Thanks again for all your help getting me up and running with my very own magic banana, Sam (I'm the one who had all the problems with the Hosco truss rod that you helped me sort out). Another fascinating video Sam. It does seem to confirm that the banana can beat a Plek, even when the Plek is used to it's best. This is rather surprising to my mind. I'm now convinced that the reason for this must be that the strings are used to tell when levelling is complete with the banana method. All other methods seem to level to an arbitrary static degree without any real test of whether it's worked well enough dynamically - even with an ultra-accurate Plek. With the banana you can always do a little extra in the region the strings are telling you it's still not good enough. Mabye it's down to some sort of dynamic effect - resonances maybe?
Thanks Julia. It's difficult to say with confidence what the difference in performance between the two tools are... On the one hand, I have confidence in what the Plek appears to measure and how it uses that to calculate and then adjust each fret. That alone should ensure exactly what I'm trying to ensure: a smooth curve profile when the guitar is under string loading and slightly relieved. I can see how the Plek does that.. but then I learn that the Plek (for some reason?) can't or doesn't re-crown the frets and it has to be done by hand by the luthier-operator. That just seems... nuts. Surely the machine could also do that accurately? But apparently not. So, when all's said and done, I have no idea exactly why a) a Plek'd fretboard still has 'fret slap' or b) why the Banana seems able to alleviate or remove that fret 'slap' after Plekking (assuming it actually can and I'm not just 'hearing it'). I think you've hit the nail on the head though: the Plek takes the guitar out of your hands and works on it upright in its cabinet... the Banana on the other hand allows me to immediately play the guitar and check a region and - as you say - give that a tiny bit more attention and re-check and so on. It's more hands-on and I stop working as soon as I can detect the improvement.
As I understand it the Plek does "re-crown" the frets. The fret cutters used have the crown radius built in. However the frets do require manual polishing post-Plek to remove any tool marks and shine the frets as necessary. I guess fingerboard masking is required for this final polish, so it's difficult to see how the Plek could do it.
I know you said it was just your personal preference but the reason Mayones did the edges like they did is to mimic binding around the body and headstock. I actually really like it. The body shape is very reminiscent of a Ibanez RG which i have several old ones of. I Love those MIJ guitars! One of them is a Prestige 3120 and the fret work was insanely good!
Awesome video, innovative approach, well done Sam :) You’ve got so much great info, thank you! Could you please, tell where can I bought one of thеse truss rods in UK?
Hi Alexander - I sell a kit - see this link for more info facebook.com/photo/?fbid=943593684436774&set=a.505742714888542 But you can buy the U-Channel Truss rod from Tonetech Luthier supplies I think.
I've found if you really want to see if your neck is near perfect then use a capo...not a rocker alone! Many will rocker good but it still has tings and a few buzzes when capo'd...if it capos to frets 5 or 6, and frets without tings or buzzes, then probably the fingerboard is near perfect. I just bought a 187.00 dollar FS800 that has the best neck I've seen in years....I think yamaha is making the chinese use a CNC machine on their necks now...not all yamaha's are great but I've seen 3 or 4 in the last 3 months. This FS800 can play tuned a 1/2 step down with a straight neck. Less then .001 relief. (Bought a LS6M that had the worse neck in years....just a month ago...returned it before I left the store). Plek is as good as the operator.....some operators are not good. Case in point, two friends. One has a J45 Gibson pleked at the factory....other has a plek'd Martin D-45 modern. Both buzz terrible with a capo. This usually comes from a hump in the wood. Often around the 12th fret...sometimes in the middle of the neck (at the 12th area) which doesn't show up with a look up the neck or a rocker....the slope is so gradual over an area of frets, it doesn't rock. Tings and slight buzzes at the 2nd to 5th fret on the B string are very common with a slight hump. I've had problems with the banana when there is a hump around the 12th to 15th fret. I have a hypothesis....level the fingerboard then use smaller frets from about fret 10 to the end of the neck....say .047 mediums....then use .055 gibson type med's from 1 to 9. Spot level the individual high .047 frets first until a basic level then use leveling file to lower the .055 frets close to the .047 frets.....then us a beam to level them all. It will level to any humped frets. Do it all under tension.....I use a banana and a fret maker by stewmac. Fret maker levels under the strings at tension. I believe all frets will end up higher then .040 and be level with any residual hump. (I only use stainless frets so it's good as long as no other humps appear in time) I will test this method soon on one of my own guitars. I've seen hump problems on every type guitar cheap or expensive when they're under tension. Especially chinese ones. I always put a slope in the fingerboard from the 10th to the end....very gradual..more dramatic from 16 to the end. I get tings around the 3rd to 5th fret of the B string.....on may fret levels. This seems like a very sensitive area.
