filing frets for lower action: good idea?

[shokakukai]

hey softies,

two weeks ago, i filed all of the frets of my explorer to a lower height(from 1.8mm to 1.2mm) to get a lower action and eliminate sharp frets and buzzing. quite a stunt, coz i have totally no experience in fret work but luckily my explorer is still playable. could say the action is low now.

recently tried a rally les paul in standard value, and wow the action is exactly how i want it hahahaha. just wondering if i could file my frets lower to achieve the same action.

should i file my frets again?
or should i just live with what i have now?

 

[MutantBanana]

You are risking fret buzz and shortening the life of your frets. There are easier ways to get lower action.

 

[shokakukai]

right now im not having any issues with buzzing. everything is ok, except for the minor buzz you get with very low action. but shortening fret life? hmm icic. thats something.

then what are the other ways as you suggested? haha

 

[RyanZ]

You got the whole idea wrong. Lower action is not achieved by filing the frets. Your guitar needs to be set up, i.e adjusting the truss rod, saddles, tremolo... Filing the fret will only shorten the fret life and to replace the fret is not cheap.

 

[junkiemanxl]

hey bro,

filing your frets should not be done to lower action. did you try:

adjusting the truss rod for enough relief?
Adjusting your saddles?
change into a lower guage set of strings?

just a few things that might help your guitar be optimal.
filing or sanding the frets is not the way to go unless you need to level them due to uneven frets.

Well, if you do want to proceed. do it with caution

 

[shokakukai]

i've set up my guitar straightaway after buying it with beez. that was before i filed the frets. and some 3 weeks after i filed it, he didnt notice anything and even lowered the action more.

reason i filed coz they were high, had uneven and sharp frets.

haha but yeah, im still considering if i'm going to do it again. was quite a tedious task. took me 1 week, everday 4 hours to level and crown all the frets.

 

[jonaslaso24]

Which Rally Les Paul did you get? I'm getting the GL-400 Black at Standard Value on Weds, my birthday! Whoo. I've been there to try out the one on display and I loved the action of it. I must say its one of the best places to go for guitars. The service there is just awesome.

Although... They told me that they would give me a new one if I get the GL400 from them. Anyone can tell me what to look out for? ie. check the finish, any dings..? Anything else? Sorry for hijacking.

 

[Phil]

Good idea? No definitely not. Especially if you need to get a second opinion here.

Junkie pretty much said everything I wanted to say.

Uneven frets is one of the many causes of fret-buzz. And when you do have uneven frets, you dress or file them down.

Your frets wear out after time and playing, filing them down indiscriminately just shortens their life span.

Please do not proceed if you're not confident of what you're doing, bring it to a tech.

 

[shokakukai]

oh alright. i see i see, i get what you mean, phil. i guess i'll just live with it. haha. the action is not so bad anyway.

thanks for the input everyone. very helpful advice.



jonaslao24:
yeap, check for dings on the body, neck and the finish. play every fret and see if theres no buzzing, dead frets(where two frets play the same note, usually because of uneven frets) and such. but i strongly believe a shop like standard value wouldnt have such troublesome guitars.
have fun with your les paul and bday man HAHA!

 

[jonaslaso24]

Ok the one I tried had really minor buzz on 2 strings when i fretted it at the first fret. Other than that it was alright. But the nice assistant there told me that as long as it didnt ring out when its plugged into the amp it was alright.. So yeaps. But I guess I've got to try out the new one for it as well.

Regarding dead frets.. What do you mean by 2 frets playing the same note? Sorry I'm sorta a beginner of sorts. So yeps!

And its gonna be an awesome day. Getting the new baby in the morning and heading down for Lady Gaga's concert in the night. Whoo! *My poor bank's busted though*

 

[Whitestrat]

haha but yeah, im still considering if i'm going to do it again. was quite a tedious task. took me 1 week, everday 4 hours to level and crown all the frets.

This is really strange. A proper fret-dress (which, btw, is what you did try to do) should take no longer than 1 hour... All you need is a fret dress block. INCLUDING crowning.

But before you did what you did, did you take a look to see that NONE of the frets are popping out? Otherwise, all the work you did would be in vain.

Furthermore, fret dressing will only solve 10% of your problem. You need a GOOD setup after to sort out the rest.

And BTW, a conventional file will NOT do. I think you just caused yourself about $300 worth of problems. A refret might be needed now.

 

[eclipze]

u needn't file all the fret to get a low action

u just need to set the nut slot height per strings,
bridge saddles height, and set the truss rod for neck relieve

that's all .....
if u do file ur fret, u wont get low action, but the string's action will get lil bit high,
and your intonation will change.... need to re-setup the intonation, file the nut slot lil bit... set the saddle heights
setting the neck into its perfect condition needs a long time bro
the action, the intonation, etc etc...

filing the fret is just for eliminating fret buzz causing by uneven fret heights :-D
dont do it.... love your fret

 

[Whitestrat]

u needn't file all the fret to get a low action

I think, like most people, you don't get what he was trying to do. I didn't get it initially either.

He's trying to get a low action but can't due to uneven frets lah... No matter how straight the neck is, and how low his saddles are, there'll be dead spots. he wants non-existant action, so a fret level is a MUST if they're not even.

Only question is, what kind of file did he use????