Reader Question: My Guitar has Sharp Frets. Should I File Them?
Read This Before Reaching for That File
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Bob Asks:
“My electric guitar’s fretboard is very dry, so the fret-ends have started protruding and feel sharp. What should I do? Should I buy a fret file and file them down? Will oiling the fretboard with F-One oil fix the issue?”
Hi Bob!
First, when it comes to sharp frets, I never recommend immediately reaching for a file. That can come later, if a more conservative approach doesn’t work first.
Next, while your guitar’s fretboard can benefit from the Music Nomad F-One oil if it’s looking a bit dry, oil will not fix the issue you’re having with sharp fret ends. You don’t need oil, you need moisture. And by moisture, I mean water.
Let’s dive in…
What Causes Protruding or Sharp Frets?
Sharp frets (or “razor fret” as we like to call it) can happen for one or more of the following reasons:
1. Low humidity (lack of moisture)
This is the most likely and most common reason for sharp frets–especially if they were fine before and then suddenly appeared. The guitar has been exposed to excessively low humidity (below 45%) for too long and the fretboard wood has literally shrunk, causing the edges of the fretboard to pull back, leaving the metal fret ends sticking out. Oil alone won’t fix this.
If you want to learn more about this, you can read my in-depth article about how humidity affects guitars.
2. Unseated frets
Sometimes fret ends can actually pop up out of the fret slots. This will make just those frets (the ones that popped-up) feel sharp. You can tell whether this is the problem if you’ve only got a few sharp fret ends, but the rest feel fine.
3. Poor workmanship
This is the least-likely reason, and usually only an issue on very cheap guitars. The factory just didn’t file the ends properly. This usually isn’t the case though if the sharp frets weren’t there before and then suddenly appeared.
Here’s What to Try (First) for Sharp Frets
Whenever a guitar develops sharp frets, the first thing I do is tackle #1 (possible under-humidification). It’s not only the most likely reason you have sharp frets, but the remedy is also the least invasive procedure. Not to mention that under-humidification needs to be addressed anyway.
So, we need to get moisture back into your guitar’s fretboard. The wood has physically shrunk, leaving the fret ends exposed. Essentially, we want that wood to swell back out to where it’s supposed to naturally be.
Before you dive into the procedure I outline below, the first, most conservative (but slowest) approach is to simply start keeping your guitar inside an airtight case with a good humidification system whenever you’re not playing it. A couple humidifiers that I recommend are the Music Nomad Humitar or the D’Addario 2-Way Humidification system.
Do this consistently and hopefully it’ll give the wood enough hydration to swell it back out to where it’s naturally supposed to be. This could take a few weeks to a couple months depending on how disciplined you are about keeping the guitar in its case with the humidifier when you’re not playing it.
If you use the Humitar or any other sponge-based humidifier, remember that you have to re-wet the sponge every couple weeks.
Don’t Want to Wait? Try This.
If you don’t want to wait a couple weeks or months by using the normal hydration approach I outlined above, here I’ll outline a way to accomplish the same thing a bit faster. Repair shops use this method (or something similar) to quickly get a lot of moisture back into a guitar that’s severely dried out.
A word of caution: this is going to get a lot of moisture into the guitar in a short period of time. There is a risk of going too far in the other direction–of actually over-humidifying the guitar–if you do this process for too long. So, be careful with this and monitor humidity and progress closely.
The Supplies
Before you begin, here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 large trash bag: large enough to completely enclose the guitar and be sealed with a twist-tie, clip, etc.
- 1 guitar humidifier: I recommend the Music Nomad Humitar, which is the best sponge-based humidifier I’ve found to-date. You can read my in-depth review of the Humitar here.
The Procedure
- First, follow the humidifier manufacturer’s instructions for soaking the sponge and gently removing excess moisture (from the sponge). Don’t squeeze it to death. You want the sponge very wet, but not dripping.
- Next, put your guitar and the humidifier into the trash bag, with the guitar resting flat on it’s back inside the bag. Since the fretboard is what we need to fix, place the humidifier inside the bag just under/behind the neck (if acoustic, do NOT put it in the soundhole).
- Seal the bag, but leave a little air inside, to give the moisture enough space to circulate around the neck. Don’t go nuts and blow the bag up like a balloon. You just want a little extra air in there.
- Leave the guitar lying on its back and don’t open the bag for 5 days.