No criticism here, but I feel you (or Dan) are chasing not only the impossible, but the undesirable. I can’t imagine wanting an action so excessively low. To my ear, none of those notes sound clean. None of them ring out. And the feel of the action, with the strings almost laying on the frets, must be awful, without being able to get any tiny part of your finger under the string. To each his own, of course, but I think this has gone way too far.
I take your feedback / observation in the spirit it's given :) Btw, my conclusion to the customer was that 'I don't think I can improve on this guitar hardly if at all' and this information was actually what he was paying to hear, believe it or not. He had become 'over focused' on it and needed an outside 'view'. My fret levelling method allows me to see whether I can or can't improve something which is why I use it. But I'm always interested in one part of your objection about not being able to get fingers 'under the string'... When do you get your finger 'under the string' when it's pressing that string to the fret? I don't understand what this thing is that anti-low action people often state as their reason. The only time when I can't get enough finger ALONGSIDE the string to push / bend is when the frets are too low. Then, once I've pressed the string to the fret, we're too close to the wood to get any 'body of finger' alongside to push; with the result that it feels like my finger wants to skip over the frets instead of bend the string. But 1mm more action at the bridge makes no significant difference to this... fitting newer or higher frets does.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Hi Sam, Firstly, let me say that I have enjoyed watching your videos, I have found them very informative and interesting. So, yes, this is simply a comment from an interested party, with absolutely no criticism implied or intended. Of course, everybody has their own preferred set up, And I would never think that my preferences are any more valid than anybody else’s. So, the question of how higher and lower action feels under the fingers… You asked what I mean by getting the finger ‘under the string’. You suggest I should be saying ‘ALONGSIDE’ the string, but we’re talking about the same thing - and you actually talk about getting the finger ‘UNDER’ the string at around the 25 minute mark in your video at czcams.com/video/dblXdB4amLY/video.htmlfeature=shared It is, as you say in that video, about bending. And articulation in a more general sense - having control of the string to communicate nuance. If the finger slips over the top of the string, much of that control is lost. I agree, the fret height would appear to be the only thing that contributes to this. As you say, we’re really dealing with “once I’ve pressed the string to the fret”. However, In practical terms, I know that I can feel the difference if either the action, which I measure as string height at the 12th fret, or the relief, which I measure as string height at the 7th fret, is too low - even if the frets themselves are still high (tall). And the change is in the feel of the bending and articulation. I just don’t want those strings to feel too low. I measure the action in millimetres, because I use a string action gauge which is in mm. I use a digital depth gauge, similar to the StewMac tool for the relief, but I use imperial because I used imperial feeler gauges for years and got used to thinking that way. I actually make the final decision by feel, but I always measure as I’m adjusting, and check that I’m in this area. String height at 12th fret, 1.75 to 2 mm Relief around 10 thou Thinking about why/how string height affects the bending and articulation feel makes my head hurt. It’s a bit of a puzzle, really. But it’s nevertheless real. Here’s a further illustration: I live in a tropical climate, where both humidity and temperature can be both very high and very variable. I am doing three or four gigs a week, all outdoor gigs, and then the guitar comes back into an air-conditioned environment at home. From time to time, all this abuse causes the neck to shift, and I have to make a truss rod adjustment. I am much more sensitive to feeling that the strings are closer to the fingerboard and thus there is less of the finger lying below the plane of the string. Usually, the relief has nearly disappeared, and I need to put it back in to have the guitar feel right. This just happened 2 days ago. It’s not speed where I feel these changes, or ease of playing, or fatigue, or any of those other things that can be affected by string height - it’s bending, articulation, control. Yet, the fret height has not changed. If the neck has gone the other way, I probably don’t notice the strings getting higher until it gets really bad, and I am then surprised to see how much it has moved. I can only muse that, although it appears that we define the finger/string/fretboard relationship only when we press the string to the fret, there must be something in the difference in the initial string height which can be discerned by the finger. Maybe because the string is initially engaged by a different part of the finger, depending on whether the string is higher or lower So there we are. I haven’t been able to answer your question, I’ve simply added to the puzzle. Ha ha.