Guitar action vs dead notes

[mightyboy88]

Hi , i have a guitar in which i tried to lower the action through adjustments of the truss rod as well as the bridge for a floyd rose guitar to about 2mm(treble) and 2.4mm(bass) clearance from 24fret to the fret .

However there is a dead note on the 17th fret in which when i try to bend the b string and high e string the note dies off half way. Hence i have adjusted the action relatively higher.

I would like to ask for opinions on whether i should refret or level frets etc .

Thank you very much

 

[feedback]

Thruss rod adjustment

 

[mightyboy88]

Thanks.

I think that the dead note is caused by some frets at the 18th to 24th being rarely played and bended and hence more fat the the 17th fret which i may bend there more often . If i adjust the action doesnt the situation remain the same as the string when freted at the 17th fret still "kena" the other frets when bending

 

[junkiemanxl]

if the dead notes happen on the 17th, there's a high chance you might need to level the frets. i dont think its the truss rod.

 

[subversion]

i've seen guitars with this anomaly before. in addition to unlevelled frets, it could also be poor insertions of frets- look if the fret concerned is slightly popping out of its slot, it requires some knocking into... not for the faint-hearted of course...

 

[EngelFaeuste]

it requires some knocking into... not for the faint-hearted of course...

It requires a fair bit of force, you might find it slightly easier if you heat the frets first though, melt the glue that holds it there. Again, this is not for a faint hearted, usually heating is done with a soldering iron which can very easily leave some nice burn marks on your fretboard.

 

[mightyboy88]

Thanks subversion and engel

I will upload pictures of the fret work shortly to let you guys assess it

From the looks of it now it doesnt look like there are frets that are popping out

How do you actually go about doing fret levelling thou , DIY or luthier ?

 

[junkiemanxl]

Thanks subversion and engel

I will upload pictures of the fret work shortly to let you guys assess it

From the looks of it now it doesnt look like there are frets that are popping out

How do you actually go about doing fret levelling thou , DIY or luthier ?

you wont be able to see the un-leveled frets with the naked eye. try using a long steel ruler and place it on the frets to see if there are bumps. Since your dead notes happen on the 17th, fret dressing would only require from there on so it wont be as pricey as dressing the entire fretboard.

Just a word of caution, from my past "BAD" experiences, it will be best to leave fret leveling and crowing to a qualified guitar tech if you are not sure and have not done it before. Bring it to a guitar tech and watch them do it. you might learn a thing or two and DIY it when the need arises the next time.

If you do it wrongly, You might run into a whole list of problems like.

• Over filing - You might need to dress the entire fretboard if you over do it.
• Scratched fretboard
• rough uneven frets that would cause strings to gag

 

[mightyboy88]

Thanks for the advise . I cant really feel any bumps though.

I can bend on the 16th n 18th to 24th fret without the note dying out on the high e and b strings . Does this mean my 17th fret need to be refretted ?

 

[junkiemanxl]

maybe the 18th is slightly poping up hence causing the buzz since the other frets are good.