Sharp Frets?

dante · Apr 19, 2012

I posted this on the Ibanez Forum recently:

Long time Ibanez fan, since I bought my first AM-50 in 1986. I'm not much of a pointy headstock guy, but I do have an old Explorer that'll be with me for life. I got a screaming deal on an RG4EXQM1 (love that cryptic Ibanez coding ). Had I not gotten this deal, I probably would not have chosen an RG to begin with. Just too pointy everywhere for my taste (lol) and this is the first time I've had JUMBO frets - this axe just isn't something I'd reach for in a store. She is purty - I got the antique burst, which to me, looks like the Antique Yellow Sunburst on the newer Artcore AM93 (see, that's more my style of an axe) Here's the lowdown on it

Basically, I'm seeing this as my new Strat with a Floyd-like bridge, an Edge III. I've read a lot of garbage about the Edge III but I find it working just fine for me. I set up the trem with my gauge of strings as soon as i got it, and she's in tune all the time. I suspect the bad talking about the trem is due to people's lack of experience with the Floyd system in general and a floating bridge in particular. The whole reason I got this for such a good deal is that the guy I traded with was sick of dealing with the trem and wanted a stoptail axe - I needed another guitar with a trem, so it all worked out.

The guitar is one of those 'only available at Guitar Center' models, which is an instant turn-off for me, BTW. Again, had I not gotten such a good deal, I would've probably picked a different model. It has the HsH P/U config, which I must say is fast becoming my favorite. Most of my other axes (except my Strat) are HH, so that extra single coil + the coil splitting possibilities, really opens up the guitar. I actually like the PUs that are in it, which is pretty rare for me. That's usually the first thing I do with every guitar - swap out the pickups. Not this one, I'm keeping them in there for awhile.

I'm really pleasantly surprised at how much I'm liking this guitar. Yeah, it's a new girl in the harem, so I'm reaching for her alot, but I really do enjoy playing the axe, plus she looks and it sounds great. I am a new fan of the shredder models in general. Nice job Ibanez!

ONE COMPLAINT: The edges of the frets are so sharp they could draw blood. Tsk tsk. I know this thing is only available to the rockheads at GC, but for a $500 guitar, you could finish the edges a bit smoother IMO. I would have NEVER bought this guitar in a store, I would've asked for another one of the same or similar model until I found one finished better.

And the Ibanez Forum moderator came back with:

Sharp fret edges can happen...it likely didn't start that way, with the change of season/temperature/humidity the wood will expand/contract while the frets will not. This can result in fret edges becoming sharp.

Since this istrument is used, I would find a good repair shop in your area and have them shave down/dress the frets for you...this should fix that complaint of yours

Used? It's two months old...not a ding/scratch or dent on it. Am I wrong to expect the frets to not draw blood? Seems ridiculous to me to even have to ask that

domct203 · Apr 21, 2012

dante said:
And the Ibanez Forum moderator came back with:

Sharp fret edges can happen...it likely didn't start that way, with the change of season/temperature/humidity the wood will expand/contract while the frets will not. This can result in fret edges becoming sharp.

Since this istrument is used, I would find a good repair shop in your area and have them shave down/dress the frets for you...this should fix that complaint of yours

Click to expand...

Used? It's two months old...not a ding/scratch or dent on it. Am I wrong to expect the frets to not draw blood? Seems ridiculous to me to even have to ask that

What were you expecting from the forum?

I understand what you are saying about the sharp frets, a guitar's frets should be comfortable to play right out of the box.

The mod is right, the guitar is used (you are the second owner regardless of the guitar's age), although I've never seen a guitar contract with the seasons so much as to expose the edges of the frets. If that is the case, the wood may not have been properly conditioned and stabilized before it was used to make a guitar.

If you really enjoy the guitar I would do as suggested and just take it to a good ol' Mom & Pop music store and have the frets dressed and be done with it.

Dom

dante · Apr 25, 2012

What did I expect? I expected them to take a bit of responsibility for shipping a guitar away without taking the extra care to make the ends of the frets smooth. I expected them to offer to fix them because the guitar has been out of the store for 2 months. The issue is partially due to the wood shrinkage, but primarily due to rough edges on the ends that should be rounded.

They offered to fix them, at an authorized Ibanez repair shop, 60 miles away. I appreciate Ibanez stepping up to bat, but it is simply cheaper and easier to do it myself. I bought a fret dressing file for $12 from StewMac

kingston11 · May 4, 2012

Sorry, but youre being completely unreasonable. You got a used guitar without checking its condition and are complaining about something that is a common occurrance. Deal with it.

Triaxstasy · May 4, 2012

kingston11 said:
...... something that is a common occurrance. Deal with it.

Now this is something I don´t quite understand... You´re saying sharp fret edges is a common occurance for a 2 month old 500$ guitar?!?
IMHO it´s more of a QC issue. Even though Made in Indonesia, the QC normally is in place there and Ibanez has a sharp eye on that (same with the Cort factory in Korea...)
Must have been a mistake on Ibanez' side cause they offered to have it fixed at an authorized repair shop.

On the other hand I can really understand the decision to use a 12$ fret file vs. a round trip of 120 miles.

dante · May 4, 2012

Kingston: I appreciate your opinion. I did inspect the frets and did make a comment to the seller about them being sharp. I knew what I was getting into when I got it. I simply presented the issue to Ibanez to let them know they need to pay attention to such things. Turns out, there are a slew of threads about it - I'm not the only one after all. I wasn't trying to complain, I just wanted to make them aware (so I used the word COMPLAINT to get their attention). I am a huge Ibanez fan, ask anyone who knows me.

Now, about the guitar...

Upon further inspection, it is truly a QC issue. The frets do not extend beyond the edge of the neck, as suggested by the Ibanez rep. There is binding around the end of the frets, none of them protrude beyond that, as would be the case with a neck expanding/contracting at a different rate than the frets.

The problem lies in the way each fret was finished - each one is finished with a sharp bevel. I took my handy file and just tried smoothing a couple select frets, I didn't go crazy, I just wanted to test the file a bit by rounding some of the existing edges. In 2 minutes I had two frets feeling a LOT better. I'll mask off the neck and do the whole thing when she's due for new strings.

Maybe I'm just accustomed to older, worn down frets. Maybe my other guitars were finished a little better. Maybe the jumbo frets need a bit more rounding for my taste. I don't know, but I do know these frets COULD have been finished better. They probably are a lot smoother on a higher end model with the same neck....just a hunch

MesaENGR412 · May 7, 2012

Looking at your info on the side panel, it says you live in Sacramento, CA. I have visited a few different Guitar Centers and a Sam Ash while out there in CA/AZ multiple times and noticed that most of the guitars that I picked up had jagged fret ends, from Fender to Ibanez Premiums and LTD/ESPs, even some higher end Ernie Ball JP's. A few people that live in that area told me that this problem tends to happen because of the arid climate. Since these are warehouse stores, they store their gear in non-climate controlled locations until they put them out on the floor, and the moisture in the neck just goes away, causing the necks to shrink and the fret ends to become exposed. It was also evidenced at Sam Ash with tons of strats and teles having terribly warped pickguards and they were brand new. So, depending on where that particular guitar was stored prior to it being put on the floor in that particular store could be lead to the issue. I picked up two Jim Root Strats (and I have played them before over here on the East Coast and they were just fine) and they had terribly jagged fret ends, and other guitars there actually left small scratches on my hand after I ran my hand down the neck. This may or may not be the case with your guitar, but it does sound like a similar problem that I have experienced, and I just wanted to share it, since it really has nothing to do with the actual guitar company's QC.

-AJH

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