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars I've been using a Rectify Master Katana to level under string tension for a long time. Love it! Going to nerd out here, so hope you don't mind. This is neither criticism, nor feedback, just enthusiastic sharing of my own experiences, inspired by the above commenter. I disagree that low action is not usable -- for me, it's the *only* way I will set up my own guitars for myself, and it's greatly enhanced my enjoyment of guitar and my ability to play for long periods of time. I set my action on my main Strat to .030" / .76mm GBE, and then the Low E around .046" / 1.16mm, A around .040" / 1mm, D around .035" / .8mm. That's at the 12th fret. Zero neck relief. As close to .000" as possible, .002" at the absolute most. 1st fret around .018" / .45mm EAD, and .010" / .25mm GBE. I agree 100% about fret height. I use .110" x .057" stainless frets, ground down to around .052" height. And they work great. The fret height is what allows you to bend easily and not drag on the wood -- too low frets will cause problems. For *me*, this works perfectly. I also use .008 / .011 / .0135 / .022 / .030 / .042 strings. Most people think my guitar strings feel like spaghetti noodles, and the low action throws them off. For me, it allows fluid legato, effortless bending and vibrato, chords and chord melodies -- an absolute dream. So I disagree with the above commenter, respectfully -- and as you can see on my channel, like on my Machine Gun Intro Cover, I'm playing my Strat set up to those exact specifications. I think it sounds pretty good. That being said, i have customers who say they need to 'get under the strings' -- invariably, this is on guitars with very low frets, and usually people will prefer around .010" or even .015" of relief, and the action much higher than I prefer it. That is, however, what they like, and short of a refret, it's the most comfortable their guitar will be for them. Just wanted to share some of my own specs and info. I'm a freak about low action because I have a disability in my fretting hand (hypoplastic thumb) and guitars are literally unplayable to me without super light strings and extremely low action. But even with heavier strings, many shredders and legato fans prefer the lowest possible action. As far as I've tested, the specs I've listed are as close to "as low as you can go" as possible, or almost. The Low E can come down a bit more from where I usually have it. One trick I came up with years ago was to carve relief into the frets themselves on the Low E / A side. I originally did this with a flat beam after putting the neck into a slight backbow, but now use the Katana for this purpose. Sometimes taping off the sandpaper area for the first 4 frets or so, and adding relief AND fallaway over the length of the Low E / A frets can get rid of very stubborn low string buzzing. Of course, a light touch is mandatory. You dig into the E / A hard enough and they are gonna rattle at some point even with moderate action. At least in my experience. Always open to ideas...but carving relief into the frets themselves is the best solution I've found for the stubborn Low E / A buzzing
@@guitar_md Great comment (for us nerds!) - thanks! It's clear that we agree on a lot regarding low actions and what's possible. Your last para about 'carving relief' into the frets is kind of what I'm doing by the time I'm on to the D, A and low E - only rather than imagining carving a trench out of a flat surface, imagine scooping a curve into a topography of hills and valleys... the carve takes off the tops of the hills (in a curved manner) while not even reaching the bottom of the valleys most of the time. But the result is a 'median scoop' that reduces the 'waveform' by half. I find this alleviates or eradicates most of what I refer to as 'fret slap'. Sometimes by 'over-bending' the rod (for example when faced with a dead truss rod and the need for some relief) I have even 'scooped' some relief into the frets to attain some playability :)
Well... no it's not utterly useless when you bend but you DO have to get a perfect balance of action height, neck relief AND precisely levelled frets. Ultimately there IS a minimum possible action for 7.25" radius guitars thanks to that tight-radius geometry that no amount of fret levelling will overcome... it's only slightly higher than I can set for 9.5" and above though. The tighter the radius the more attention you have to pay to fret levelling if you want the lowest possible action - but, as I say, only to a point. As a tech it's good to know that point so you don't waste time trying to level beyond it. But I've got what you would consider LOW actions on vintage 7.25" guitars with no choke-outs on bends. But they're not quite as low as I can get on, say, a 12" radius SG...
