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splitting frets!
- Thread starter mothytim2001
- Start date
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
the frets are getting grooves from the round wound strings. they are not splitting, the winding on the string is wearing a groove in the fret.
Normal fret wear, caused by the strings.
Recrowning once every few years, refretting when there's none left.
Recrowning once every few years, refretting when there's none left.
By all the marks in the wood, you must be an agressive player, which explains the speedy fretwear.
I've had this bass, from new , for three months. I use it to rehearse for 3 hours once a week. I cant be that heavy handed, I'm not the Hulk!
I,ve also ,never, had this problem with any other basses I've had.
I think the fret wire must be very soft and therefore substandard?
I,ve also ,never, had this problem with any other basses I've had.
I think the fret wire must be very soft and therefore substandard?
Normal fret wear that did, indeed, happen too quickly. But good luck with trying to get it covered under warranty.
You're hard enough to damage the board, but still, you could be right, though I haven't seen any others who own this bass with the same problem.... a pickle indeed.
Doesn't this suggest that the fret wire is very soft and therefore substandard?
Not really, it happens with perfectly standard frets over time but extended and/or aggressive playing will accelerate the wear. It could also mean that your strings are too hard or abrasive and the fingerboard damage indicates your'e a bit hard on them.
There are harder fret materials than "German Silver" or "18% nickel silver" such as bronze and stainless steel, but those harder materials aren't usually considered standard.
Hi.
Are we looking at the same pics?
To me a hairline crack that seems to extend all the way to the end of the fret is quite hard to be described as a string wear.
Or a cavity that looks remarkably like a casting defect (which it obviously can't be).
Of course there is quite a bit normal fret wear on those frets as well, but some grooves seem to be deeper/sharper than the rest in the same spot.
I've never seen such damage on frets, IMLE (25 years), a defective fret material for sure, judging by the pics alone of course.
I'd contact the shop where You bought the bass and work from there.
Good luck, I have a feeling that You're going to need it.
Regards
Sam
Are we looking at the same pics?
To me a hairline crack that seems to extend all the way to the end of the fret is quite hard to be described as a string wear.
Or a cavity that looks remarkably like a casting defect (which it obviously can't be).
Of course there is quite a bit normal fret wear on those frets as well, but some grooves seem to be deeper/sharper than the rest in the same spot.
I've never seen such damage on frets, IMLE (25 years), a defective fret material for sure, judging by the pics alone of course.
I'd contact the shop where You bought the bass and work from there.
Good luck, I have a feeling that You're going to need it.
Regards
Sam
Based on the pictures it looks like ordinary fretwear from roundwound strings. Better pictures would be nice.
I've been doing fretwork for over 35 years and I've polished out that kind of fretwear more times than I can remember. All it usually takes is a dressing including crowning and polishing unless the wear is too deep or uneven then the frets may need a levelling first. In extreme cases a partial or full refret is called for depending on the number of frets involved.
Hi.
I don't doubt anyones expertise on this, the pics just tell me a different story
.
And while the age old Kodak slogan still holds true, it doesn't mean that the opposite ain't a possibility.
OP, I have an Epi LTD Explorer which has probably seen at least as much hours as Yours on these 6 months I've owned it and a slight polishing marks on the frets is all that's visible and I do use bends and vibrato quite a bit.
I do consider myself an agressive player, but I haven't gouged the FB any.
Regards
Sam
I don't doubt anyones expertise on this, the pics just tell me a different story
.And while the age old Kodak slogan still holds true, it doesn't mean that the opposite ain't a possibility.
OP, I have an Epi LTD Explorer which has probably seen at least as much hours as Yours on these 6 months I've owned it and a slight polishing marks on the frets is all that's visible and I do use bends and vibrato quite a bit.
I do consider myself an agressive player, but I haven't gouged the FB any.
Regards
Sam
Not normal. If it were simply wear, there would not be dark areas of corrosion or gunk or whatever, in the deepest parts of the 'cracks,' whatever they are, because the string windings would constantly polish out and clean those areas. Very weird indeed.
The weirdest one is in #22 where the black groove extends all the way over the fret end. I don't see how wear from the windings alone could explain that. I think it's a bad batch of frets -- something weird happened during extrusion and a void was formed within them.
Without having the instrument in hand it's difficult to be 100% sure of anything. The pictures provided aren't really adequate and I'd like to stick my dental pick in the damaged area to see how deep it goes.
Take it to a reputable tech and see what they say.
Take it to a reputable tech and see what they say.
I've never had this problem with a bass, ever, If you saw me you'd be surprised, I'm really quite thin and I imagine average strength.
I think the frets are outrageously substandard and have gone wrong in the making, which was in China!
I think the frets are outrageously substandard and have gone wrong in the making, which was in China!
