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I am doing a setup on a brand new BMG guitars Red Special.
I noted that the zero fret is WAY higher than the other frets so the open strings sit very high above the fret plane. This doesn't make sense to me from a playability point of view and is contrary to how I have seen zero frets in the past.
It does not seem to be a mistake.
What would be the advantage to design a guitar with a very high zero fret that makes fretting more difficult and makes intonation etc worse? I'm just unable to come up with an explanation. Anybody have a reason for this or experience with this?

Dave

Poor manufacturing choices.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I've used a zero fret on a couple of parlor guitars and the zero fret ended up the same height as the other frets

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Yes, zero frets should be the same height as all the frets - not higher. Some manufacturers don't get the message.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Most of the setups I do on new guitars need the frets to be leveled if you want a good playing neck.


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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Interestingly recently saw a zero fret offering with an offset crown, presumably to help with intonation.
https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/sintoms-zero-fret-with-tang-2-5mm-wide-1-39mm-high-25-nickel-curved-piece.html

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I like zero frets. My zero fret is the same size as all the others, but I only level the playing frets and not the zero. This leaves it a fraction higher than the rest.

If I were really good at fret work it could be levelled with the rest, but leaving it a fraction higher helps reduce string rattle at the 1st and 2nd if the player has a heavy right hand. Or at least, that's my thinking.

The way I look at it the zero fret is just another fret. If you don't have string rattle when you're fretting the the first or second fret then you won't have string rattle on a level zero fret.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

To Steve’s comment: That would seem to be the case, but when you fret the string, you exert downward pressure that may cause it to arch up slightly over the next fret and not buzz. Of course, there is also pressure at the nut because of the headstock angle, but my guess is that because this is always present, the string settles in (gets slightly bent) at the nut, the arch disappears.
That this arching of the string occurs is demonstrated by the fact that you can often remove buzzing by simply fretting harder.
Viktor


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I agree the arch is there and it is also there on the nut. If the nut slots are flat, filing them at an angle can increase the clearance just a bit over the first fret maybe saving the cost/time for a new nut on an inexpensive guitar. I do a lot of setups but very few are zero frets but I have had no complaints from my clients. Regardless, everyone has their methods and as long as you like the results then all is good.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"