Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey Mark,

I have a 95 360 with binding, its been a great guitar, and since it is my primary (only) electric (who needs anything else, right?), it has gotten a lot of use over the past five years and i've played it out close to every week.

I started to notice buzzing and general deadness on the b string at the third fret when i played the guitar unplugged. I took a closer look to find that the second fret is worn away a bit. The buzzing isn't noticable through the pickups but its bothering me as it is deadening sustain on that critical open d chord! (i told the songwriter in my band i was going to seek damages because he writes in D and G so much!)

I had the guitar set up a few weeks back, which didn't do much to help, and i took it into a trustworthy local shop and the guy there that does fret work checked it out. He says the 5th fret is slightly loose, which may be contributing to the problem. He was leery to do any work on it because of the high-gloss finish on the fingerboard and the binding on the neck.

I guess my question is this:

1. what does it sound like needs to be done (having not seen the actual guitar, I understand)?

2. Who do I trust with it? I'd rather ship it than let someone with no experience do something delicate. I've kept the guitar in such nice shape that I don't want to settle for any blemishes. (If you know of any names in the greater Boston area I'd appreciate a referral ... )

Thanks a lot,

Nick

Well it sounds as if the "luthier" you took it to,did not do his job,nor has the experience to know what to do.

in setting a guitar up the issue of frets is first and foremost.If the frets are "troubled",then the rest of the work is a waste of time.
What ever $$$ you spent was only for a diagnosis.If he charged you for more...you did not get your moneys worth.

I get into a guitar expecting the unexpected.That way I won't waste my time and the customer is aware that there could be more to their needs than what meets the eye.

To fix a loose fret on a newer Rick...this is what I do.(by the way this loose fret thing is as rare as goose snot on Ricks)
I use a #80 Jewelers drill bit .This is about the thickness of your average high E string.
I drill a hole at the edge of the fret ,somewhere there is a dark spot in the grain of the fretboard and drill into the slot the wire is in.
I then use a diabetic syringe (one of my best and oldest friends is diabetic and he gives me used syringes from time to time)
I clean the syringe out wityh denatured alcohol and let it dry for about 20 minutes.
Then I inject medium viscosity cyanoacrylate into the hole and then in my arbor press ,put some pressure on the fret.Let this sit for about 2 minutes and then shoot more cyano glue into the hole ,sand it level ,and then check the fret level.
Take care of that problem ,polish the frets,restring,check nut height,adjust truss rods,set bridge height,intonate and it's done .

I'll bet that this is only one of many divets in the frets.
The first ones to appear are ;
3rd fret 2nd string
2nd fret 3rd string
5th fret 2nd string
9th fret 3rd string

there are more than that but those are the first ones.

Off the Commons there used to be 2 stores that when I toured ,I always went to ...don't know if they are both still there.Wurlitzer and Pampalloni's ....or something like that .
As to repair guys...call Bill Cumpiono (SP) and ask him.
He makes really nice instruments and is in the Boston area.
With my customers ,the ones that play all the time ....I tell them to expect to have their frets dressed once per year.
for the average owner,maybe once every 3 years.Again this depends on the amount of play that it gets.
Fret dressing only removes the least amount of metal that is needed to clean up the tops .They do need to be recrowned (especially if the wire is at least .095 wide )

If the frets are less than .025 tall....you need to have a refret done.There is no way to properly crown frets at this point and without crowned frets ,the scale is off by half the width of the fretwire.
There is no way to intonate a guitar in this condition.

As to your guitar ,the frets must all be checked for proper seating and fixed ,then leveled ,recrowned and then polished.
After that it can be setup.

Thanks a lot ... someone in town is not going to be getting much business from me or any of the large network of guitarists i know, i'll say that much

I'll check out the leads in boston, and thank you much for your skilled prognosis!