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Considering what I call low action, I just don't find anything tighter than a 10" radius to be any fun. You just can't get 1/32" action height and bend a full step with a 7" radiuus.
@@johnbuell8035It’s less an obsession than a preference and people are willing pay for that preference. That’s fine. It’s all physics, nothing more or less - an equation with numerous variables to play with.
Looks like a Cort KX800.
I wish you lived in Australia 🇦🇺 so you could do my guitar repairs and setups. Well done great show.
Michael
Australia
I wish I lived in Australia Mike... beginning to think it's safer than Europe (mind you I could be wrong!)
That distressed natural wood looks amazing to me.
Thanks again for all your help getting me up and running with my very own magic banana, Sam (I'm the one who had all the problems with the Hosco truss rod that you helped me sort out).
Another fascinating video Sam. It does seem to confirm that the banana can beat a Plek, even when the Plek is used to it's best. This is rather surprising to my mind. I'm now convinced that the reason for this must be that the strings are used to tell when levelling is complete with the banana method. All other methods seem to level to an arbitrary static degree without any real test of whether it's worked well enough dynamically - even with an ultra-accurate Plek. With the banana you can always do a little extra in the region the strings are telling you it's still not good enough. Mabye it's down to some sort of dynamic effect - resonances maybe?
Thanks Julia. It's difficult to say with confidence what the difference in performance between the two tools are... On the one hand, I have confidence in what the Plek appears to measure and how it uses that to calculate and then adjust each fret. That alone should ensure exactly what I'm trying to ensure: a smooth curve profile when the guitar is under string loading and slightly relieved. I can see how the Plek does that.. but then I learn that the Plek (for some reason?) can't or doesn't re-crown the frets and it has to be done by hand by the luthier-operator. That just seems... nuts. Surely the machine could also do that accurately? But apparently not.
So, when all's said and done, I have no idea exactly why a) a Plek'd fretboard still has 'fret slap' or b) why the Banana seems able to alleviate or remove that fret 'slap' after Plekking (assuming it actually can and I'm not just 'hearing it').
I think you've hit the nail on the head though: the Plek takes the guitar out of your hands and works on it upright in its cabinet... the Banana on the other hand allows me to immediately play the guitar and check a region and - as you say - give that a tiny bit more attention and re-check and so on. It's more hands-on and I stop working as soon as I can detect the improvement.
As I understand it the Plek does "re-crown" the frets. The fret cutters used have the crown radius built in. However the frets do require manual polishing post-Plek to remove any tool marks and shine the frets as necessary. I guess fingerboard masking is required for this final polish, so it's difficult to see how the Plek could do it.
That is a lovely looking guitar sam.
I agree. Simple and straightforward.
