fret finish

[Ivo]

I noticed that at some point (around five years ago?) G&L changed the way they finish the edge of the fingerboard where the frets are placed. (At least with my guitars, I'm not sure this is true in general)
They used to fill them with something, so you'd get a very even surface. Now the leave it open. I wonder why they changed this. The filled ones look classy, but both necks feel good. It's the same with maple or rosewood, they used another color to fill.
Here's an example, first filled, second open:

[sirmyghin]

Might have something to do with PLEKKING (but I doubt it). I had some massive cheese grater on my first winter on my ASAT too. I filed it down and it will be good add infinitum now, but I agree when they clip the ends it looks better, and is less painful to play as they won't pop out on you. The only real reason it would be changed is unfortunately, less work. Some arguments may be made about them being seated better, but they don't hold much water unfortunately. A lot of companies don't clip back the ends, and the filled is seen as more of an 'extra' than anything, so to save a bit of time maybe it was cut (unlike the ends of the tang now )

[Elwood]

Sirmy, I think he's talking about the little empty spaces below the tang,
So the keyword here would be "fiLLed", not " fiLed " .

Good question, the top example does look like the fretwire had more beefy and longer tangs,
so it could be a change in wire without changing the depth of the fret slots.
...or maybe they use to fill the voids with some sawdust/glue,
I'd love to hear others thoughts.

by the way...good pics Ivo : )

Elwood

[sirmyghin]

Elwood, the top one is clipped and filled, the bottom looks cut a bit deep, as well as not clipped and filled. My recent does not have gaps under the frets, but is also not clipped and filled. I currently have reverse cheese great (holes) from filing my frets back in the dry winter.

[Ivo]

Exactly, thats what I'm talking about Elwood. Filled
I don't think it's the fretwire you see, but indeed a sort of sawdust/glue like you suggested.
It will be a little bit more work doing this, bit it's a nice sort of attention to detail.

[Elwood]

Sirmyghin,I see what you mean ( I think ),
...are you saying the bottom neck had the frets installed already cut to length,
as opposed to being glued in long then filed flush to the edge of the fretboard.

Thanks for the clarification,

E

p.s. Ivo, the neck in the top picture looks world class : ),
...someone did a fine job finishing that edge.

[suave eddie]

Are both of those examples U.S. models?
I am shocked by the second photo. I wouldn't expect to see that on a U.S. G&L.

Here is what my recent special order looks like.

[Ivo]

Yes, both USA.
The second photo as a Custom Creations Classic S.
I must say that you don't see it as good irl as in the photo, and it's a great player.
It also feels smooth, you don't notice the edges when playing.

In your photo we see a different variant, where just the holes are filled. G&L uses different techniques over the years.

[suave eddie]

I'm even more surprised that it is a custom creations instrument. It looks tacky to me and not up to the finish quality I would expect from G&L.

[Elwood]

Did you buy the Custom Creations S new?
Is it possible that it was refretted as some point?
It doesn't seem probable on a relatively new ax, but maybe someone wanted a different fretwire.

Now I'm curious to see others from the same era,
all of mine are pre-'91...so I don't have any examples to share.

[Philby]

Great thread Ivo, and excellent photos to illustrate your point.

My only USA G&L is a '95 S-500, and the frets are seated exactly the same as in your second photo. I wish it were more like the first photo because that looks truly 'pro'. I didn't really notice until I took the S-500 to a luthier for some work on the nut. He asked if it had been re-fretted and I said no, why do you ask? Then he pointed out the sloppy fret work which he tended to associate with poor re-fret jobs. It looks like the factory has cut the fret slots too deep for the fret tangs.

In truth the gaps under the frets don't affect the way the S-500 plays or feels, but now I know they're there it kinda bugs me. FWIW my Tribby ASAT's have perfect fret jobs like your first photo. In fact NONE of my other guitars have the gaps under the frets.

[suave eddie]

I just checked my old '80s SC-1. The frets are seated perfectly. No gaps, no filler.

If those are the original frets in the photo, it looks like sloppy workmanship to me.

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

My 2010 Legacy has the finely crafted fret installation shown in IVO's first image.

I am curious. Looking at those two images, the arc of the fret wire is different. Is it possible that the gauge or spec was somehow different? One appears flatter like a half ellipse while the other is a definite half circle. Could the cut in the board be generic while different fret wire fits the cut differently? That still leaves the finely crafted "finishing" (that at least appears to be) missing in image #2 though.

[Ivo]

They were all bought brand new, like all of my guitars.

The first image is my Bluesboy, of which the frets have been dressed recently, so that might be the reason the frets have another shape?

The second image, which is my Classic S, bought new, has not been played much yet, and obviously has not been re-fretted. This is the way it came out of the factory.

Again, this is no drama for me, I just noticed it and thought is was a new process. (It may look less slick, but it might give the frets room to 'move' during the seasons, but that is a very wild guess )

Looking at my ASAT Z-3 and my Deluxe, both maple fingerboards, the Z-3 has the same filling as image #1 (lighter color filling of course) , really nicely filled, but my Deluxe has no filling, but no holes either, the fret wire goes all the way to the bottom of the slot.
The Deluxe is the recent one. So it looks like G&L has no 'standard' way of finishing the fret slots. That's the charme of G&L .

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

FWIW, I just bought my NOS 2010 Legacy in May and the fret shape from that angle is the half ellipse also like the first image.

Oh well, it is a mystery.

[NickHorne]

sirmyghin wrote:

"I had some massive cheese grater on my first winter on my ASAT too"....

My USA WR (bought 2006) has been 100% stable all year, every year, but if my new USA Classic does "cheese grater", my estimation of "best woods, best built" is going to downgrade towards "avoid"...

[sirmyghin]

I live in Canada, on the great lakes. The humidity is very high in the summer, and winters are pretty dry comparitively. The guitar came from California to me in October, when our air is starting to dry out a bit, where california is pretty warm and wet all year in comparison. I expect this from any guitar I acquire really, even the most stable woods are not exempt.

[NickHorne]

I realised after my last entry that not the whole planet is as dull as England. Dim-ish, cool-ish, humid-ish. Quite benign for guitars and pianos etc though, until the metal parts begin to rust, that is....

P.S. On the great lakes?? You lucky .........