Which New Necks Have Frets Leveled & Crowned?

I've been wondering this for a while. I think most manufacturers just press in the frets and ship it, but I don't know for sure. New frets should all be very uniform, but one can't guarantee if they all went in flat. Fret level and crown would add significant labor costs. Anyone with any info?

In my experiences, mighty mite necks require a lot more fretwork, especially the fret ends. Allparts not bad, however I've had the best luck with warmoth. I know they say ALL necks can use a fret level and crowning but honestly I haven't had to do so with warmoth. I'd say USACG and maybe even Musikraft necks are also a good choice, I just don't have any experiences with them YET... In my opinion it's worth the extra dough to go ahead and buy a quality neck, the last (yes last) MM neck I bought needed a lot of fretwork and the finish wasn't perfect. If you couldn't do the fretwork yourself you'd have to pay quite a bit to get it done and may as well have bought a warmoth to start with.

The frets on my USACG T-Style neck were not leveled and crowned and didn't need it. I can't tell you what a joy it was to play on full height, fully rounded frets. They were fantastic out of the box!

I don't think there's any guarantee that they'll be that way on every neck though.

I know for a fact that all Ernie Ball/Music Man instruments have a fret level and crown, done by hand, on every instrument that leaves the building.

Gibson Historics (Nashville Custom Shop) and the ES series coming out of the Memphis factory (also called a "Custom Shop") have the frets leveled/crowned by a PLEK machine, apparently before finishing and assembly.

I just assumed you were meaning replacement necks such as allparts/warmoth/mm/musikraft/USACG. Not sure on actual guitar factories but I would assume and HOPE that any high end manufacturer would do some fret leveling and crowning at some stage.

As of the beginning of 2007, all USA G + L guitars are completely plekked. This would coincide with the end of the bi-cut neck manufacture and its replacement with a more conventional maple, rosewood or ebony slab over the maple neck and truss rod assembly.

I would wager the plekking machine produces a better level and crown than one can do by hand, or is at least equivalent.

My impression is that none of the MIA production Fender guitars get any level or crown aside from any real obvious goofed up fret being addressed. I frankly think CNC machines have removed so many of the variances once common to neck construction that made level and crown so important in the past.

I would wager the plekking machine produces a better level and crown than one can do by hand, or is at least equivalent.

Way better than can be done by hand.

My impression is that none of the MIA production Fender guitars get any level or crown aside from any real obvious goofed up fret being addressed. I frankly think CNC machines have removed so many of the variances once common to neck construction that made level and crown so important in the past.

I've played many Fender guitars off the shelf that had frets that were obviously flattened an somewhat recrowned, so they must get something, somewhere in the assembly process.

Hey, Terry. If you were referring to custom made necks, someone provided a link to this source in a recent thread:
http://www.soulmateguitars.com/Necks.htm

It looks like they would have that requirement covered... :grin:

my last neck, from USAGC, didn't need any work fret-wise -- dunno if they'd touched them up or it was just a dang good fret job, but it was ready to play.

I've been wondering this for a while. I think most manufacturers just press in the frets and ship it, but I don't know for sure. New frets should all be very uniform, but one can't guarantee if they all went in flat. Fret level and crown would add significant labor costs. Anyone with any info?

L&C's just aren't done. Too labor intensive for the dollar return. I heard that Gibson offered that service a few years back on some of their high end LPs and tacked on another $500. These dayze, frets are pressed in with wicked in CYA. If done correctly, with a level fretboard, and a full fingerboard pressing caul, the frets are reasonably level. For the lowest of actions, an L&C is still required.

As of the beginning of 2007, all USA G + L guitars are completely plekked. This would coincide with the end of the bi-cut neck manufacture and its replacement with a more conventional maple, rosewood or ebony slab over the maple neck and truss rod assembly.

I would wager the plekking machine produces a better level and crown than one can do by hand, or is at least equivalent.

My impression is that none of the MIA production Fender guitars get any level or crown aside from any real obvious goofed up fret being addressed. I frankly think CNC machines have removed so many of the variances once common to neck construction that made level and crown so important in the past.

I've got a March 2008 G&L Thinline in my shop that belongs to a customer of the retail guitar store that I do all guitar/bass contract work. This is the second ebony board neck that G&L put on the guitar, and it's just as bad as the first neck - frets aren't fully seated, L&C required. At G&L's expense, I'm doing a complete refret w/fingerboard leveling, and final L&C.

