Guitar Tech Setup, Repair, Upgrade & Maintenance
Exceptional Guitar and Stringed Instrument Care
For an appointment, please call or text: 973-479-4497
Franklin Park, NJ | Franklin Township, Somerset County N.J.
Email: mattweinman@comcast.net
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Modern Frets From A Lute Player's Perspective
Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque lutes, Renaissance & Baroque guitars, theorbo/ chitarone, archlute, and other historical plucked chordophones utilize gut frets that are 'tied' on. (It's actually a bit more complex than just "tied-on") The frets are perfect cylinders. There are only 12 frets on the vast majority of lutes and related instruments. There are 8-9 tied-on gut frets on the neck, and 3 to 4 body frets. The frets start at a certain gauge and graduate downward as the frets go up the neck. Like creating fall-off or fall-away on the last 7- 9 frets on an electric guitar or bass guitar.
Gut Frets, moveable for temperament & "sweeteners"
Body Frets
After more than 37 years of working with gut frets, which are perfectly cylindrical in shape, I've developed a perspective on frets that I believe applies universally, regardless of the material used. In my view, frets should ideally be crowned to form a true half-cylindrical or semi-cylindrical shape with no flat spots. This ensures a smooth comfortable, and consistent playing surface. Depending on the condition and size of your frets, achieving this shape may vary slightly, but the goal remains the same.
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My meticulous process involves leveling and crowning each fret to an incredibly tight tolerance, with variations of less than (one one thousandths of an inch) 0.001 inches (equivalent to 0.0254 mm) from fret to fret.
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My aim is to provide a complete leveling & crowning job that ensures your guitar's frets are in the best possible shape, offering a smooth and precise playing experience.
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Please Note: All frets are crowned to achieve a perfect semicylindrical shape, or as close to it as possible, contingent upon the condition of your frets.
When you have well-played, decades-old, vintage frets, or frets that have been leveled many times, achieving the ideal semicylindrical shape may not always be feasible. In this case, a slightly to moderately wider semicylindrical contour but No Flat Spots!