I love the idea of a luthier buying a guitar off the rack and checking it out. Hopefully we see more of these, I always enjoy and respect your prespective on things guitar related.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, I appreciate this very much. We will certainly keep this sort of thing coming.. it is enlightening indeed and great fun to do.. though I truly was expecting to find zero faults from this brand at this price point..

@SionynJones

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it's a cool idea.

@philiphurdwell3443

Жыл бұрын

Great comment. 👍

@kazzTrismus

Жыл бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars $1800 canadian taxes included

@IPGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I did this with a PRS I bought earlier in the year. Only the second guitar I have bought off the shelf and was fun to take a deep dive into the details now that I know what to look for.

To watch a master luthier buy (what is essentially) a brand new guitar and do a deep-dive look, is probably the best review process we could possibly ask for. You really get a good idea of what the quality of the instrument is and what to look out for. To Ben - I salute you for doing videos like this. If at all possible, it would be fantastic to see you do a tear-down of the Indonesian made Yamaha Revstar Standard (P90 or humbucker version). So far, I have only seen reviews from guitarist-KZreadrs. Therefore, a luthier´s perspective would be of tremendous help, and no doubt very insightful. All the best to you and the Crimson team!

@JeanMarceaux

Жыл бұрын

I forward the motion on Revstars

@TurkishSupremacy

Жыл бұрын

Do it!

This was honestly quite shocking. The poor frets, the loose wire, the bumpy pickguard... Still one of my favorite guitar shapes currently on the market

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree more, we are making a template set so that I can make myself a version at a proper quality level..

@kbrodie78

Жыл бұрын

And then there’s this clown…..☝️Clearly the person with the fake telegram account is a donut. Because apparently Ben has given away a prize to himself….

@life_balance_dave8679

Жыл бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars consider me ordering one 😊

@willbarnz6960

Жыл бұрын

Fender seems to be lacking in QA... At that price point especially... Then again, the QA of the brands they own seems to have suffered as well. (Jackson is a good example... Can't speak for Charvel.) Bought a Jackson bass that retailed for about $450 USD (now up to $500 USD)... Yeah, not exactly their top of the line... Fret ends have been noted by quite a few as being tear up your hands bad. Mine are definitely rough... But not quite that bad.

@LarsUelf

Жыл бұрын

@@willbarnz6960 It is crazy how some brands can get things like that right, at a way lower price point. My G&L L-2000 Tribute was ~600€ and there was nothing to complain about when I got it. No sharp frets, no weird electronic issues, no obvious flaws ... Now, 10 years later, the frets do look like they need to be replaced. But given how much I play that thing, it only makes sense.

I have this same model. The frets were mostly covered in finish . After clean and polish it played very nicely. no need for leveling as that was good to go (Got lucky there) and just love the fretboard rolled edges. I play this guitar daily now for several months since buying it and it keeps getting better. Stripped it down last string change and am impressed with the product even more. I love this guitar, it sounds beautiful and for me it's a keeper.

Great to see Josh in action again. He is a great teacher, may be you could do short videos featuring some of the other guys to showcase their expertise. Really enjoyed my two week course. One of my favourite holidays ever.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

For sure! And thanks for the feedback. We're really glad that you enjoyed your course.

@VAXHeadroom

Жыл бұрын

@@chrisholcombe2514 That "telegram' account is a spammer - do not interact with them.

I bought a guitar today for less than 1/10 of a thousand pounds which also needs a bit of light fretwork, at the Salvation Army thrift store. For that price, I would expect a flawless instrument.

@joeking433

Жыл бұрын

I've bought some Monoprice guitars from Amazon for less than $100 and they had better build quality than this guitar.

Hi Ben. The round hole under the scratch plate is a deliberate device used to indicate the guitar originated in Mexico. It’s designed to stop people passing off Mexican guitars as US ones. 👍🏻

@wilhelmtheconquerer6214

Жыл бұрын

It's also an index hole for the CNC-machine

@asnormal1362

10 ай бұрын

@cs1uk, can you tell us how you know this? It would be great if you gave a reference (so we know it's not just a shared supposition that gets perpetuated}. Ditto @wilhelmtheconquerer6214. Thx!