I know you said it was just your personal preference but the reason Mayones did the edges like they did is to mimic binding around the body and headstock. I actually really like it. The body shape is very reminiscent of a Ibanez RG which i have several old ones of.
I Love those MIJ guitars! One of them is a Prestige 3120 and the fret work was insanely good!
I figured - it just reminded me of what I got when I tried NOT to sand through at the edges!
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars I honestly did not realize these were made in poland. I thought they were a USA custom guitar company.
Awesome video, innovative approach, well done Sam :)
You’ve got so much great info, thank you!
Could you please, tell where can I bought one of thеse truss rods in UK?
Hi Alexander - I sell a kit - see this link for more info
facebook.com/photo/?fbid=943593684436774&set=a.505742714888542
But you can buy the U-Channel Truss rod from Tonetech Luthier supplies I think.
I've found if you really want to see if your neck is near perfect then use a capo...not a rocker alone! Many will rocker good but it still has tings and a few buzzes when capo'd...if it capos to frets 5 or 6, and frets without tings or buzzes, then probably the fingerboard is near perfect. I just bought a 187.00 dollar FS800 that has the best neck I've seen in years....I think yamaha is making the chinese use a CNC machine on their necks now...not all yamaha's are great but I've seen 3 or 4 in the last 3 months. This FS800 can play tuned a 1/2 step down with a straight neck. Less then .001 relief. (Bought a LS6M that had the worse neck in years....just a month ago...returned it before I left the store). Plek is as good as the operator.....some operators are not good. Case in point, two friends. One has a J45 Gibson pleked at the factory....other has a plek'd Martin D-45 modern. Both buzz terrible with a capo. This usually comes from a hump in the wood. Often around the 12th fret...sometimes in the middle of the neck (at the 12th area) which doesn't show up with a look up the neck or a rocker....the slope is so gradual over an area of frets, it doesn't rock. Tings and slight buzzes at the 2nd to 5th fret on the B string are very common with a slight hump. I've had problems with the banana when there is a hump around the 12th to 15th fret.
I have a hypothesis....level the fingerboard then use smaller frets from about fret 10 to the end of the neck....say .047 mediums....then use .055 gibson type med's from 1 to 9. Spot level the individual high .047 frets first until a basic level then use leveling file to lower the .055 frets close to the .047 frets.....then us a beam to level them all. It will level to any humped frets. Do it all under tension.....I use a banana and a fret maker by stewmac. Fret maker levels under the strings at tension. I believe all frets will end up higher then .040 and be level with any residual hump. (I only use stainless frets so it's good as long as no other humps appear in time) I will test this method soon on one of my own guitars. I've seen hump problems on every type guitar cheap or expensive when they're under tension. Especially chinese ones. I always put a slope in the fingerboard from the 10th to the end....very gradual..more dramatic from 16 to the end.
I get tings around the 3rd to 5th fret of the B string.....on may fret levels. This seems like a very sensitive area.
Slappers.
Where would I be without 'em?
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitarsTalking to yourself.
No criticism here, but I feel you (or Dan) are chasing not only the impossible, but the undesirable. I can’t imagine wanting an action so excessively low. To my ear, none of those notes sound clean. None of them ring out. And the feel of the action, with the strings almost laying on the frets, must be awful, without being able to get any tiny part of your finger under the string. To each his own, of course, but I think this has gone way too far.
I take your feedback / observation in the spirit it's given :) Btw, my conclusion to the customer was that 'I don't think I can improve on this guitar hardly if at all' and this information was actually what he was paying to hear, believe it or not. He had become 'over focused' on it and needed an outside 'view'. My fret levelling method allows me to see whether I can or can't improve something which is why I use it.
