Do I need a fret crown?

rico

After having watch the TPS episode on refrets -  I now notice that some frets around the 12th are starting to get pretty worn and have a knife edge beginning to form. Kind of hard to see in the pics below but do I need a crowning?





Cheers!

ICBM

Yes. Full dress and crown since the wear is uneven across the frets.

The good news is that there's still tons of height left - no noticeable dents, unless they're in places not pictured - so the amount that needs taking off is fairly small, and you'll probably barely notice... except that the guitar will play better and sound better.

rico

Thanks @ICBM To be honest the lower frets have dents too. I had a level and crown in the last 12 months but I do play like a neanderthal. 

Adey

If you had it crowned within the last year, they may not had done a great job of it.

It seems odd for flats to form at the 12th fret, unless you spend all you time there, bending string like a mad man

ICBM

Adey said:

If you had it crowned within the last year, they may not had done a great job of it.

It seems odd for flats to form at the 12th fret, unless you spend all you time there, bending string like a mad man

I recently did a fret dress on a guitar for a young chap who I assumed was a bit of an open chord basher - his band are a sort of indie pop-rock lot - and I was very surprised to find that it was worn almost completely evenly on every fret from the first to about the fifteenth, across all six strings. I asked if it was all his doing, and he said he'd had the guitar from new.

I've now seen his band play live and he's really very good, and does indeed play all over the neck. Just shows you shouldn't assume someone's technique level from their age and the type of music they play.

FelineGuitars

Rich - pop in and I'll have a look . You do seem to have flattened the top of the fret but it may look worse than it actually is , but it does look like a little attention is needed. You must play that guitar quite hard as it wasn't so long ago we last saw it.

axisus

And there was me thinking you were king of the frets.

Sassafras

Doesn't look that bad to me although it's hard to tell with the string shadows.

rico

FelineGuitars said:

Rich - pop in and I'll have a look . You do seem to have flattened the top of the fret but it may look worse than it actually is , but it does look like a little attention is needed. You must play that guitar quite hard as it wasn't so long ago we last saw it.

I will do. It’s my number one and it’s been gigged hard since it’s been through your hands. 

FelineGuitars

axisus said:

And there was me thinking you were king of the frets.

And I may well be
It's just that guitars get played so much more once we've done our stuff to them that natural wear and tear will happen

Evilmags

Top work doing that It in such a short time. Proper vibrato!!!. Long term Jescar gold or stainless frets might be an idea.