Ibanez Artcore frets snagging strings

[gforce]

I got me a beautiful Ibanez Artcore,plays and sounds like a dream, lots of bad press on this guitar but I love it except for one thing, The "E" string gets hung up under the frets. Every o ne you can slip your fingernail under. I talked with a lutheir friend who makes violins and guitars and he said I could just drive them down. I think they are all the way down already. Is this a common problem to this model or do I have one that has been damaged? It is really irritating and playing easier on it doesn't help. Do I need to replace the neck or can this be repaired? Any help in this matter would be apprieciated.

[Deleted]

I think your friend is right. I have come across this a few times. It's not just an Ibanez thing. If you can get your finger nail under the fret then it's not seated all the way.
Is there more than one fret that is like that? Find you a block of wood and a hammer and tap them down. I use a hammer with rubber ends on it. That is why I said to use a block of wood, so you don't damage the frets.

Once you have them seated, I would use some glue on the end of the frets. I use CA (super glue) but you can use wood glue. In doing this it will help keep the frets seated.

We all deal with wood movement, and when guitars are shipped around the world, wood is going to move. So like I said it is not uncommon to see this. Here were I live in AZ wood dries out, so I see a lot frets that need to be filed on the ends to make them smooth.

Well, that is the way I would handle it. Welcome to the forum!

EB

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Good call, Eddie...good info. Welcome to the forum. That is a great guitar.

Is it possible to take the guitar back to where you bought it and have them fix it for you?

John

[dnic]

Only thing I can add to this is sometimes the frets may bounce and not stay down when tapped. I use a radius block and clamp them down and super glue the ends. You probably have loose fret ends and fret sprout so once the ends are glued you will to file the sprout off as well. If the artcore has binding the problem could be the crowns hanging slightly past the binding with no tang the string will hang on that. The fix is still pretty much the same.

[antares]

I have this problem with a Roger Giffin (hand) made "Tele" neck and one fret refuses to stay down. I'm no expert with guitars, (or wood generally for that matter) but coming from a metal working back ground it seems to me that the frets should be pre-radiused slightly tighter than the fingerboard radius? Then tapping it in should involve working from the outside towards the centre (if a correctly shaped caul is not available) My fix will involve removing the offending fret and tweaking the radius tighter and then re-inserting it hoping that the barbs on the tangs will still grip OK. That's why I've left it alone (so far!) Cowardice!
I saw a video once where the old time Fender method involved drawing the fret across the finger board through the slot using a crude Heath Robinson type foot-operated affair. That makes sense too if you expect the barbs to grip over time, but wouldn't really be practical with bound finger boards.

[dnic]

I would do the same thing I said above. Clamp the fret down and glue the end with CA. If you pull the fret it will be straight or even curved the wrong way. Then re shaping is though and you will prolly need to glue the whole thing in anyway.

Something else to look out for is a low fret problem. If the fret in question was up when the frets were leveled pressing it to the board may result in buzzing on the next fret.

[Deleted]

I see this a lot here in AZ. Sometimes I will pull a fret, but only if it's not wanting to stay seated. But most times I find they will stay down. I have also used a radius block to hold it down, until the glue dries. But not everyone has the tools that some of us have.

Also in some cases one would have to re-level the frets. I have found in most cases, when using a block to hold the frets down, is not to over tighten the block. Or not to hit the fret over and over to cause one to indent the fret board.

But using a little care, and checking ones work as they go and not be in a big hurry, things will more than likely work out.

But like what was said earlier... If one is unsure of how to fix it, then I would take it back to the guitar store and see if they would fix it or replace the guitar. (If it's a new bought guitar)

EB

[antares]

This thread has prompted me to have another go with that recalcitrant fret (cheers Dane) I'll try CA again. Perhaps I didn't use enough last time? I get fearful of the stuff turning the lacquer on the neck all cloudy.

[dnic]

Never had a cloudy problem with CA and lacquer, that is without accelerator. Electrical tape makes a good barrier because CA will not wick under it. Anyway, any CA mess can be sanded off and buffed back up to a shine. Using graduated grits of paper off course. That's why it's so good for chips and repairs.

[antares]

I don't want to be sanding or buffing the nice 35 years old patina complete with genuine finger wear, but thanks for the great heads up regarding the use of electrical tape and CA wicking. I didn't know that and I wouldn't have anticipated it.

[dnic]

If you had fret sprout and filed just enough to kiss the edge of the fret board. Then sanded 400-1000 grit paper on a block, then polish that edge back to a shine. You don't really mess much with the finish or aging. You are only touching the top corner or so of the fret board. And there are sneaky ways of fixing aged finish, but if I told you I'd have to kill you.

[antares]

I did indeed have fret sprout and it was the filing that loosened it!
Are we off topic? I've lost track ;<D Apologies to those concerned...

[dnic]

On this board, I think rabbit trailing is mandatory.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Never off-topic..release the hounds!

John