High Spot on 8th Fret
My new (to me) old classical guitar will sometimes make a harsh note on the D-string, mostly when fretted at the 3rd, 4th, 5th fret or somewhere along in there. I'm convinced it's a very slight buzz so I've been going over the fretboard with, if not quite a fine-tooth comb, at least with my little Stew-Max fret rocker gauge. It identifies the 8th fret as being level on the bass side, a tiny bit high on the treble and noticably high in the middle. That seems likely enough to cause problems on the D-string played at the first few positions.
Sighting down that fret under a bright light it does look a little wavy and I think there's a slight hump slightly off-center to the treble side. Looking at the edge of the fretboard the tang seems seated just as deeply on that fret as any other but under the B, G and D strings it rises up then levels back off under the lower strings.
Is that more likely to need filing down or is it possible it has actually ridden up out of the wood a little in that spot? Should I first give it a sound whack with my little brass-faced modeler's tack hammer? I've had to tap down a fret end that worked loose before (which takes almost no force) but have never needed to hit one hard enough to force it down in the middle of the 'board. Not sure how hard a lick I'm willing to give it.
I'm not equipped for nor confident enough to do an actual fret level of the entire fingerboard. And it's probably overkill anyway, my rocker says it's remarkably level everywhere else except a little fallaway on the 18th, 19th frets at the soundhole. Remarkable I mean for a guitar with no truss rod built in 1976. Just that one spot that seems a couple thousandths high. If it doesn't need or respond to banging with a hammer would it be a conservative thing to mask it off and just give a few strokes a some coarse sandpaper on a metal backing? Or is it necessary to use a file to make any progress at all?
I would hope some sandpaper and elbow grease could shave a slight bit off that bulge and cure the semi-buzz, maybe without even ruining the nice crowned shape of the fret overall. But maybe I'm dreaming.
Sighting down that fret under a bright light it does look a little wavy and I think there's a slight hump slightly off-center to the treble side. Looking at the edge of the fretboard the tang seems seated just as deeply on that fret as any other but under the B, G and D strings it rises up then levels back off under the lower strings.
Is that more likely to need filing down or is it possible it has actually ridden up out of the wood a little in that spot? Should I first give it a sound whack with my little brass-faced modeler's tack hammer? I've had to tap down a fret end that worked loose before (which takes almost no force) but have never needed to hit one hard enough to force it down in the middle of the 'board. Not sure how hard a lick I'm willing to give it.
I'm not equipped for nor confident enough to do an actual fret level of the entire fingerboard. And it's probably overkill anyway, my rocker says it's remarkably level everywhere else except a little fallaway on the 18th, 19th frets at the soundhole. Remarkable I mean for a guitar with no truss rod built in 1976. Just that one spot that seems a couple thousandths high. If it doesn't need or respond to banging with a hammer would it be a conservative thing to mask it off and just give a few strokes a some coarse sandpaper on a metal backing? Or is it necessary to use a file to make any progress at all?
I would hope some sandpaper and elbow grease could shave a slight bit off that bulge and cure the semi-buzz, maybe without even ruining the nice crowned shape of the fret overall. But maybe I'm dreaming.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bob Webster on
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Hi, Brett. Sounds like you have a good sequence thought out. I'd just offer a few comments. First is to use a very fine file rather than coarse sandpaper. You can't put metal back and coarse sandpaper would probably put some scratches in the fret that you won't get out later. My favorite for this operation is an ignition points file that you can buy at your local auto parts store cheap. It's an extremely fine mill file and what's left after you get done with it is a surface that can be finished out with 400 and finer grades of sandpaper, and then finally steel wool. This all allows you to proceed at a conservative pace that won't overshoot the adjustment.
That said, of course, smack it first. Highly satisfying in a primitive way even if it doesn't work.
Bob
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Permalink Reply by Brent Hutto on
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That was certainly the problem. Once I got the strings out the way and put the straightedge along the length of the fret it was quite obvious that there was a well-defined hump. I suppose the ebony fretboard just kind of "bucks" a spot on a fret every once in a while like stones coming out the ground at the spring thaw. So I covered the fret with masking tape and tapped it...nothing happened. Then I escalated a bit and gave it four or five pretty fair whacks and that set it aright. Now I see no daylight under the (machined) straightedge with a strong backlight but I think the entire 8th fret may be just microscopically lower than the 7th and 9th.
I couldn't find any steel wool but even through the tape hammering made the fret rough feeling. I gave it half a dozen gentle strokes with my finest-textured fingernail "salon board" shaper and it feels as smooth as the other frets now. If I want to look super closely I can convince myself that the 10th fret might have a hint of a treble-up tilt to it but I'm quitting while I'm ahead.
Tuned her back up and can't find any dead spots on any strings up there so I don't think I did any harm. And now the D-string has a nice, round tone all up and down the frets. The hump was actually centered under the G-string but that one being unwound I don't think it is as prone to sounding nasty if it caught a tiny bit of buzz on a loud note. I think one day down the road I owe this lovely guitar a professional fret-leveling job but for now she's sounding mighty nice. Thanks for the encouragement, Bob.
P.S. And I don't think I ever followed up on my query a couple weeks ago about glue residue on my other guitar's top. Turns out some hot water on a microfiber dishcloth and just a bit of elbow grease got it all off in about five minutes. No polish or solvent or even soap needed. That's good to know for future.
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Super, Brett. Onward and upward!
Bob
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