Spotty fretwork :: Allen Eden 335-style [8.1 lbs]

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An import 335 style semi-hollow in for some setup tweaks.  Mediocre fretwork is often par for the course on imports with uneven frets and sharp ends.  We decided to tap down the high frets and dress the ends to improve fretting up the neck.  The player uses this guitar for chord-melody style (ie Joe Pass) and strings it with flats

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Fret end dress for a DIY'er :: 2011 Fender Telecaster [9.0 lbs]

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A local DIY'er brings me in a few of his projects every so often for some minor tweaks on jobs he's not quite comfortable with yet.  The fret ends were quite sharp on this neck so I dressed them back nice and smooth.

Fret ends & new tuners :: Relic Tele partscaster [7.4 lbs]

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Remember this guy from a couple months ago when it was in for a voodoo drop-signal repair?  It's back in for new tuners (purchased pre-relic'd to match) and a fret end dress.  Thankfully the signal is still going strong.

Fret end dress :: 2011 G&L SC-2 [7.1 lbs]

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Fret end dress :: 2011 G&L SC-2 [7.1 lbs]

When a guitar is exposed to low humidity, often the fingerboard will move (shrink) and the frets become proud of the neck (since they are metal and do not contract with humidity).  Unbound fingerboards like this can become especially uncomfortable on the left hand so the frets were ground back flush with the neck and polished out.  I'm a big fan of the dynamic range of these G&L "Magnetic Field Design" pickups.  The "Belair Green" finish looks pretty sharp too.

Counterfeit Martin D45S [4.8 lbs] :: sharp fret ends & setup

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Counterfeit Martin D45S [4.8 lbs] :: sharp fret ends & setup

This customer has a good sense of humor.  He stops by and says "I have Martin D-45 for you!  Should be worth quite a bit of money!"  I was immediately suspicious as pulled it out of a stained Washburn gig bag.  We both had a good laugh and he described a few issues to address, like the high action and sharp fret ends.  Upon inspection I found a slew of other issues (as to be expected on such a cheap copy) with a lifting bridge, loose braces, uneven frets and an über-sloppy saddle fit (see video below).  We decided to keep costs down and just make it more comfortable to play and only addressed the fret ends and action.

The serial number dates it to 1944 ... a rare year indeed for Martin cutaways since they weren't available until the 1980's.  Also check out this oddly-worded label ... yikes.

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