- On the 5th day, open the bag and check your fret ends.
- If the fret ends still feel sharp, re-wet the humidifier, put it back in the bag with the guitar, and re-seal the bag.
- Wait another 3-5 days (remember not to open the bag during this period), then check the frets again.
Still Got Sharp Frets? Then it’s Time to File.
If you’ve had the guitar in the bag for up to 10 days and STILL have sharp fret ends, it’s time to stop. Any longer and you run the risk of over hydrating the guitar.
At this point I would recommend taking the guitar to a professional tech or repairperson. They’ll determine whether your frets need to be filed and/or re-seated, and be able to do the work without scratching your guitar. If you’re inexperienced at this and attempt to file the frets yourself, you will most assuredly scratch the edges of your fretboard or the body of your guitar.
However, if you really want to tackle this yourself, here’s a good article on how to perform the procedure: Fixing Fret Ends That Stick Out in Dry Weather, by Stewart-MacDonald.
Tools Used in That Article:
As you can see, these tools aren’t cheap, so it’s probably cheaper and safer to just take your guitar to a pro and get a price quote first, before buying specialized tools like these–tools that you may only ever use once or twice in your life.
Final Tips and FAQ’s
Shouldn’t I put the humidifier in my acoustic guitar’s soundhole?
If you are doing this procedure to an acoustic guitar, you may be tempted to put your humidifier in the guitar’s soundhole–especially if it’s labeled as a “soundhole humidifier.” Don’t do this. Putting the humidifier in the soundhole really only benefits the body of the guitar, not the neck.
It’s the fretboard that needs help here, so putting a humidifier into the soundhole defeats the purpose and robs the fretboard of needed moisture.
What about leaving the guitar out on a stand with a room humidifier?
Unless you can get the room humidity up to about 75% humidity or higher (and keep it there for several days or more), it’s just not going to get enough moisture into a guitar quickly enough. Worse, even if you do get the room super humid and keep it there for several days or weeks, you then run the risk of condensation forming on other equipment or risk promoting mold growth in the walls and whatnot.
A room humidifier is fine for everyday maintenance–after we’ve got the guitar’s wood back in balance. If you use one, aim to keep your guitar room between 45% – 55% to prevent future occurrences of razor fret.
What if I can’t keep the humidity at the proper level? Won’t the issue just come back?
Yes, the issue can indeed come back. If you live in an excessively dry climate where your guitar is exposed to humidity well below 45% the majority of the time, this is going to be a recurring problem for you. In this case, if you can’t at least keep the guitar in a case with a humidifier when you’re not playing it, you may indeed benefit from simply having the frets filed back.
Parting Thoughts
So, before you reach for that file (or fretboard oil), reach for a humidifier instead and get your guitar back to an ideal humidity range of 45% – 55%. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then and only then should you consider filing them (or letting a pro do the work).
Question:
Do you have sharp fret-ends? If so, let me know if you’re going to try the humidification procedure outlined here, or if you’re planning to get the fret ends filed by a repairperson. Or, maybe you’re planning to file them yourself? Let me know in the comments below!
I just bought a brand new Rogue RD80 which is a cheap plywood beater acoustic guitar. My intent is for “campfire”/knockaround use so I don’t have to worry about damaging my better guitars. I’m pretty sure that hydration isn’t the issue because it’s brand new and visually looking at it the filing job on the frets looks poor. The quality of the rest of the build looks OK, considering the price. Anyway, my plan is a little light filing to get rid of the sharp edges. I’m no pro luthier but I’ve done a little of this kind of thing before so I’m not uncomfortable giving it a go.
Hi Leeland. Well, cheaper guitars are a great way to practice this kind of DIY. I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t watch a couple tutorials and round off those sharp edges yourself.
If you’re at all nervous about it, keep an eye on ebay for cheap/used guitar necks to practice on. I have a few used guitar necks lying around that I use for product reviews, demos, etc. and the most I paid for any of them was $45. Same goes for practicing finish retouches and repairs. Look for old, used bodies on ebay. They’re a dime a dozen.
Hey,
I have an old Fender Lead II in spectacular shape except for the fret sprouting. The neck is coated. (heavily lacquered, etc.) This means the wood is sealed. In this case, will rehumidifying the room to 45-55% over time still work on this guitar? Or am I stuck getting the frets filed?
Thanks!