So much for the G&L Plek experience, IMO. :roll: :cool: :mrgreen:

I've got a March 2008 G&L Thinline in my shop that belongs to a customer of the retail guitar store that I do all guitar/bass contract work. This is the second ebony board neck that G&L put on the guitar, and it's just as bad as the first neck - frets aren't fully seated, L&C required. At G&L's expense, I'm doing a complete refret w/fingerboard leveling, and final L&C.

So much for the G&L Plek experience, IMO. :roll: :cool: :mrgreen:


This helps explain why, when I have demo'd many G + Ls in the stores, etc., even though by brain "knew" the new ones "have" to be better, I ended up buying all 5 bi-cut necked guitars as opposed to those with mandatory slabs. So none of mine are plekked. But they all have stellar fret work.
I think it is human nature; If you know you have a plekking operation to back you up, you tend to pass through that marginal neck. I prefer the guitar and especially the neck to be just right from the very start; but it is good to know Dave McLaren is committed to staying with a guitar until it is right.

Bubbanov .......... you bought five G&Ls at once? Has your guitar count reached three digits yet?

That's interesting stuff. Thanks for the responses. I'm probably not going to add this to my tool collection.

http://www.plek.com/typo3temp/pics/b93e546711.jpg

Yep I'd say that would break Bucko's $100 tool rule... Sure wish Fender would do something with their frets after finishing the maple boards. Kinda sucks spending the first few hours with a NEW guitar trying to get all that poly off the frets.

Man...

that Plekker is alot bigger
than I imagined...

when that contraption is done with
your guitar, the frets are not leveled...

they are CONTOURED to allow for
string vibration patterns...

at least that is what i read...

I heard Sam Ash has one on 48th Street
in Manhattan...

$200 bucks a plek???

worth it??

I know this will have a few people cringing :lol: but I've done three necks with fret slots cut wide enough that the tangs don't "bite", and you can pop the frets in and out with your fingers. The frets don't wiggle - they're tight - but their tangs aren't what secures them in ... a very tiny amount of epoxy does.

The frets are clamped down with a Nick JD clamporama device especial so that any variation in levelness of the frets is due to the fretboard not being truly flat (nope, all good) or variation in the fret wire (nope, all good).

Well seated frets shouldn't need a fret level unless the fretboard is not level, and this IMHO sounds like band-aid engineering. :mrgreen:

Bubbanov .......... you bought five G&Ls at once? Has your guitar count reached three digits yet?

I looked and looked before buying 2 ASATs, then I went ahead and had a blue S-500 shipped to me I should have picked up with the other two. South Carolina. Then the Comanches came from California, many months apart, also last year. Other than that, I've just added a Callaham block to one, that's all.

The AV52 FSR I got from GC Rochester (NY) was my last whole guitar. April, I think. Since then I've just been building and modding them, doing the USACG thing but also buying a few nice Warmoth necks. I'd be shocked if I'm over eighty at this point. Still giving Squiers away.

I'm kinda liking the ones I have. Now, if Guitar Center wants to rescind the April 7, 2008 Edict, I might start buying again.

my last neck, from USAGC, didn't need any work fret-wise -- dunno if they'd touched them up or it was just a dang good fret job, but it was ready to play.

Likewise.

Also the last neck I got from Warmoth was good to go as well.

Let's get some things straight about frets and playability.

You play off the frets and not the fingerboard. Don't matter how flat or bowed or beat up with dings the fingerboard is, all that matters is how stable the wood is and whether or not it'll be affected by temperature and moisture.

The levelness of frets is a fleeting thing with active guitar players. You get yer frets *perfectly* leveled and crowned and inside of a few weeks/months of daily playing those frets are no longer level. So much for a $200 Plek fret job.

You get to know and work with yer fret wear patterns. Which is why you can make great music with unleveled frets and learn to deal with continual fret wear. You'll know when it's time for a level and crown, or a refret.

Let's get some things straight about frets and playability.

You play off the frets and not the fingerboard. Don't matter how flat or bowed or beat up with dings the fingerboard is, all that matters is how stable the wood is and whether or not it'll be affected by temperature and moisture.

The levelness of frets is a fleeting thing with active guitar players. You get yer frets *perfectly* leveled and crowned and inside of a few weeks/months of daily playing those frets are no longer level. So much for a $200 Plek fret job.

You get to know and work with yer fret wear patterns. Which is why you can make great music with unleveled frets and learn to deal with continual fret wear. You'll know when it's time for a level and crown, or a refret.

Thanks Rob. That's another reason I play with fairly high action.