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HI  I am an amateur guitar repair guy - as a hobby. i also collect and found a 73 LP Deluxe in all Red. Tough to find. Off ebay of course. Seller had tons of positive feedback. Any way, I go to set her up and the strings - mostly the D and to the high E, D being the worst, fret out at like the 12th fret. I tightened the Truss as much as I could, but I know it does not effect frets over the body, I beleive.

I put a ruler on the frets and it is obvious the last few frets must be higher and seem to have been filed a bit already. the straightedge has space between it and the frets around the 8-13th fret. How do I tell if she has a warped neck or it is just a hack fret job? Sighting down the sides shows nothing unususal.

I might just send her back, but because she is rather rare I'd love to get her fixed and keep her. Advice greatly appreciated. thanks

DW, you need a long straight edge, actually two. One to lay on the frets to see if any of them are high and another one that is notched. The notched one lays on the fretboard, bypassing any weirdness going on with the frets. This way you can see if its one or the other or both.

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Aoibeann

I wouldn't send the guitar back. Not if you feel you got a good deal. Rare guitars are...well...rare. I would fix her up. But that's easy for me to say. Depending on how much you want to spend you could make that guitar quite playable. Don't mess with anything you are not trained to do. Often on older guitars the T-rods are "seized" and need to be gently "convinced" to begin working. Also, never ever tighten one up "as far as it will go". If you snap or strip the rod you have bigger problems. Always take the string tension off the neck and "help" the rod do it's job by exerting pressure in the direction you are attempting to go.
Sounds to me like you might need to have the frets pulled, the fret board shaved and leveled, and then a re-fret. But without any pics it's really hard to tell...even with pics it's often hard to tell. Find a reputable repair man in your area and let him/her evaluate it for you. You can also take Lillian's advise, Stewmac sells a notched fret rule that will allow you to "read" the fret board, but unless you are going to tackle the repair job yourself it may be a waste of time and money. If you pay shipping to me and back I will evaluate it for you for free. I know...that's another $100 you didn't plan on. Well... that's Ebay...

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

[QUOTE=Dave-SKG]I wouldn't send the guitar back. Not if you feel you got a good deal. Rare guitars are...well...rare. I would fix her up. But that's easy for me to say. Depending on how much you want to spend you could make that guitar quite playable. Don't mess with anything you are not trained to do. Often on older guitars the T-rods are "seized" and need to be gently "convinced" to begin working. Also, never ever tighten one up "as far as it will go". If you snap or strip the rod you have bigger problems. Always take the string tension off the neck and "help" the rod do it's job by exerting pressure in the direction you are attempting to go.
Sounds to me like you might need to have the frets pulled, the fret board shaved and leveled, and then a re-fret. But without any pics it's really hard to tell...even with pics it's often hard to tell. Find a reputable repair man in your area and let him/her evaluate it for you. You can also take Lillian's advise, Stewmac sells a notched fret rule that will allow you to "read" the fret board, but unless you are going to tackle the repair job yourself it may be a waste of time and money. If you pay shipping to me and back I will evaluate it for you for free. I know...that's another $100 you didn't plan on. Well... that's Ebay...[/QUOTE]

that is a very kind offer Dave. I think i will bring her locally to Rudys in NY and see what they say, since that is only about 30 blocks from my home. I would not touch a refret etc on this one. A pro is the way to go for sure.

 

thanks again

PS see my next post on a bridge screwup. MAybe you can give me a bit of advice there too. Greatly appreciated. Where is your shop?

I didn't know you were in "the" city. Why not go pay fellow OLF'r Evan Gluck a call... I believe he's located somewhere around 48th street ( near Manny's and the like)? You might want to PM him if he doesn't chime in. Hey you just saved yourself $100 in S&H!

Rudy's is a good store I have bought from them before. I don't know who his current tech is but would guess he's probably top notch.

Good Luck!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Thanks so much for the reccomendation Dave. I would love to see it and figure out what it is doing. I will say though I have been laying low for the last 2 months due to a shoulder injury that I have been doing constant physical therapy for. This has side lined me from fret work until at least the end of the summer. Anyway let me know if you want me to take a look at it. Examinations are always free
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Guys, what are you doing to your shoulders????

Evan, I hope PT goes well and the summer goes quickly.

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Aoibeann

Thanks so much Lillian, in my case I injured it about 5 years ago and never took care of it properly. I got it MRI this year and they discovered alot of tendonitis and a scapula problem. Trying not to have surgery if I can avoid it.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

[QUOTE=Evan Gluck]Thanks so much Lillian, in my case I injured it about 5 years ago and never took care of it properly. I got it MRI this year and they discovered alot of tendonitis and a scapula problem. Trying not to have surgery if I can avoid it.
Best, Evan[/QUOTE]

thanks evan

aren't you on the upper west near me? i am on 73 &bdwy

Yup I am on 106th right off of Broadway. I am spending the day with my wife tomorrow, she is directing a film and the last day of shooting is tomorrow. I will be back to work Tuesday so just give me a ring.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Evan, I live with a rabid literature/movie/play etc, aficionado, who wants to know who Mrs. Evan Gluck is, if we may ask.

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Aoibeann

Her name is Ela Thier, she had a film made in Germany several years ago that won about 20 international awards. She is shooting a 3 scene short with actors Jay O Sanders and his wife Tony award winning actress Maryann Plunkett. They are simply amazing to watch perform. My wife was also commisioned last year to write a script that just go its funding. She is also a prominent screenwriting teacher in NYC and has several other scripts in good hands.
On a related note I just did work for Kevin Kline's daughter. So I got to meet Kevin. I have always been a fan.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

Way cool.

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Aoibeann

[QUOTE=Aoibeann]Way cool.[/QUOTE]

I got anxious and brought the guitar to Rudy's music. Actually real nice guys. I try to do all myself so in 25 years of collecting this is the first time I ever went to a 3rd party for a possible repair. Jeremy over there said the board was a bit raised over the body and hence the frets were high there. I saw that but thought it was more of an issue. the frets had been ground flat already.

I thought he'd say we'd need to do a full refret and plane the board, but no. He htingks he can lower the string height at the nut and take the last few frets down and get a bit of a crown on them. that is what I was going to do - the down and crown, not the lowering of the strings at the nut (interesting), but since they were nice enought ot check it out I thought it only fair to let them do it as well as a full setup.  $125. Seems fair to me, but I live in NYC where a gallon of milk can be 5 or 6. Thoughts>>> fair? Also what do you all think is charged these days for a. a refret - keeping the nibs b. the same with planing the board?

 

Again, thanks for all your help - very much appreciated. Dennis

 

PS Evan, I will use you next time.

Dennis,

I've seen NYC refret prices at four to five hundred bucks! I think you got by okay, even if you didn't get the full refret. Let us know how it turns out.

Sounds good, Jeremy is a great guy.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com