Tom
I would give rehumidifying a try (and do your best thereafter to keep it between 45% – 55%). You’d be surprised where/how moisture can get back into the wood.
If it doesn’t work, having those fret ends filed isn’t a big deal. It’s bread-and-butter work for any decent guitar repairperson.
Cool. Thanks!
Hi, glad I found your site. In September we had an electrical fire and the guitars were near the amps that got burned. I’ve just now tried to get the fire extinguisher stuff off and see what I have. I thought my sx liquid was fine but after playing it the sharp ends are cutting me pretty bad and it never did that before the fire. I’m gonna try the bag and humidifier trick and see how it goes. Thanks
Hi Mike. So sorry to hear about the fire, but glad no one was hurt and that the guitars survived. It sounds like the heat/fire may have indeed sucked so much moisture out of the air that it dried out the wood. No surprising. Let me know how it goes with the re-humidification process, or if you ultimately decide to have the frets filed. Whatever you decide to do, it’s still good to get some humidity back into the guitars. Once you have them back to normal, aim to keep them between 45% – 55% if you can.
W O W ! ! ! Thank you very much.
I received an old classical guitar made in Spain on April 12. Most of the frets were sticking out on both sides along the neck. They’re sharp, unbearable. The guitar was completely unplayable. I was about to “retire” it to a display stand just for decoration, browsing the internet, found many tips, I was ready to order a tool kit with a fret file, a humidifier among other things then I found your website.
The large trash bag was used per your advice to cover the entire “damaged” neck. Packing tape was used to seal the bag around the top of the body. I thought my guitar’s case was critical, I was cheap, instead of buying a humidifier, I rolled a small really wet towel to put inside the trash bag then sealed it.
After a week, the frets still felt sticking out when I ran my hand along the neck without unwrapping the trash bag. I read your advice again. Instead of “Wait another 5-7 days”, i waited almost 3 weeks.
Today, W O W ! ! ! I All sharp frets are history. I tuned it up and played the song that I knew best, Romance for Guitar. W O W ! ! ! That sweet tone of a classical guitar made in Spain!!! The guitar came alive as its purpose was to be held close to a player’s heart, to be played, heard and listened to.
Thank you.
Awesome news! Nothing wrong with filing frets, but I always recommend re-humidification first, then using the file as a last resort.
I’m glad this worked for you and you brought that old, dried out classical back to life.
It’s still amazing to me how my guitar’s sharp frets got fixed.
By the way, I found something to share. Sharp frets don’t happen overnight, but if anyone suddenly finds sharp frets on his/her guitar and the performance is within the hours or tomorrow so there is not enough time to try the week-long large trash bag solution, try using Scotch tape or any translucent tape.
Cut a small rectangular piece of Scotch tape, 1cm X 3cm, then stick it along the guitar’s neck over the sticking out sharp edge.
Or just run the tape along the neck to cover all for complete smoothness.
After the performance, use the method given herein by Mr. Davis.
I have a problem in the g note of the 3erd fret, and the problem is the note sounds like pizzicato when I play soft (no matter the strings nor tune, either the fret is out). I think it may be the fret is flat, but I need to be shure before I lift it.
sorry I mean neither the fret is out
Hi Ariel. Can you first clarify what you mean when you say you’re planning to “lift the fret?” The reason I’m asking is because any manipulation of your frets requires some skill and good knowledge of fretwork. If you’re not able to determine what’s causing your issue in the first place, I wouldn’t advise trying to do any fretwork yourself. Also, to my knowledge you can’t raise frets, you can only lower them. So, if you have a fret with a low spot or dent, you wouldn’t try to lift it up. Instead, you would lower the other frets as necessary using a standard fret leveling procedure (either a local/spot level, or by leveling all the frets).
Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to diagnose your issue over the internet. I’d need to inspect your guitar’s frets and first understand what’s going on before I advise you to do anything. Your guitar could need something as simple as a truss rod or saddle height adjustment, or need fretwork of some kind. One way you can check for uneven frets is with a fret rocker. Simply search YouTube for “fret rocker” and you’re sure to find how-to videos on using a fret rocker to uncover uneven frets.
Hi, Bob:
Thanks for this article. I read both the article and all the replies. I just purchased a used 2014 Epi Hummingbird from an online site. It has the aforementioned sharp fret edges (very sharp, ouch!) on both sides of the neck. It also has neck binding, and although I think I have the skills to carefully file the frets, I’d much prefer to try the bagging method first.
