What Does This Mean Glad You Landed on Fret Again

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Bob Asks:

"My electrical guitar'south fretboard is very dry, so the fret-ends take started protruding and feel sharp. What should I do? Should I buy a fret file and file them down? Will oiling the fretboard with F-One oil ready the issue?"

Hi Bob!

Commencement, when it comes to sharp frets, I never recommend immediately reaching for a file. That can come later, if a more than conservative approach doesn't piece of work get-go.

Next, while your guitar'south fretboard tin can benefit from the Music Nomad F-One oil if information technology's looking a bit dry, oil will non fix the issue you're having with precipitous fret ends. You don't need oil, you demand moisture. And by moisture, I mean water.

Permit'south dive in…

What Causes Protruding or Precipitous Frets?

Abrupt frets (or "razor fret" as we like to phone call it) tin happen for one or more than of the following reasons:

1. Low humidity (lack of moisture)

This is the most likely and about common reason for sharp frets–especially if they were fine before and and then suddenly appeared. The guitar has been exposed to excessively low humidity (below 45%) for likewise long and the fretboard wood has literally shrunk, causing the edges of the fretboard to pull back, leaving the metal fret ends sticking out. Oil lone won't fix this.

If you want to learn more most this, you can read my in-depth commodity about how humidity affects guitars.

2. Unseated frets

Sometimes fret ends tin actually popular up out of the fret slots. This will make just those frets (the ones that popped-up) feel abrupt. Yous can tell whether this is the trouble if yous've only got a few precipitous fret ends, but the residuum feel fine.

three. Poor workmanship

This is the least-likely reason, and unremarkably only an issue on very cheap guitars. The factory just didn't file the ends properly. This usually isn't the instance though if the sharp frets weren't in that location earlier and and then suddenly appeared.

Here'southward What to Endeavor (Commencement) for Sharp Frets

Whenever a guitar develops sharp frets, the first thing I do is tackle #i (possible under-humidification). It's not only the most likely reason you have sharp frets, only the remedy is also the least invasive procedure. Not to mention that under-humidification needs to be addressed anyway.

So, we demand to go moisture back into your guitar's fretboard. The forest has physically shrunk, leaving the fret ends exposed. Essentially, we want that wood to swell back out to where information technology's supposed to naturally be.

Before you swoop into the procedure I outline below, the first, most conservative (but slowest) approach is to but start keeping your guitar inside an airtight example with a good humidification system whenever yous're not playing information technology. A couple humidifiers that I recommend are the Music Nomad Humitar or the D'Addario two-Mode Humidification organisation.

Do this consistently and hopefully information technology'll requite the woods enough hydration to neat it back out to where it'southward naturally supposed to be. This could take a few weeks to a couple months depending on how disciplined y'all are about keeping the guitar in its example with the humidifier when you're not playing it.

If you use the Humitar or whatever other sponge-based humidifier, remember that yous have to re-moisture the sponge every couple weeks.

Don't Want to Expect? Try This.

If you lot don't want to await a couple weeks or months past using the normal hydration approach I outlined above, here I'll outline a manner to accomplish the same matter a bit faster. Repair shops use this method (or something similar) to quickly become a lot of moisture back into a guitar that'south severely dried out.

A word of caution: this is going to get a lot of wet into the guitar in a curt period of time. At that place is a risk of going too far in the other direction–of actually over-humidifying the guitar–if yous do this process for as well long. Then, be careful with this and monitor humidity and progress closely.

The Supplies

Earlier y'all begin, here'southward what you'll demand:

• i large trash bag: big enough to completely enclose the guitar and be sealed with a twist-tie, clip, etc.
• 1 guitar humidifier: I recommend the Music Nomad Humitar, which is the best sponge-based humidifier I've found to-engagement. You can read my in-depth review of the Humitar here.

