i-j-c Posted March 18, 2005 Report Posted March 18, 2005 Ok..I've done search here and found this lot and this thread...however it doesn't really answer my question. I did search google but nothing really answered what I wanted....most searches came back as 'flat top guitars' meaning the wood... Many years ago when playing I played some LP's on which the frets were distinctly flat...and remember my first guitar teacher had several LP's from teh 70's and the frets were practically non-existent. One thing I noticed is that they most certainly IMO played nice....and I notice PRS (and after reading a recent interview) is going down the vintage road and doing flat top frets..most noticeably on the new 513. Many years ago, I attempted dressing frets like this with varying degrees of success...or lack of success more like. I would like to try this again without getting the buzz..which I invariably got...and I also noticed intonation problems... So, my question not just to the more experienced but to all who has done this is what is the best method for doing this and how the heck do you stop the buzzing...and also, in your opinion...is this a good thing to attempt... Quote
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 18, 2005 Report Posted March 18, 2005 I have a 1980 Les Paul Custom (like Rhoads played), and 1987 Les Paul Custom Lite that has flat frets and both play like a charm. I have read though that flat frets can have problems with intonation and some buzz, but I've never had any problems. They both play so good that I was thinking the same thing about a year ago, but I never researched doing flat fretting before. I think that basically, they just fret the guitar then level them without recrowning. Don't hold me to this, but that's what it looks like they did to mine. Anyway about a month I bought that same 20th Anniversary PRS Collectors Edition Guitar Player Magazine, and I read it from cover to cover. I also was facinated that Paul Reed was striving for the same type of playability that the flat fret will give you. If anyone has a chance to pick up that magazine, it's definitely worth it, it has a lot of information in it. Even if you could care less about a PRS guitar, you owe it to yourself to read the PRS article where he talks about guitar building.. Very interesting. Quote
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