The guitar came from Phoenix, AZ, and went to the San Francisco Bay area via UPS. When I received the guitar, it was in an unsealed poly bag, some bubble wrap, inside a guitar box. It took 3 days to arrive, and I met the UPS guy at the door. The box was extremely hot; perhaps from sitting in a delivery truck for many hours, plus however it was handled in transit.
I’m going to give the bag/sponge method a try, beginning this afternoon. Lucky for me, I have a spare bedroom where I can bag it and forget about it for a week. I’ll be sure to let you know how it works out. Thanks so much for your article. Cheers!
– Gerg
Greg, let me know how things go. Keep in mind it can take up to 2-weeks to re-hydrate a really dry guitar, but you might get lucky and just one week will do the trick. In the end, remember, if this technique doesn’t work (it doesn’t always), it’s perfectly okay to have those fret ends filed by a skilled pro. I just like to give re-hydration a try first.
Hi again. First, thank you for this article, and for your website and blog. I very much appreciate your help. Second, I have completed the bagging process, and I learned a few things. Here they are, for reference.
A full size dreadnaught like the Epi Hummingbird is just a bit too big (long) for one 39 gallon trash bag. After a bit of thought, I spliced two bags together, top to bottom, after cutting the bottom off the second bag, using quite a bit of packing tape. I used the tape on the bottom seam, and where I joined the two bags. I then turned the whole two-bags inside out and re-taped the joins to ensure it was airtight. Also, the string ends at the headstock had a tendency to puncture the trash bag (which I observed from the first test fit), so I took some bubble wrap, and made a three fold pad over the headstock face, covering the tuners/strings, and secured this with two rubber bands. I put the guitar into the double bag butt-end of the guitar first, and put my water-saturated sponge on a salvaged polystyrene (sic) meat tray (in case of leakage) under the neck. This whole kit is sitting diagonally on a card table. I was then able to inflate the bag (it took a lot of air, due to the extra length of the doubled bag, which I could have/should maybe have cut a bit shorter, but oh, well), twist up the end, and secure it with a rubber band. Its been holding air for 3+ hours.
Hope this info is helpful to others. Thanks again. I will give you an update in a week, or so. Cheers. – Gerg
Hello. Here is the update I promised. Long story short, a week in the humidifying bag did the trick, and resolved the protruding fret end issue. A few notes from the process: I filled the bag with a bit more air than suggested, in case there was some leakage. There was. By Thursday (day 4), the bag was limp. I carefully opened the bag end, and added more air. (Did not peak, and tried not to leak any more air). Opened the bag after 7 full days. Yes, the air seemed very humid. After removing the guitar and tuning it to standard pitch, there was fret buzz on several strings in the open position and first few frets. I surmised that either the strings or the guitar top had absorbed too much moisture, and left the guitar on its stand, and checked the guitar each day. It improved day by day, and after 5 days, the fret buzz was nearly gone. The intonation seemed fine before the bagging process, and the strings seemed new(ish). Worst case, I will install new strings and re-intonate. Otherwise, I am more than satisfied with the results. I will be polishing the frets and fret ends, too…Thanks, Guitar guy for the re-humidifying idea, I likely would not have thought to do this myself. – Cheers. – Gerg
Glad to hear it worked for you Gerg, and thanks for the other tips!
Hi,
I just received a 2004 Martin D-16R that resided in Utah for the last 14 years…most of that time in the case as in rarely played. It came to me with every fret top and bottom, sharp. I researched and saw that Utah has an average humidity of 8%. I live in Louisiana and have never had this issue with any of my guitars even my 1980 Les Paul Custom (I’m the original owner). I read you suggestion and have the Martin in. Plastic bag as I type this. I’m hopeful the rehydration process will be successful. I will report back in two weeks.
Regards,
Scott
Hi Scott. I did a quick Google search for “average humidity in Utah” and didn’t come up with the same numbers. I see them hovering between 40% – 70%, which is pretty average. Doesn’t mean they can’t occasionally drop into the single-digits, but it’s not their norm. However, regardless of what the guitar’s been through over the past 14 years, if all the fret-ends are sharp, it’s probably under-humidified and you’re doing the right thing. Keep me posted on how it goes. If the re-hydration doesn’t totally work and you still have a few sharp frets, consider taking it in to a good repair shop to have those ends filed.