Wow amazed at some of the quality of work. Always expect a new guitar to be in playable condition from the shop 😮. Great video as always love these tear downs ❤

Good to see red speed sharpies being used to mark the frets. It’ll play as fast as hell after this!

This has quickly become one of my favorite guitar channels. In great company indeed.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much, I really appreciate this comment

Picked up a few tickets for the raffle. It’s a gorgeous guitar, and with the work you’ve done, it’ll be a hell of a fun player.

Would a bit of heat (hot air gun) to the scratch plate help to make it flat again? I'd not noticed the Meteora's arrival in the Fender range. I would probably mistake it for a Jazzmaster at a glance.

Excellent overview of the Meteora. QC is a bit of a concern, although I’m still keen on owning one, but will pay particular attention to the fret work. I loved seeing the detail of your work, well done. Just picked up a J Mascis Tele which I adore. The Meteora is on my short list now You’ve earned a new sub, and you strangely remind of Bill Bailey, he’s a badass.

Love this that youre doing...digging into the nuts of these guitars. Cant think of a more trustworthy source of info. And the snappy comments throughout are priceless. The meteora speaks to me. Has a jazzmaster kinda vibe. The ergo shape is to die for.

This is why I learned the basics of set up and fret leveling/ polishing.

I was wondering if you were going to find sawdust or shavings in the neck pocket. Something I have found on both a G&L 2000 Legacy bass and a 50 anniversary Squier by Fender P bass. Obviously neither neck was seated properly so I got both at lower than expected prices 🙂

New to the channel, and found this really informative. I’ve had a meteora for a couple on months and the frets do need a little work but everything else has been really good with it

Great video. I saw similar problems with the MIM Player Strat HSS I purchased. Definitely would like to see the SG in a deep dive if you get a chance.

I have the same guitar exact... and when i got mine from my local shop here in Canada , the frets are totally covered in laquer overspray and look almost brown .. I didn't really realize until I played it for a day or so and some frets became shiny as the laquer wore off ... but its just so annoying. I dont want to get into polishing the frets and possibly messing up the shine on the board .. best way to do so I assume would be to mask the frets and gently steel wool the frets?

Ben this new series is so great! Keep it up. Do some more Matsumoku guitars

Good to see Josh in a video. I hope all is well, my friend.

I wonder what youl think of a jackson budget, i got a £300 warrior and although the neck had a gap on the low e side of the pocket, doesnt really effect the playability much but the frets seem fine, tbh i have not looked close enough nor felt anything wrong fret wise

Love this format , get something new , what does it need . Well done Ben and team 👏

Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge! Truly informative and enjoyable!

Great video... I have to agree with what you've noticed/found. Many of the Fender basses I've looked at our local guitar stores here in Toronto Canada, no matter if they're made in Mexico, or USA have frets that feel like a cheese grater on the edge, and some form of fret buzz in the higher register of the neck. This was not the case years ago with Fenders quality control. I'd be real curious what you'd find if did a tear down of a Custom Shop model???

I love the shape of this guitar. I am however disappointed at Fender for letting such obvious quality issues go without sorting them. It's fixed now and all is well. Someone is going to get a sweet deal on this guitar! Peace & Love!

What would be the average cost of fixing the frets ( like shown in this video) in England ( I live in the States and have no idea of the cost here) Great Video, thanks!

This is a IKEA guitar. You bond with the thing because You put some work in. Brilliant!!

Thanks for the great video guys! I've just bought one few days ago. I mean It was not love from the first sight, but I'm getting there, I think. Already had an issue with huge buzzing when touching the bridge pickup with my finger. Fixed it, it was a loose wire, poor grounding stuff. Now after watching this video, I am definitely going to give it to my local luthier, to finish the guitar... I mean QC is not perfect, but for the price it could be much much better. Now it's like I've bought a guitar that is almost finished. Not nice. But I feel that after everything is done I will fall in love with it.

