Fret question

[malufet]

I bought a guitar 3 months ago. I didn't notice the 14th and 15th fret sounded the same. What should i do? The action is great so i dont want to raise it more.

 

[bostjan]

Are the frets even? Neck straight? Check for a high 15th fret or a hump. your local shop should be able to level the frets out.

 

[malufet]

the neck is straight no humps on th frets. could it be the tight new springs on the floyd? The bridge base is not aligned with the guitar body.

 

[Metal Ken]

They are the exact same pitch? I have NEVER heard of that happening. O-o

 

[Naren]

That happened to me on my old acoustic. I also believe it was the 14th and 15th frets. They both sounded like the 15th fret because the action was too low (and it was one of those early 1970s acoustics where you couldn't change the action). So basically the string was hitting the 15th fret whether I was fretting the 15th fret or the 14th fret.

In my case, I couldn't change the action, so I just didn't play the 14th or 15th fret on that guitar (as crazy as that sounds). If I could change the action, I would raise it and see what happens.

 

[malufet]

yeah the actions kinda low but all other frets are fine. The floyds not floating right now, i'll try taking out a spring and see what happens.

 

[bostjan]

Any news?

 

[7stringninja]

This is interesting. If they both sound like the 15th fret, then that means when you are fretting the 14th, the string is resting on the 15th fret as well. What this tells you IS - basically, if you looked at the strings from a side-view-point, with the fretboard being below them - the direction of the strings is angled too far upward towards the headstock.

I've never personally had this issues, but just using basic geometry thinking, I'd assume there are only a few ways this could happen.

• The neck is bowed with the headstock side too far forward
• The action at the bridge is too low
• Something is wrong with the nut, causing it to sit too high
• Your 14th fret is worn WAY more than the 15th

I'm no guitar tech, but using logic, that's the potential problems I could come up with.

 

[marton]

How could old springs be a problem? Sounds like an uneven 15th fret to me, but I'd have to see it myself in person. You could always ship me the guitar. heh

 

[Sleeper]

A friend of my brother's had EXACTLY this problem on the the 14th/15th fret of his high E. A quick glance at the frets by sighting down the neck from the headstock clearly showed that the fret was lifting out on the treble side. This was on a decent Patrick Eggle guitar too. He said he wasn't too bothered, even though he uses it in a gigging band

 

[bostjan]

The frets on my Epiphone LP100 pop out all of the time. If I never had the put back in, I'm sure I'd be at least 2/3 fretless by now.