Official Luthiers Forum!

Indeed.

_________________
http://www.casperguitar.com

For me, same order at Kent and Trevor, using epoxy to attach the board to the neck. And lately I have been trying to dress my fret ends before pressing them into the board.

From my own experience, if you're mostly playing down there between the nut and #7 then you can tolerate fairly high action at #12 and not worry too much about fret levelling, provided you're installing frets onto a very well-planed and radiused fretboard, and installing that board on a very well-planed neck blank.

But if you're spending time playing in the neighborhood of #12 then you will want lower action, and some fallaway in the upper frets to avoid buzzing. If you're good you can mill this into the fretboard, but its easier and safer to do it on the fret tops.

_________________
The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

I had a guitar return the other day because of a fret rattle. A fairly unconventional guitar, a classical with a steel string top and steel strings, a custom build for a pro classical player used to belting nylon strings with a 3.5mm action on the top E. He could rattle the top E. I couldn't (playing on 12s). The action? 1.7mm on the top E. Played clean to the 19th fret. Pressed in frets, checked with a "rocker" as they went into the board, no dressing. I said "Well, I can raise the action". He said, "No, I'll back off a bit!"

If you're having to put "fallaway" on the upper frets from new, you're setting the neck angle incorrectly or have a neck joint that it too "mobile". As usual, long story, lots of maths and geometry to prove it (it's to do with how the relief is allowed for).

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au