But I'm always interested in one part of your objection about not being able to get fingers 'under the string'... When do you get your finger 'under the string' when it's pressing that string to the fret? I don't understand what this thing is that anti-low action people often state as their reason. The only time when I can't get enough finger ALONGSIDE the string to push / bend is when the frets are too low. Then, once I've pressed the string to the fret, we're too close to the wood to get any 'body of finger' alongside to push; with the result that it feels like my finger wants to skip over the frets instead of bend the string. But 1mm more action at the bridge makes no significant difference to this... fitting newer or higher frets does.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Hi Sam,
Firstly, let me say that I have enjoyed watching your videos, I have found them very informative and interesting. So, yes, this is simply a comment from an interested party, with absolutely no criticism implied or intended. Of course, everybody has their own preferred set up, And I would never think that my preferences are any more valid than anybody else’s.
So, the question of how higher and lower action feels under the fingers…
You asked what I mean by getting the finger ‘under the string’. You suggest I should be saying ‘ALONGSIDE’ the string, but we’re talking about the same thing - and you actually talk about getting the finger ‘UNDER’ the string at around the 25 minute mark in your video at czcams.com/video/dblXdB4amLY/video.htmlfeature=shared
It is, as you say in that video, about bending. And articulation in a more general sense - having control of the string to communicate nuance.
If the finger slips over the top of the string, much of that control is lost.
I agree, the fret height would appear to be the only thing that contributes to this. As you say, we’re really dealing with “once I’ve pressed the string to the fret”.
However, In practical terms, I know that I can feel the difference if either the action, which I measure as string height at the 12th fret, or the relief, which I measure as string height at the 7th fret, is too low - even if the frets themselves are still high (tall).
And the change is in the feel of the bending and articulation. I just don’t want those strings to feel too low.
I measure the action in millimetres, because I use a string action gauge which is in mm. I use a digital depth gauge, similar to the StewMac tool for the relief, but I use imperial because I used imperial feeler gauges for years and got used to thinking that way. I actually make the final decision by feel, but I always measure as I’m adjusting, and check that I’m in this area.
String height at 12th fret, 1.75 to 2 mm
Relief around 10 thou
Thinking about why/how string height affects the bending and articulation feel makes my head hurt. It’s a bit of a puzzle, really.
But it’s nevertheless real. Here’s a further illustration: I live in a tropical climate, where both humidity and temperature can be both very high and very variable. I am doing three or four gigs a week, all outdoor gigs, and then the guitar comes back into an air-conditioned environment at home.
From time to time, all this abuse causes the neck to shift, and I have to make a truss rod adjustment. I am much more sensitive to feeling that the strings are closer to the fingerboard and thus there is less of the finger lying below the plane of the string.
Usually, the relief has nearly disappeared, and I need to put it back in to have the guitar feel right. This just happened 2 days ago. It’s not speed where I feel these changes, or ease of playing, or fatigue, or any of those other things that can be affected by string height - it’s bending, articulation, control. Yet, the fret height has not changed.
If the neck has gone the other way, I probably don’t notice the strings getting higher until it gets really bad, and I am then surprised to see how much it has moved.
I can only muse that, although it appears that we define the finger/string/fretboard relationship only when we press the string to the fret, there must be something in the difference in the initial string height which can be discerned by the finger. Maybe because the string is initially engaged by a different part of the finger, depending on whether the string is higher or lower
So there we are. I haven’t been able to answer your question, I’ve simply added to the puzzle. Ha ha.
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars I've been using a Rectify Master Katana to level under string tension for a long time. Love it! Going to nerd out here, so hope you don't mind. This is neither criticism, nor feedback, just enthusiastic sharing of my own experiences, inspired by the above commenter. I disagree that low action is not usable -- for me, it's the *only* way I will set up my own guitars for myself, and it's greatly enhanced my enjoyment of guitar and my ability to play for long periods of time.
I set my action on my main Strat to .030" / .76mm GBE, and then the Low E around .046" / 1.16mm, A around .040" / 1mm, D around .035" / .8mm. That's at the 12th fret.
Zero neck relief. As close to .000" as possible, .002" at the absolute most.
