Would you buy new Tele w/ fret sprout? (Am Pro Deluxe Shawbucker)

Not that big a deal. If you love the axe and it's a good, gig-worthy instrument I'd get it. Just buy a diamond file and file them nasty little devils down--not a big deal. Or have your luthier do it. This happens with new guitars or sometimes instruments that are getting dried out in the winter's low humidity.

 

I can understand not wanting to buy a guitar that needs work, but, I'm feeling an undercurrent of indignation in some of the responses here, which I really do not think is warranted. I strongly suspect that no guitar comes off the production line with fret sprout. It's just something that happens depending on the relative humidity of where it was made vs. where it ends up. It is not a defect. It's a natural (unfortunate) occurrence. At least, there is nothing that the guitar builder can (practically) do about it before the guitar leaves the factory.

It would be nice if sellers dealt with sprout issues that arise while the guitar is in their possession. It would also be nice if Teles were free, and come to think about it, it would be nice if people could fly using the power of their brains. I think all three of these things are equally likely. If a dealer is avid to move a particular instrument, they may be willing to take on the task of filing sprouted frets, but the people who (a) know enough to understand exactly what is going on, and (b) get worked up about it/consider it a deal breaker, is fairly small, so it's not worth their time and resources to deal with fret sprout preemptively.

As many people have said, it's a relatively easy fix and once it's done, it's done. I think it's short-sighted to avoid an otherwise nice guitar due to fret sprout. I think it's analogous to avoiding a guitar because the strings are dead, or the action is too high.

 

May be you could ask for a discount. Or to have it fixed for the selling price...

 

If it’s a new guitar then their tech should fix it and setup the guitar for you after you buy it. Easy fix for a good tech. Then you use proper hydration, and when the fingerboard expands , it’s still a great guitar.

 

I've just found out the answer to my own question by watching this video at 1'15:

Proof that fret sprout can cause damage to the binding on top.