The production on this videos is really great. Well done.

Wait a minute.. The cable stuck under the PG is from factory? Do they have any QC at all?

Just curious when you work on the frets like that aren’t you supposed to tape up the pick ups so the metal dust does not stick to them?

Thanks for a great video. Love the ending guitar solo.

Ben, I Looking forward to a video on the cream triple humbucker SG you also purchased 👍

Great video as always. I have an MIM Player Mustang bass that i like but has a few QC issues, nothing major but needed a fret polishing, nut slots deepened and a few other tweaks. I have 3 Squiers all made in China: an Affinity Jaguar Bass and 2 paranormal 6 strings. I honestly think the Squiers after a setup actually play better wirh pickups being their shortcoming. And I swear that the China made Squiers are equal to or better than either the Cort or Samick Indonesia ones from the ones I've looked at.

Excellent video. It has really helped me decide on a future purchase, not going to buy one, I intend to sign up for for one of the guitar making courses and make one . Would love to see a video on a Godin A6, or Summit, if you haven’t already.

Can anyone explain why the output when both pickups are selected is typically around half the value of one pickup? I’m not thinking along the lines of well surely it would be double as I know there’s a reason. Just dont know that reason 😂

I don't think you metioned it as a gripe. . . . but how many springs are on the whammy unit for it to look like that ? I might just be unfamilliar with a strat style bridge setup but it looks like it could be flatter to the body than it is.

I’d like to know what you think of a Harley Benton ‘LP’ after it has been properly set up and finished.

Is that the best location for the jack?

I like your analysis of this fender. It would be cool if you took a look at some other Asian brands like maybe Ibanez. Specifically their higher end models that aren’t at their “prestige” category. I’ve seen people review their prestige models and their lower entry level models, the it’s a little harder finding good opinions from experienced builders where they review the non-prestige high end models. You might actually already have some videos on this, so I’ll keep searching. I just found your channel and I’m really liking the content. While on that note, I’m off to subscribe right now.

Disappointing to see these kinds of problems - I absolutely adore the Meteora shape, I've wanted one since they did the original tele-style setup. Guess I'll just have to enter the raffle.

Ten years ago that gig bag came with a Squier bullet. Cool guitar that kinda looks like a Novo?

Absolutely gorgeous shape and at first glance a worthy instrument. By the time Josh pointed out the trapped wire my jaw was bruised from hitting the floor so often. I know it's not their premium line but whoever signed this build off the shop floor and into dispatch should hang their head in shame

I went out and purchased a Meteora bass in Opal Spark. I knew i wanted a fretless, but honestly the neck and fretwork is exceptional. I replaced the stock neck with a chinese replacement that I bound in cream plastic. The hardware and electronics are absolutely top notch. This is one of my best sounding basses.

I had a bumpy scratchplate on a MIM DuoSonic - very frustrating.

I'm pretty sure that was my epiphone SG, or Les Paul as it calls itself. Sold it in Bath a few years back. Really great guitar!

Great video. I checked out a left handed Fender Player Strat a few weeks ago and while I’m only new at playing a guitar, I was shocked at the quality. Frets weren’t particularly good and the nut looked like it’d been cut in the dark. It also just sounded dead - not because of strings or setup, it just had no life. But worst of all was the tone pots don’t work as they are supposed to - basically just on or off with no discernible sweep. I am informed that this is because they cheap out on the pots and just wire right handed pots in reverse. Shocking for what is a $1200 guitar in Australia.

I recently bought a Fender Meteora and unfortunately, I also had to add $150 set up on top of the $1150 price tag. The nut was cut too deep, the frets were horrible, and the action was set too high. All in all, my tech was able to fix most of the issues, but in the future I will be adding a new nut and a Vega Tremolo. I love the feel for the neck and the pick ups are really good as well. I love the guitar, but it took a little bit of work to get it up to par. Thank you for this review Crimson. I enjoyed it and I concur with your findings. Cheers!

shouldn't you tape the pickups up when filing frets?

