Is this a common problem?

[thindave]

Hey all, I went out looking at different EBMM guitars yesterday - tried a few Axis, Axis SS and a Luke (liked the Luke a lot!). I did notice one thing with the Axis guitars I tried - of the 6 I found, 4 of them had rough edges to the frets and seemed to extend too far off the edge of the neck. The Luek was awesome...

Did I just get up on the wrong side of the bed, or is this common?

 

[PurpleSport]

Thindave -

That's a phenomenon called "fret sprout" in luthier circles, and it's a fairly common occurence amongst newer guitars with oil finish necks in the winter due to heating systems sucking all the moisture out of the air.

What's happening is the neck's wood is literally shrinking due to the lack of humidity - the oil finish allows the moisture to escape lots easier than with painted ones.

When the humidity goes back up in the spring/summer, depending on the degree of humidity and neck finish, the wood can expand back to nearly the size it was before. This can actually happen a few times to lesser degrees before the neck finally dries out and settles in.

A good luthier can easily fix this with a good fret filing...and a good music store can keep it from happening by keeping their showrooms properly humidified!

It's a good idea to follow the steps on the EBMM FAQ on how to maintain the oil finish to keep this from happening. An overly dry neck can also lead to other problems down the road such as neck/fingerboard warping, frets coming loose or popping out, and other bad stuff.

 

[thindave]

Thanks Purp - I was starting to think I was onto something.... These damn Jersey stores!

 

[musikarero]

Good reply Purp!

 

[Derek]

Purple Sport is dead on. I have seen this happen before around the same time of year. It is a easy fix and should not be a problem later on.

Hopefully the dealer will contact us to solve this issue.

Thanks

Derek

 

[hbucker]

I've seen many of these types of guitars hanging on store walls and it isn't unusual for the necks to be in horrible shape. They aren't properly humidified and they aren't properly maintained by the store staff so they are all grungy looking and dry. When will they learn?

I've had the "fret sprout" problem with all 3 of my guitars before. But before you go filing frets I'd make sure they are properly humidified and lemon oiled. I've reversed the "sprout" back to nothing with proper application of humidity and lemon oil. If you're consistent with these, you shouldn't ever have a problem.

 

[thindave]

Thanks everyone - I thought it was weird that there were so many like that. I'm in the market for an Albert Lee so this relieves a number of concerns.

Looking to joint the party soon...

 

[zabba]

Wow
I
and I thought the guitars were poorly made.
Never imagined this.


A good guitar requires mainrenance that the guitar shops don't have time to provide
WoW

 

[hbucker]

Not quite sure what you mean Zabba but I sense some negative sarcasm. Nobody should ever state that oiled necks don't take more maintanence than a lacquered neck. If you've gotten that impression, you've been misinformed.

The problem in stores is:

1. Everyone with dirty hands picks up these guitars and plays them. This makes the necks dirty. On oiled necks you have to scrub a little to get the dirt off. It has nothing to do with quality. It's the finish some poeple prefer.

2. These necks require lemon oil every 1-6 months depending on use and the humidity they're stored in. Again, it's the nature of the beast. It has nothing to do with quality.

I sense what you're saying is a little like saying, "The floating trem on my guitar goes out of tune whenever I break a string. I thought this was a good quality guitar!" Obviously, it has nothing to do with quality. It has everything to do with what the guitar is.

These necks aren't for everyone. I love the feel but honestly, I get a little tired of the maintanence myself once in a while.

Like them or not, the finish on this kind of neck is a valid option AND it requires more TLC than the average lacquered neck. The sooner stores realize this, the sooner they'll sell more of them...

 

[zabba]

No Sarcasm intended

I was truly impressed with the information presented

These thimgs about why use humidity and why some guitars are rough to play, was new info to me

the only point I was making was that a well maintained guitar means a consistant program of cleaning and attention.
A guitar can not be tossed in a case and left for years without some drying and damage to the woods.

A raw wood neck responds well to oiling
and oiling seems to preserve the wood in a similar manner as the proper humidity does

How we got from that point of view to a negative comment, ????
Just a thing that happens to communications
the language may be a barrier instead of an way to openness..
My fault by using too short of comments
when more nrrds to be said