Fret shape: Crown or Almost Flat: Pros and Cons

[DanielleOM]

Is it the shape of the fret?

I own a number of flat top acoustics where the frets are thinner and
have a visibly shaped crown, when compared the frets on my Eastman
archtop where the frets are wide and flat or almost flat on top.

I find with this Eastman archtop, I often find I struggle to get a good
clear note especially with the unwound strings. I am not sure I have a
setup issue or if there is something inherent with wide flat frets that
make it more difficult to get a clear sounding note.

Any thoughts?


Danielle

[mark cleary]

"DanielleOM" wrote in message news:k4fnt3$5sl$1...@dont-email.me...

Danielle,

Years of fret work tell me the best profile is a nice rounded crown thlike
letter D on the top. They should not really be flat but frankly some players
like this or at least get use to the frets flat. On a pure acoustic archtop
I think this is the best profile but it a good set up repairman can get
whatever you like. Personally they seem to sell a lot of fret crowning files
which I have but the real trick for me is hitting all the frets with fine
emory cloth before the final buff and shine of the fret. I do this at an
exact angle 90 degrees to the fret and run the cloth against the palm of my
hand up and down the fingerboard. Start at the nut and run the cloth to the
end, then turn around and start at the 22nd or whatever fret and it to the
nut. This profiles the fret in my opinion the best after all the major fret
filing is done. Hope this helps maybe Jim has another way he does it and I
sure his work is top notch.

Deacon Mark Cleary
Epiphany Catholic Church

[Greger Hoel]

On Wed, 03 Oct 2012 02:04:38 +0200, mark cleary <mcle...@comcast.net>
wrote:

[...]

> the real trick for me is hitting all the frets with fine emory cloth
> before the final buff and shine of the fret. I do this at an exact angle
> 90 degrees to the fret and run the cloth against the palm of my hand up
> and down the fingerboard. Start at the nut and run the cloth to the end,
> then turn around and start at the 22nd or whatever fret and it to the
> nut. This profiles the fret in my opinion the best after all the major
> fret filing is done. Hope this helps maybe Jim has another way he does
> it and I sure his work is top notch.

That's what the builder I know do too, and I think it's at least one main
reason why the guitars he does fretwork on always play just great. After
that treatment, he polishes them with a machine.

--
Using Opera's revolutionary email client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Klatu Verata Necktie]

Did you buy your Eastman new or used? My two Eastmans have crowned frets. The only ones that are flat are those that needed to be filed down because they were too high.

I read that some people used to favor low flat frets on early Gibson Les Paul Customs. Gibson even marketed them as "Fretless Wonders" because the frets were so low that they felt non existent.

[Garvin Yee]

Generally speaking, the finer or thinner the point of contact
between the fret wire and the string, the better the intonation,
and the more in-tune the guitar will be (assuming a good fret-job).

Problem is, the thinner this point of contact is, the faster
it will wear down, making a flat point of contact anyways, so
from a practical point of view, it's better to have a "D" shape,
or semi-flat fret crowning, so that the intonation will remain
more consistent for a longer period of time.

0.02



--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34735015@N03/sets/72157623566520134/show/
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/garvin-yee.html

[DanielleOM]

On 10/3/2012 11:40 AM, Garvin Yee wrote:
> On 10/2/2012 2:55 PM, DanielleOM wrote:
>>
>> Is it the shape of the fret?
>>
>> I own a number of flat top acoustics where the frets are thinner and
>> have a visibly shaped crown, when compared the frets on my Eastman
>> archtop where the frets are wide and flat or almost flat on top.
>>
>> I find with this Eastman archtop, I often find I struggle to get a good
>> clear note especially with the unwound strings. I am not sure I have a
>> setup issue or if there is something inherent with wide flat frets that
>> make it more difficult to get a clear sounding note.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>
>
> Generally speaking, the finer or thinner the point of contact
> between the fret wire and the string, the better the intonation,
> and the more in-tune the guitar will be (assuming a good fret-job).
>
> Problem is, the thinner this point of contact is, the faster
> it will wear down, making a flat point of contact anyways, so
> from a practical point of view, it's better to have a "D" shape,
> or semi-flat fret crowning, so that the intonation will remain
> more consistent for a longer period of time.
>
> 0.02
>
>
>

I am suspecting that with the wider flatter fret somehow makes the
fretting less clean in some manner. It's just a theory on my part, but
I am suspecting a wider flatter fret actually requires more pressure
from the fretting finger to get the same pressure per square in between
the string and the fret than what is needed with a thinner crowned fret.


Danielle

[Garvin Yee]

It's obvious that a sharper point of contact will
give you a cleaner fret, but if say, the fret top was filed
into a rather sharp 90 degree pyramid shape, the intonation
would change rather quickly, as your playing grinds the frets
down, and the strings would probably break faster.

[DannyW.]

I think what you are experiencing is entirely based on the height of the frets about the board, rather than the shape. Low frets tend to require more finger pressure to make a clean contact. OTOH, too high and the neck starts feeling like a railroad track, although some players like this.

Danny W.

[DannyW.]

That was supposed to read: "height of the frets above the board."

[Garvin Yee]

Hence the scalloped fretboard ala Yngwie Malmsteen....

[ott...@hotmail.com]

Hence the scalloped fretboard ala Yngwie Malmsteen.... -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/34735015@N03/sets/72157623566520134/show/ http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/garvin-yee.html

I know a Jazzer here in Victoria that scallops his necks, and he is a great player.

I once sat in with his guitar for a tune and it was Scary, a real light touch was required. Works for him though, and is actually easier on the left hand chops because of the light touch required.
Not something I would be bothered doing unless I had really heavy strings.
Bg