I bought a Squier Strat in '96 and I still have it. Over the years I have replaced some of the hardware like pots, wires, machine heads and one of the pickups to a hot rail. This guitar has had a lot thrown at it over the years and still plays great. I also locked the trem with a wood block and cotton wool to dampen the springs. Recently did a level and crown (using some Crimson gear) and it's playing better than ever. It has a wee 40th Anniversary Fender badge on the back of the headstock and I've had pros play it (while I was doing audio engineering at college) wondering why I don't get into being a guitar tech, but I think their anti Squier snobbery might have been showing! Seeing these level of issues befall a £1,000 guitar worries me if I were to have to replace any of my instruments with off the shelf units. It will be a whole lot of fun fixing them up, but I wonder if that time might be better spent playing guitar than playing guitar repair?!

I absolutely love the shape, ever since it first came out with the odd Tele layout as part of the Parellel Universe series. It looks like a 21st century Jazzmaster, I think. I wish the attention to detail was as good as its design.

Enjoyable romp through a new Fender. It's all about the "Quality Assurance". I used to wire up lights for in store displays. All the lights were made in China. Some brands of lights had a lot of faults and poor work, a couple of brands had acceptable error rates. Look inside the poor brands and you will find a sticker that says "QA tested". Look inside the good brands and you find a slip of paper with the name of the QA tester signed in pen, the date and the batch number. When you know its coming back to you personally, well, you make sure its right.

The custard yellow one you bought.........I have just finished one. Vintage vibrato with roller bridge. 3 pickups with 12 position wiring..6 on the switch and doubled up on a push pull with master volume. One off pickguard with all switchgear recessed. Japanese switch cover. Locking tuners. It's a beaut!

Interesting video and made me thing at something I forgot to ask : how do you make sure that when you level your frets, you're not creating a slope on each side of a high fret ? Not sure if it's clear but let's say your 10th fret is higher than the others. When you run your sanding beam along the frets, it will rest on that high fret and the lowest fret on each side which would cause some sort of slope on each side, the 10th fret being the top on the slope. How do you make sure you get this fret down to a certain point that is low enough so that the leveling beam removes material from that higher fret and not on the others ? And by the way I didn't knew that guitar either ;)

@carsandguitars116

Жыл бұрын

@Crimson Custom Guitars And the good old scammer is back...

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

Blocked them, they keep changing accounts and use different words.. bastards

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

This can be a problem and is why we always double check with a fret rocker before moving on. Basically you need to pass the leveling beam over the whole fretboard a few times after you think you have it levelled just to mop up any inconsistencies

Wow. It sounds good (now). That buckled scratchplate is just terrible! And from a fender I would have expected a much better fret job! Very interesting.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I had fun with it, and after a set up Josh really got her singing, but yeah.. I wasn't expecting quite so many issues.

Is this the norm for fender MIM guitars?

23:08 what's up with the bridge staggering here? Should look like a lightning bolt in the layout, right? High strings seem not intonated.

I purchased the American Ultra Luxe Stratocaster sunburst with Rosewood fingerboard. The stainless steel frets were not placed correctly. They hang off the edge of the low E and there is empty space on the edge of the high e. I bought that guitar online. Luckily fender is warranty if it but that’s the most expensive mass production model of theirs. The QA is slipping hard at fender

Hi, which kind of sand paper is that?

Mine has similar issues along with electronic ground and soldering mistakes. After tlc it is lovely but it was a road to get there.

I just unboxed a Fender Lead lll mim, with a Pau Ferro fretboard. The fretjob was actually quite ok, all nice and shiny, i only spotlevelled in 4 places. But the Pau Ferro....it looked like it was sanded with 100 grit and not touched again, thus bone dry. The part behind the nut is laquered and looks fine, why don't they laquer the whole board on this type of wood? I dyed it black and treated it to some deep conditioner and fixed with lemonoil, now it feels ok. I would have sent it back, but everything else is quite excellent as it is very loud acoustically and sounds absolutely amazing through my amps, a definite keeper. At 3.23kgs right in my favorite weight zone and is so comfortable to play!🎸🤘🎸

Every fender / charvel I’ve had from the factory in the last two years has had such bad frets I’ve either sent them back or had to fully service them myself. So that’s four out of four guitars that were pretty much damaged in receipt. Not from delivery but from bad QC.

