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when setting up acoustic guitars, from time to time I have a lot of trouble with getting the G string to ring true when fretted. Starting from lower frets and at its worst at about the 5/6th fret, the G string buzzes when plucked "heavily" (when no other string does so)...most recently a Taylor 724 which had a neck adjustment to reduce action (to 5/64-4/64), relief about 0.003 or 0.004. Increasing relief to about 8-9 helps somewhat.…

Ok, I'm a new builder and I've only done solidbody electrics so far, so this question is related to only those. In my opinion, these are the things that have the most impact on tone, listed in order from most influential to least. Have at it! Pickup/electronics, neck joint type, neck construction (including fret size/material), scale length, bridge type, bridge saddle material, tone wood Of course, this only takes into account the guitar.…

I've only built a handful of necks and most of them have been roasted maple fretboards. This time around I am using a beautiful and incredibly stiff/hard piece of ebony. I am doing a light hammering in of the frets to get them seated and then using the hand-held vice clamps from Stewmac with the correct fretboard radius to push them down evenly the rest of the way. This process works just fine on roasted maple. It's just a softer wood t…

Hi Everyone,I hope you’re having a great weekend! Can anyone help diagnose my mystery B string buzz? I tried to attach a video but the site won't take it. I’ve tightened all hardware and the b string is not hitting any frets. I’m giving it a set-up and when I had to lower the nut slot height of the B string it improved a bit. When I capo at the first fret the buzz disappears so it seems to be something going on at the nut. …

A customer brought me a new Hummingbird with fret buzz a few weeks ago. After performing what may be the best levelling job I've ever done, the buzz was reduced, but still noticeable, though it sounded different than normal fret buzz. When I noticed that the sound was worst when playing F2 (on the A string or D string), I did a frequency analysis and discovered that the main top resonance was at 163.9 hz, and it all made sense. Those…

Friends - My "go-to" truss rod for my basses has been the rod sold by LMII; however, since they are now out of business, I am evaluating what other rods are suitable for bass guitar necks. The attached photos are all showing truss rod lengths from the front edge of the nut slot location on the blank. One photo shows my last LMII rod (23 1/2" in length) vs. 2 other rods, one longer (23 11/16") and one shorter (22 1/4") -- all measured f…

I inherited a 70's D28 that is a players instrument. The action is too high for me, but the saddle is bottomed out. There is no obvious belly bulge. The top of the bridge has been shaved. Bridge pin holes are uneven in diameter. However, the bridge placement seems pretty close; within 1/32". A straight edge on the fret board sits about 1/8" below the top of the bridge. The fret board has plenty of finger worn wells, there is virtually n…

1966 Jose Ramirez 2A Flamenco with a split/cracked fingerboard. It's been cracked for years, and is in stable condition at humidity. Spans from 11/12th fret to the sound hole. I've filled smaller splits/cracks with ebony dust and superglue, or black superglue in the past, and had great results. Do any of you ever use ebony shavings to spline these? (likely need to pull frets for that) I'd love to hear how you approach these, and when you d…

Hey all, I am really enjoying digging through the looth group. I have not yet watched all the ding kings vids or read all the amazing comments and articles here, but I've been appreciating some of the loothing for dollars stuff, seeing other people's intake sheets, discussions about dealing with customers, and it led me to this question: How do people deal with customer expectations, liability, and the inevitable accidents that can happ…

I just got a link to this very detailed writeup on CNC milling fret slots, I figured it would be useful to have it here: https://www.precisebits.com/tutorials/fret-slotting

This may have been covered in any number of vids by Big Daddy Proper or Paw Paw Erlewine, but I wondered how flay everyone goes when it comes to fretboard prep and refrets. For example, I currently have an old 70s SG needing a refret, Ive begun to flatten the board. I have some low spots in the middle of some frets in "cowboy-zone", but the actual fret slots are all being touched by the leveling bar, and thus, level. This is usually whe…

How do you wet sand/even out a laquer finish on a maple neck with the frets installed before finishing?

Hey Loothers, A client reached out requesting a neck with wider nut for his headless Ibanez 7 string. He would like it built with rosewood for the neck and the fret board which has been stored for years at a consistent 45 to 50 % humidity in his home. The frets are angled to make it play more ergonomically but it is not a multi scale instrument. He plays finger picking fusion style and simply needs more neck width at the nut to play mu…

I bought a used stewmac Fret Jaws but the black part that holds the fret inserts is missing the screw. I think it should be an Allen head grub screw. Does anyone know the size of that screw so I can get a replacement? Thanks.

The back of the neck pocket is under the 15th fret slot. Holes are drilled 3/8" from the outside edge of the fret board. Check out Ted Wordford's video at for extensive work he did on a '63 Sorrento.

Is it a common problem for the fretboard on an acoustic to develop a hump around Fret #12 and higher, where the neck meets the body? If so, what is the cause, and is there something that can be done, or avoided, during the initial build process? I have two quality Zager brand guitars that both have the problem, with the problem being worse on the cheaper model. I am a newbie to fret dressing and lowering, so I first tried adjusting the…