UDPATED POST: Worst Probs than Sharp Frets Now!!! HELP!!! DEPRESSED!

[WorksInTheory]

Updated 6/25/2006 - The Larrivee I mention in this post - my DV-03E which I love dearly. I love all guitars dearly you should know - works of art - fine things, delicate things... look for my last post for more info on what happened...

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Do you guys experience sharp frets on the Larrivees? I contacted Larrivee and insisted that it wasn't a humidity problem as I took care of all that and keep it humidified and even tried over doing it to let it come back.  No luck - Plus now it's summer and it's not like I live in the desert.- Larrivee said there is only one way for them to have sharp frets and that's the humidty problem and I guess that's that. I read around for awhile but did anyone ever have success with addressing this issue especially on their own?

Thanks.

[Cowgirlie]

While I am not challenging your humidity control, I can say that one of my Larrivees once felt a bit sharp around the frets. (no, I don't recall the time of year)I started to wondter if it had always been there, and I had somehow not notices (not likely) I took her with me when I went to the Oxnard plant and let Matthew Larrivee take a look...he sucked air in through his teeth, and gave me a short but concise and instructional lecture on climate, heat, etc.
That guitar has had a humidifior in the case since and has not has a sharp freet since.

Having seen the guys at the work bench rocking and hammering in the frets with the precision of watrchmakers, I'd be hard pressed to believe one of them would let a mistake get by. Those guys are darn proud of their work. I do hope you will let it humidify a good deal before you do anything drastic (like file frets down). Best of luck!

[unclrob]

OK,this is not always a humity problem.When I was working for a dealer we recieved some from the factory with this problem.The best thing to do is have the ends sanded,it has nothing to do with the time of year.Why it happens,who know's.Placing blame on humity or something just getting past someone or what ever.Have it fixed and keep playin.I don't remember when another thread on this topic went down but if you want you can do a search.







OK I'm in my happy place now,the stone throwing can begin.

[SongMan]

I had 20+ different Larrivees in the past 03's, 05's and 09 series. I think the last 10 of them I played had  frets sticking out a little. NOt enough to hurt my hand or get in the way of my playing, but definetly enough to notice and enough to bother me. I live in the San Francisco bay area where humidlity is never(usually) a problem.

Fret edges sticking out is the one thing I dislike about Larrivees. However I always come back to them because of the tone and overall quality you get for the price.

[jwu53]

I hear you about Larrivee frets.

I think its a matter of dressing the frets, which Larrivee is obviously not much into! Both my Larrivees have somewhat sharp fret ends compared to my Loprinzi and Guild. The LS-05 I have was used (hardly) when I bought it, and the L-03R was brand-new from a reputable local authorized dealer. All the other Larrivees I've played are similar in fact -- they have chopped-angle fret ends instead of bull-nosed rounded ends like my Loprinzi (which by the way as far as humidity goes has been with me since '84 through all kinds of conditions, moves, etc). If you were here I'd invite you to compare the beautiful smooth frets of the Loprinzi with the Larrys and you'd see what I mean!
 

Fret edges sticking out is the one thing I dislike about Larrivees. However I always come back to them because of the tone and overall quality you get for the price.

Songman beat me to the punch here; The frets are a minor cavil I have about Larrivees as well -- I also tend to push the 1st string off the sharp beveled edge on the Larrys, while that NEVER happens on the Loprinzi or Guild. That said, in just about every other aspect, Larrivees are IMHO truly outstanding.

[WorksInTheory]

I had 20+ different Larrivees in the past 03's, 05's and 09 series. I think the last 10 of them I played had  frets sticking out a little. NOt enough to hurt my hand or get in the way of my playing, but definetly enough to notice and enough to bother me. I live in the San Francisco bay area where humidlity is never(usually) a problem.

Fret edges sticking out is the one thing I dislike about Larrivees. However I always come back to them because of the tone and overall quality you get for the price.

Yes and in my search of this forum there are many counts of the recent Larrivees with this issue also. I don't think it left them the factory that way but I did read somewhere that where your guitar was made makes a difference because its used to those conditions and once it leaves things happen. In any case I need to figure out how to take care of it and would like to do it myself to see if I can save some money and learn something. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. The frets sort of... well hurt.