I recently bought a Fender Vintera Telecaster Deluxe and the frets were so dirty. I tried to polish them, but they're still manky.

I'm just in 10minutes and I already have tears in my eyes... It really shows me again, why I don't want to buy a guitar any more, and why I have felt the urgent need to start building and maintaining myself some years ago... If you buy a used guitar and mod it to your needs you are better of... and the best part about that is: you really know who to blame for the final result :D

this why I build my own guitars. To many short cuts and for the money I can build something way better. Yes I will spend more money than the base price, but after the fixes which most people do not know how to do, I am ahead of the game. Love these guys at Crimson. Ben is who I learned my chops from.

Waiting for that EPI SG tear down. I want one so bad. In left handed though.

It's a stunning shape. I want one, but not in the specs that fender do. It would be great is someone was to make an accurate "M-type" laser cut template set, I would definitely be down for buying one of those. I just wish I could think of someone who would do that... 🤔

@peachmelba1000

Жыл бұрын

I'll make you a Meteora copy lol

I bought my American made Strat for the sound, sustain and feel. The fact that the final fit and finish was excellent was a welcome bonus.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

That is it in the end.. either you buy something with great fit and finish or you buy a cheaper guitar that needs work..

KZread's new mobile look (at least on Android) made it incredibly difficult to find either the subscribe button, or comments. This is a terrific video, so I hope you get all the love!

I was about to comment that the frets on my entry level ukulele look better than these did. But, then I remembered that I intentionally paid a premium to make sure a luthier did what I just watched you do. Regardless, I love my discontinued Dean acoustic soprano uke.

The Squier John5 tele I bought a while ago had the best fretjob I’ve seen to this day. All the recent purchases from Epiphone signature series, ESP and Solar have been far from perfect. Looks like Covid has affected factories a lot.

This guitar reminds me a little of my Futurama II if Salvador Dali had designed the lower half. On a different note, I bought a JagMaster 20 years ago as I just loved the offset shape. Unfortunately the neck was a total design blunder. It was the wrong length, you just couldn't dial in the intonation at all. It's sat around hardly played for two decades but a friend bought me a new neck to bolt on, so I'm looking forward to actually enjoying it after all these years!

I have the silver burst of this, fell in love with the shape when released. Mine plays like butter, frets and board are perfect, no faults. I suppose at this price these things are a bit more of a "gamble"?

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

A gamble indeed.. I suppose 9 out of 10 are perfect but I think that this proves we should support local and we should buy in a shop and check everything carefully before we hand over our money?

My luthier found two high frets on my Meteora. He hated doing a fret job on it because Fender actually lacquered over the frets when they sprayed the maple neck and fret board. Now that all the lacquer is gone and the frets are perfect the guitar plays so well.one of my favorites.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I have seen more than a few people complaining about the lacquer being left over the frets, it is very fiddly to remove and something they should do at the factory at the very least.. Great Guitar in the end though

Mexican Fenders are all over the place with fret work. I currently have my eye on a Player Plus strat at a local shop that has amazing fret work.

@Ralf1erudd

Жыл бұрын

I just recently bought a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass in as new with tags condition. Yes it needed a setup including truss adjust, string height and just 3 frets on the 1st and 2nd strings above the 16th fret spot levelling. I wasn't surprised in the slightest. Most things need to be fettled to get the best out of them. But for the £220 I paid for it it's a beauty. Someome has to date the non film stars we meet in life lol

@maykolllopez1585

Жыл бұрын

As a Hispanic and one who closely works with Mexican, I can tell you from experience that the average Mexican worker can either be your best, or laziest employee. I can see how it’s inconsistent from a person to person basis in the MIM factory.

