) more often than not. Then again, maybe I'll just get another Ibanez (heresy to an old Fender guy like me!). Just my two cents.
Dude for maybe tops $100 a good luthier will dress those things and get rid of the sharp edges. A visit to a good tech can work wonders on an instrument. Jim
Jim (Spidey); I know you are the authority on all things G&L and I will check out my local luthiers, at least the sober one.
Well a fret dress applies to any instrument not just a G&L. There are times that you need to take stuff to a luthier and a good one will tweak it to just how you want it to be. Wood shrinks and you can get "fret sprout" but that is usually a one time thing to have a fret dress fix it right up. Jim
Absolutely correct. I had the same problem when I bought my Tribute, but the money I paid for it, even when I added the cost of fret dressing was still a steal.
Well, I had a chat with my local luthier (I work weekends in a local music store), and he showed me how to mask-tape the fretboard and gently apply the very fine-grained file-stone. I did it myself, and the difference was unbelievable; it took very little filing to immediately bring the frets around to an even smioothness; the hardest part was putting on and taking off the masking tape. For an all-thumbs kind of guy like myself, this is a semi-big deal. I now love my Tribute unconditionally!
Here are some related products that TB members are talking about. Clicking on a product will take you to TB’s partner, Primary, where you can find links to TB discussions about these products. Browser not compatible