1st fret around .018" / .45mm EAD, and .010" / .25mm GBE.
I agree 100% about fret height. I use .110" x .057" stainless frets, ground down to around .052" height. And they work great. The fret height is what allows you to bend easily and not drag on the wood -- too low frets will cause problems.
For *me*, this works perfectly. I also use .008 / .011 / .0135 / .022 / .030 / .042 strings. Most people think my guitar strings feel like spaghetti noodles, and the low action throws them off. For me, it allows fluid legato, effortless bending and vibrato, chords and chord melodies -- an absolute dream.
So I disagree with the above commenter, respectfully -- and as you can see on my channel, like on my Machine Gun Intro Cover, I'm playing my Strat set up to those exact specifications. I think it sounds pretty good.
That being said, i have customers who say they need to 'get under the strings' -- invariably, this is on guitars with very low frets, and usually people will prefer around .010" or even .015" of relief, and the action much higher than I prefer it. That is, however, what they like, and short of a refret, it's the most comfortable their guitar will be for them.
Just wanted to share some of my own specs and info. I'm a freak about low action because I have a disability in my fretting hand (hypoplastic thumb) and guitars are literally unplayable to me without super light strings and extremely low action. But even with heavier strings, many shredders and legato fans prefer the lowest possible action.
As far as I've tested, the specs I've listed are as close to "as low as you can go" as possible, or almost. The Low E can come down a bit more from where I usually have it. One trick I came up with years ago was to carve relief into the frets themselves on the Low E / A side. I originally did this with a flat beam after putting the neck into a slight backbow, but now use the Katana for this purpose. Sometimes taping off the sandpaper area for the first 4 frets or so, and adding relief AND fallaway over the length of the Low E / A frets can get rid of very stubborn low string buzzing.
Of course, a light touch is mandatory. You dig into the E / A hard enough and they are gonna rattle at some point even with moderate action. At least in my experience. Always open to ideas...but carving relief into the frets themselves is the best solution I've found for the stubborn Low E / A buzzing
@@guitar_md Great comment (for us nerds!) - thanks! It's clear that we agree on a lot regarding low actions and what's possible.
Your last para about 'carving relief' into the frets is kind of what I'm doing by the time I'm on to the D, A and low E - only rather than imagining carving a trench out of a flat surface, imagine scooping a curve into a topography of hills and valleys... the carve takes off the tops of the hills (in a curved manner) while not even reaching the bottom of the valleys most of the time. But the result is a 'median scoop' that reduces the 'waveform' by half. I find this alleviates or eradicates most of what I refer to as 'fret slap'. Sometimes by 'over-bending' the rod (for example when faced with a dead truss rod and the need for some relief) I
have even 'scooped' some relief into the frets to attain some playability :)
Any tighter radius than 10 inches is utterly useless if you bend much. Don't know why people like it.
Well... no it's not utterly useless when you bend but you DO have to get a perfect balance of action height, neck relief AND precisely levelled frets. Ultimately there IS a minimum possible action for 7.25" radius guitars thanks to that tight-radius geometry that no amount of fret levelling will overcome... it's only slightly higher than I can set for 9.5" and above though. The tighter the radius the more attention you have to pay to fret levelling if you want the lowest possible action - but, as I say, only to a point. As a tech it's good to know that point so you don't waste time trying to level beyond it. But I've got what you would consider LOW actions on vintage 7.25" guitars with no choke-outs on bends. But they're not quite as low as I can get on, say, a 12" radius SG...
@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Considering what I call low action, I just don't find anything tighter than a 10" radius to be any fun. You just can't get 1/32" action height and bend a full step with a 7" radiuus.
I have a 9.5” radius neck and it bends just fine. But I have a reasonable action. It’s the obsession with ultra-low action that causes the difficulty.
@@johnbuell8035It’s less an obsession than a preference and people are willing pay for that preference. That’s fine. It’s all physics, nothing more or less - an equation with numerous variables to play with.