The Procedure

1. First, follow the humidifier manufacturer's instructions for soaking the sponge and gently removing excess moisture (from the sponge). Don't clasp information technology to death. You want the sponge very moisture, only not dripping.
2. Next, put your guitar and the humidifier into the trash bag, with the guitar resting apartment on it's back inside the handbag. Since the fretboard is what nosotros demand to fix, place the humidifier inside the purse just under/backside the neck (if acoustic, do Non put it in the soundhole).
3. Seal the bag, simply leave a little air inside, to give the moisture enough space to broadcast around the neck. Don't go basics and blow the bag up similar a airship. Yous just want a trivial actress air in at that place.
4. Get out the guitar lying on its back and don't open the handbag for 5 days.
5. On the 5th day, open the handbag and check your fret ends.
6. If the fret ends still feel precipitous, re-wet the humidifier, put it back in the bag with the guitar, and re-seal the bag.
7. Wait another iii-five days (remember not to open the bag during this menstruation), then check the frets again.

Nevertheless Got Sharp Frets? Then it's Time to File.

If you've had the guitar in the handbag for upwardly to 10 days and Withal take sharp fret ends, it'south time to stop. Any longer and you run the chance of over hydrating the guitar.

At this bespeak I would recommend taking the guitar to a professional tech or repairperson. They'll make up one's mind whether your frets need to be filed and/or re-seated, and be able to do the work without scratching your guitar. If y'all're inexperienced at this and attempt to file the frets yourself, you lot will virtually assuredly scratch the edges of your fretboard or the trunk of your guitar.

All the same, if yousreally desire to tackle this yourself, here'south a proficient article on how to perform the procedure: Fixing Fret Ends That Stick Out in Dry Weather, by Stewart-MacDonald.

Tools Used in That Article:

As you lot tin see, these tools aren't cheap, so it's probably cheaper and safer to but take your guitar to a pro and get a price quote start, before buying specialized tools like these–tools that you may simply ever use once or twice in your life.

Last Tips and FAQ's

Shouldn't I put the humidifier in my audio-visual guitar's soundhole?

If you lot are doing this procedure to an audio-visual guitar, y'all may exist tempted to put your humidifier in the guitar's soundhole–especially if it'south labeled equally a "soundhole humidifier." Don't exercise this. Putting the humidifier in the soundhole really just benefits the body of the guitar, not the neck.

It's the fretboard that needs assist hither, then putting a humidifier into the soundhole defeats the purpose and robs the fretboard of needed moisture.

What about leaving the guitar out on a stand with a room humidifier?

Unless you can become the room humidity up to virtually 75% humidity or higher (and keep information technology there for several days or more), it's just not going to get enough moisture into a guitar quickly enough. Worse, even if yous do become the room super boiling and keep it there for several days or weeks, you lot then run the risk of condensation forming on other equipment or adventure promoting mold growth in the walls and whatnot.

A room humidifier is fine for everyday maintenance–after we've got the guitar's wood back in balance. If you use one, aim to keep your guitar room between 45% – 55% to forbid future occurrences of razor fret.

What if I can't keep the humidity at the proper level? Won't the issue just come back?

Yep, the effect tin indeed come back. If you live in an excessively dry climate where your guitar is exposed to humidity well below 45% the majority of the fourth dimension, this is going to be a recurring problem for you. In this instance, if you lot can't at least keep the guitar in a case with a humidifier when you lot're non playing information technology, y'all may indeed benefit from just having the frets filed back.

Parting Thoughts

So, before yous attain for that file (or fretboard oil), attain for a humidifier instead and go your guitar back to an ideal humidity range of 45% – 55%. If that doesn't resolve the issue, then andbut then should you consider filing them (or letting a pro do the piece of work).

Question:

Exercise you accept sharp fret-ends? If so, let me know if you're going to try the humidification process outlined here, or if you're planning to get the fret ends filed by a repairperson. Or, maybe y'all're planning to file them yourself? Let me know in the comments below!

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Source: https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/sharp-guitar-frets/

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