DC Ron Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Geez, I feel kind of stupid, but maybe this will help others. Got a great local deal a few weeks back on a 1991 Roy Clark. Pretty antique sunburst with loads of flame. Was an actual gigging instrument and had a bit of wear across frets 1-7 or so. Cleaned her up and she sounded sweet. But the slight divots bothered me a little, so I decided to go for my first ever level and crown. I do a bit of setup, and can deal with nut slots, relief and intonation, but after a bit of research decided to defer this one to somebody w experience. Found a local guy who had great references working out of his home. Less than a week later...WOW! Divots are gone. Fantastic feel all the way up and down the fretboard. Frictionless bends that feel the same at every position. Silky slides. Spot on intonation. Best $90 I've ever spent on upgrading a guitar. By far. Certainly more than Tone Pros. (Joke. I like TP, just didn't change my guitar playing experience as much as L&C.) So if you have an instrument that shows the inevitable fret wear it deserves, think about a level and crown. Glad I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 regular visits to the guitar tech help your guitar stay healthy. A good tech can get life out of frets you thought were goners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I have a Strat Plus that I love that is in need of a few refrets. Sounds like a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ron Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 I have a Strat Plus that I love that is in need of a few refrets. Sounds like a good idea. Just to be clear...we talked about refretting the first seven frets or so. This would have saved the height of the upper frets. But we decided to level the entire length of the fretboard to the height of the lowest divot. This enabled me to save both the cost of the refret and the cost of replacing the nut (which barely cleared the divoted first fret ath the high E). So for half of the cost of a partial refret alone, I got a guitar that plays better than new. Without the advice of a pro I would have made the wrong decision and probably screwed something up. Instead I'm smiling in my sleep... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I've had a couple of my guitars in for a level and crown in the past few years and have had the same experience. When you get it back it's hard to believe it's the same instument. I recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 That's really cool..My 140 is playing fine right now, but its good to have that info for future reference.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Good thread. I'd just add that it's always a good idea to ask around about guitar repair guys. Some tend to always recommend a full refret, when a level and crown is all that is really needed. Get a second opinion before embarking on major surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikenov Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 ***** Plus 1000!!! I have spent a good amount with a local tech on pretty much every guitar I own. Almost every one of them could have used at least some leveling of the frets. A couple of them needed to be leveled across the board. Plenty of fret left BTW. If I play the crap out of them, we can do it again down the road. Proper cut nut, level frets, pro set up= equals a GREAT playing and sounding guitar. Everytime I get a new guitar I bring it directly to my tech. You don't even know what you are dealing with until you get it playing the way it should. Wrong pick up adjustment and your guitar can sound bad. Frets not level? No way to get low playing action. Nut not cut right? Can't get rid of the fret buzz or can't get the right action on the guitar. My tech has really opened my eyes to how a guitar actually works and taught me a ton about what actually goes into making a guitar play and sound right. I am very grateful to have someone I trust to help me get the most out of my gear. My biggest problem now is honestly I have too many good guitars and not enough time to play them. Whenever you buy a good guitar, always factor in $100 to $200 at the tech to get it right. It's the most important part of the purchase for sure.... Brent, just got the Blue 555 back from my guy.. It played good when I took it home. Sounded good too. BTW, the bigsby install was a job well done. I'm sending all my future bigsby installs to Paw Paw!! (j/k) After getting that guitar tweaked it just plays like butter. And WOW, come hear that guitar and you won't ever ask if the Maple neck/Ebony board makes a discernable difference in sound. That think CUTS! Sorry for the evangelicle rant. I just had to testify!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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