That pick-up selector switch. I’d be constantly knocking it in error.

Ya just have blown my mind, an amazing builder buying not one but 2 guitars!!!! I kept telling myself no way is he gonna buy it then mind exploding! I'm a plumber by trade work has been slow with covid and all, I had nothing to do so I bought the cheapest kit money could buy and decided to in your words make it totally awesome!!!!! Dig the channel and love the jokes!! I'm a fan for life!!!!! Keep Rockin!!!!!!

@johnp6269

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely!! So awesome! Love the content!!!

Shame on Fender for such slap-dash quality control for the retail price of that instrument.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I agree

@AMPR45

Жыл бұрын

Mad thing is that there seems to be a lot more care put in to the higher priced Squiers. Any Squiers I’ve tried out the past couple of years have usually had a better fit and finish and playability than the entry level “proper” Fenders.

@benlogan430

Жыл бұрын

You’d think the shop would have sent that one back before you got it? Or perhaps set it up themselves so it was ready to go? Although I don’t know the skinny so…

@captaintony1227

Жыл бұрын

I have a players plus strat and it is better than it should be. Maybe i got lucky but i find it to be better than the low end American made strats. Sucks they let this one out into the wild. Probably why it was still available for sale in the first place.

@PicksPaints

Жыл бұрын

Oh my dude.. I bought an American Pro II Tele last year DIRECTLY from Fender. It was a complete disaster. The bridge was so incorrectly placed or neck pocket wrong the low E was off the fretboard and high e was almost where the b should've been. The fret work looked as though they were hammered in and left alone. Amongst other issues. That guitar was promptly returned. The replacement showed up. Fretwork was much like the first and was just a total dog. On a $1500 USD guitar that's completely unacceptable.

Ben would have a field day with my Harmony sunburst Strat style guitar I got at Sears in 86. My first guitar. I still have it. I really enjoy these tear down vids.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I'm looking forward to playing with some catalogue guitars.. we expect them to be problematic from that era though.. I honestly thought a modern Fender would be built to a budget but basically sound.. 😅

@brandonb1681

Жыл бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars That will be a joy to watch.

You don't need much cavity paint with humbuckers. I like how you did make over but you could have cable tied the wires

I had the same experience with a Fender Telecaster Performer I bought a few years back. The frets were awful. Ends hadn't been dressed properly and you could feel the scratches on every fret when bending. Not nearly good enough on a guitar costing over a grand.

Had the pleasure of owning a Flea signature for a little under 24 hours. Took it home and the fret sprout the next morning was nearly 2mm on both sides of the entire neck! Every fret! Returned it the next day but that took the wind out of my sails for a while honestly. :(

I’ve been to England once and 99% positive I walked into that exact shop. I love this video so much more now.

Something you might could try to straighten out the pick guard and it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth, but take it off strip all the pots off and then lay it out on the hood or roof of your vehicle on a warm day and let the heat from the sun warm it and it might return flat . I saw a video of Zimm doing this with a spring cover for a Strat that was all warped up and it flattened right out.

@davidburke2132

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately Ben lives in the UK. We don’t have warm days 😜

@brandonjackson5865

Жыл бұрын

@@davidburke2132 oh yeah that’s right it’s always damp and gloomy over there right ?

I was so hot for one of these and am grateful to see this video. I wanted this to replace my 1981 Lead lll (CBS). I just don’t see this being worth the money. They look so cool but looks isn’t everything. Thank you for all the quality and educational videos you do.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

3 ай бұрын

Glad I could help

I would like to see a deep dive with some of the the higher priced budget guitars like Harley Bentond and Epiphones.

Years ago I noticed something similar on the frets of a telecaster Highway one (2002), despite a bad fretwork in few years frets became smooth, was an ok guitar

Is that a normal thing with these models? An unsoldered/loose ground wire? There was another KZreadr who had the same problem!