[wyodeb]

Wherever or however it happened, they don't seem to go back in by themselves. Getting them dressed, or doing it yourself, will make it much more pleasant to play. Give Unclrob a call, and he can probably talk you through it. The last Larrivee I bought was from him, and I suspect he dressed them a bit, because they are absolutely smooth.

Deb

[unclrob]

OK here goes one of my top 10.Call me I talk you thru it.

[ronmac]

And a free T-shirt for the 11th caller. Operators are standing by....

[jimmyd]

This issue does come up often. I've had to dress some of the ends on my D03R. Was it under humidfied? I don't think so but that doesn't really matter. It happens to a lot of guitars. I consider it a minor tuning issue along with the other things you go through in a good setup. The good news is that this is really easy to fix.  It's just a little sharp edge right at the bottom of the fret where it meets the body binding. StewMac sells a nifty little file that is perfect for dressing fret ends that works really well.

[FNG]

Just talke the guitar to a good tech.  I just had my D-50 looked over, dressed the frets, new Elixirs PBs, set the relief, polished it up, 75 bucks.  Fixed a buzz on the A string at the second fret, which was why I took it in.  Worth every penny, plays and sounds much better.   

Unclrob and his peers have to eat too!!! 

[dberch]

I have two Larrivees and they both suffer(ed) from this.  One of the few complaints I've ever had about Larrivees.  I suspect it's one of those business decisions they've made that allows then to sell great guitars for a great price. I for one am all for it.  I bought a fret end dressing file and invest 10 minutes - problem solved.  unclrob can talk you through it.  It'll cost you two donuts and some corn nuts.

[WorksInTheory]

It seems to be more prevalent with Larrivee guitars though or atleast at the -03 level. This by the way is no way a comment on their quality - I thoroughly believe in their company and product. However on my other guitars which are older in worse shape from humidity I would say they have more rounded type fret ends.Totally agree fine guitar shops and luthiers need to eat - I love the service and the passion they give to guitars. However based on my count of strings, guitar setups, etc lately - they've been eating a lot. So it's either wait a little and spread out the costs over time or do it myself right now if I am impatient. Granted 50-60-75 bucks here and there is worth it but over many guitars all in a time period sort of takes a toll. Plus I like neat projects that make me be a lulthier wannabe. I figured out that if I win the lottery what I would do - I would go off an apprentice somewhere and learn to make a guitar.

[wyodeb]

Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Player Repair Guide" is very worth the $. It will talk you though all sorts of guitar maintenance issues.

Deb

[poki]

my 0-09K certainly had sharp fret ends which were poking out some but they were easier than expected to smooth with sand paper on a small wood block since the metal was soft.  from what i remember my previous OM-09 came with smooth fret ends.

[desaljs]

I had this problem with a Taylor last year.  It arrived that way and I believe it got dry before getting into my hands.  My reading on this issue leads me to believe that once a fretboard shrinks, even just a little, humidity will not bring it back.  Thus, the fret ends will need a little work.

If you want to give this a try yourself (I did), here is a link to a tool that will do the trick:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Shaping_and_crowning/Fret_End_Dressing_File.html

Nice tool to have around.  Good luck with this.

Jim D

[Queequeg]

I have 20 guitars.
I have two Larrivees. (And a third one on the way.)
I have two guitars with frets extending out beyond the neck.
If you guessed the Larrivess have the fret problem, give yourself a pat on the back.
I haven't done any real damage to my hand, but I'm not happy about it. Eventually, I'll file them down. Its the only thing I don't like about these guitars.

[Tycho]

I have this problem with my HPL Martin, which I've never bothered humidifying.  I basically live with it.  The guitar is still very playable.

[CF Larrivee]

I have four Larrivees and my D-03RE has the sharpies. The other three are fine. The D-03RE was sharp in the store and has stayed that way, even though all my gits sit in the same room. Why some Larrys have this problem while others don't is a puzzler :huh:

[WorksInTheory]

I have 20 guitars.

Holy cow - you can open up an amusement park. So you have a special room? If you have a pic of your collection please post!