Checking for high frets

[brianhejh]

When using a fret rocker to check for any high frets, should this be done with the guitar tuned to pitch or strings off and guitar neck straightened.

Thanks

Brian

[Big*Al]

You'll get better results with the neck straight. If the neck is bowed a little from string tension, then very slightly high frets might not rock. If you find high frets under string tension, then those frets are probably quite high.

[MC5C]

I like to get the neck as straight as possible to dress the frets. I use a couple of straight edges, one around 15" and one around 3". If you are "that miraculous guitar tech" and the guitar is going on stage in 10 minutes, you can do it with the frets on. Heck, I've fixed a bad fret using the string as a straight edge (capo behind the suspect fret, fret the string past the suspect fret and see if it sounds out clean).

As a matter of interest to some, my straight edges are actually round. One is a piston pin , about .875" in diameter and absolutely dead straight, and the other is a piece of Thomson linear bearing shafting. Linear bearing shafting is specified straight to under .001" per foot (and is usually a lot better than that in short lengths), is chrome plated and extremely hard, and is surprising cheap. I ordered mine from a local metal supermarket, they had it in stock.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by brianhejh

When using a fret rocker to check for any high frets, should this be done with the guitar tuned to pitch or strings off and guitar neck straightened.

I might be the "odd man out", but I don't use fret rockers: I don't have a need to.

If I'm just trying to determine if one or more frets are high, for buzzing/playing purposes, then I just play each note. If the action is appropriate and a fret doesn't buzz, it's adjacent frets aren't high or low. If a string does buzz at a certain fret, usually, the fret one or two above it is high: careful visual inspection makes it evident which one. Sighting down the neck, one can see deviations in fretboard surface and fret heights. Often, one or more fret ends are sticking up. That can usually be seen pretty readily. Pushing down on the end of a fret with the eraser end of a pencil allows one to see if the fret end moves when depressed. For me, anyway, it doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

If I'm trying to determine high frets for the purposes of levelling them, again, sighting down the neck reveals a lot of information. Once I start filing the frets, neck straight, strings off, I can see which frets get filed and which don't, which are higher and which are lower.

A long straightedge - without notches - can be used to assist in determining the overall picture of what is happening with fret and fingerboard surfaces and neck angle.

[Mojotone]

Originally Posted by brianhejh

When using a fret rocker to check for any high frets, should this be done with the guitar tuned to pitch or strings off and guitar neck straightened.

Thanks

Brian

It’s good to adjust the neck straight under tension and check for buzzing or dead spots first. That way you can get right to the point with the fret rocker. Then with a fret rocker I always check 3 frets at a time without string tension and the fingerboard straight. I use a notched straight edge to adjust the neck as straight as possible. When I discover a high fret, I can usually seat it level with my fret hammer without the need to do a fret level.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by brianhejh

When using a fret rocker to check for any high frets, should this be done with the guitar tuned to pitch or strings off and guitar neck straightened.

Its an older post, but will put my pennys worth in.

We play the guitar strung up in full tension, we want to check and identify any high frets whilst its in full tension. Necks twist and do all sorts of weird things when strung up.

Steve