Can you do a fender USA performer compared to a Gibson les Paul tribute , both entry level USA models and both similarly priced , would like to see who is putting out the best at that price

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

A damn fine idea man, I'll see what I can do!

You should've seen my MIM Dave Murray signature Strat. The fretjob was even worse than this ones. I cut myself twice on a fretend. Also the fretboardedges were coated with poly and not rounded over. I tried my best to fix everything but ultimately sold it. I'm pleased with my Meteora though.

As a tech who sees a lottttt of MiM player series guitars, I do fully agree the frets are never very good, however I have never seen brand new frets like that. Not trying to throw the guitar shop under the bus, (I've personally visited there and it's a lovely shop) but that seems like the work of a last minute quick fix to get it playable in store. Also these guitars have genuine satin finishes, I know because I have buffed a few of them up, and they buff up like a reluctant satin, not a dulled gloss. You can also see peeling in the satin, you cannot 'satin-ise' finish which isn't level, Most likely the shop used wire wool across the frets after filing them.

Nice work. Fun to see! Must say that my Japanese Strat came with perfect fit and finish. It was beautiful right out of the box. Seems that Japanese builders care more about the end result?

Interesting to note he masked it first before the crowning despite your reply to why you dont mask first. No right or wrong way just always interesting to compare everyones approach. Also every MIM fender guitar ive ever stripped has had those weird random holes, no matter the age lol.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Жыл бұрын

I always mask maple, just haven't had one on the bench/camera for a while, tbh, and to add to my previous reply, I stopped masking before leveling mainly due to having to get the best fret ends possible on new guitars.. on an old one that is already rounded etc there is not much to gain from avoiding the masking.. your comment last time had me question myself all over again!

@Paul-D

Жыл бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars as i say im not trying to say theres right and wrong. Just as someone who has had to learn all this sort of stuff and does it all the time i always pay extra attention to how everyone approaches things haha. Thankfully i havent ever had to do any microtonal fret jobs 😅

@PaulCooksStuff

Жыл бұрын

I was intrigued about the weird random hole a few years ago and asked around friends. There were oddball theories (weight relief to keep in in tolerance etc) but nothing plausible. So I ventured online. According to folklore and guitar forums its a consistent Mexico telltale - they use it as a locating hole for the routing jig. USA don't do it that way. But it could also be storage for a pinch of salt.

Hi thank you for giving guitarists the chance to own a gorgeous instrument like this that they would probably never be able to buy .

2:58 that's my first electric guitar. Epi G400 Custom. Gigantic D neck on that one.

was just recently looking at some Fenders as a local retailer was having a crazy sale (1600 guitars for 900) I went to 3 locations just checking stock as they don't list online.. anyways.. I found no less than 4 guitars w awful fret sprout..

A quality fret job is why I buy guitars and basses made by Schecter. Even their entry-level models look, feel and play great.

How far can a Dutchman be from here to feel close to a guitar? In these videos we can see if it is worth getting close to this guitar... Great videos, hope there are more to come!

I worked in a PMT store for a while last few years and it’s really a shame to see all the Mexican run models having more frequent QA issues such as poor frets, bubbly finishes/blemishes and even bad fitted necks or chips in the body. 95% are great playing and feeling but then more and more come in like this, on really cool guitars too. I notice it more on basses and offset models(jm, jaguar, mustang, etc) than I have on strays and teles. It’s like it’s a different line for these bodies that aren’t as well maintained or have as well trained eyes in the team. Such a shame for great spec guitars, especially when prices are rising and the overall quality of the squier factories are catching rapidly.

@malcolmhardwick4258

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Buy Japanese Fender !

@thesamaffliction1572

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@@malcolmhardwick4258 I would over others any day. Just struggle to afford one 😂

@lindamcguigan5989

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Buy a FGN made in Japan

@thesamaffliction1572

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@@lindamcguigan5989 I love those guitars based on the ones I’ve played. I just have a soft spot for Jazzmasters so fender or maybe Balaguer are where I go