Sorry so late getting back. I opted to leave guitar out of case and on a stand in my music room that has 44-48 humidity. The guitar has done well and I thin filing will not be necessary i’m happy to say. thanks!
Scott, 44% – 48% is fine. As long as you’re somewhere near 45% – 55%, you don’t have much to worry about.
I agree that humidity can cause this, however in a local music store I saw one brand – Yamaha Revstar – with this problem on all of its instruments (and it had fingerboard binding!), whereas other instruments did not. It would be relatively simple to fix this with filing, but on a new instrument in a store where others are not exhibiting this problem it seems more like workmanship.
Additionally, I once tried to introduce higher humidity into a room for the sake of my guitars and I discovered three instruments with damage due to the swelling (one suddenly developed a rather attractive but unfortunate pattern of finish checking). Two of these were always in their cases. I therefore advise caution here, and personally I would take my chances first on the file job.
I have to disagree with much of the philosophy here. I have been playing (many, many) guitars for 30+ years and I have seen a 300% increase in sharp frets in the last 2 years. The few guitars Ive owned for 30 years, never had sharp frets, and still dont, and I do NOTHING special to “keep my necks in shape: other than NOT leaving the guitar laying on the ground outside when it snows or on the porch all summer, so if thats “cared for” so be it. . New guitars come from the factories with sharp frets, meaning, workmanship is now the #1 reason today for sharp frets, if it werent then the $4000 Taylors , Martins, Gibsons would have the same “temperature” reaction as the others. Its a shame that dealerships do not band together and insist that they get reimbursed to fix the frets in order to sell the instrument, or, demand that things go back to the way they used to be, smoothed before leaving the factory. I can only speak from my exp..Ive personally never had a smooth fretted guitar develop sharp frets.
Thanks for the comments Suzuki. If we all agreed on everything, the world would be a very boring place, so I always welcome disagreement and alternate points of view.
I have to agree Suzuki on this one. i live in an environment of extreme dryness in winter and extreme humidity in the summer. The majority of my 14 basses were made domestically between 1963-1978, by 2 of the major American manufacturers. None of them have ever had any fret problems except the one built in 2004.
The main difference in the pre-1980 era of guitar making is not automated. In my experience the evidence of that the 60’s & 70’s when testing an instrument for purchase, one knew that 2 guitars of identical models, brand, type, color … were different. Variances in body and neck thickness and sounds of hand wound pick ups made playing several of the same model before choosing a must. Not to say some were bad and some were good just different. Today’s models I found to be all identical , well made but identical. (And some will say that is a good thing).
Its a long way of saying older instruments were not assembly line items. The luthiers in a shop took small liberties with models. I bought a 2004 model made by company (I name no names) and the quality of workmanship on this economy model was nowhere near the standard in the economy 1978 models. In no time at all the frets emerged like razors.
This 2004 guitar with some love can be made playable but overall it has the feel of an assembled item. The notion of throw it together and let the user finish with set up and finish has become pretty standard.
That’s why blogs like yours are so helpful for those on a budget who can get the raw materials they need and then bring it up to a playable standard. Thanks.
I recently found your site/blog and love it! I also recently bought a PRS CE 24 out of Wyoming and had it shipped to my home in Alabama. When it arrived I noticed the fret edges were a little sharp compared to my core singlecut, which is pretty much flawless. I thought this might be due to the low humidity in Wyoming, so I did a google search and found your article. My question is with this being a bolt on necked guitar should I just remove the neck from the body along with the tuners and put it in the bag with the humidifier? Would performing this humid trash bag treatment possibly harm electronics and metal parts in any way?
– Concerned Citizen
Your guitar’s electronics will be fine. If we were talking about leaving your guitar in that humid environment for a month or more then, yes, I’d be worried about how it might affect delicate metal parts. My only concern about removing the neck and placing it in the bag by itself is that the unfinished heel of the guitar neck (the part that’s normally pressed tight against the body when attached to the guitar) will absorb moisture. It may be fine, or it may swell enough to cause some wonky-ness once re-attached to the guitar. The same goes for removing the headstock hardware. Those tuner holes, screw holes, etc. will have unfinished wood inside, and any areas of unfinished wood are going to absorb moisture more readily than those that are sealed. You really only want the fretboard to absorb moisture and swell, not other parts of the neck.
I had not thought of it that way. I was also thinking that since the entire guitar had been in that low humidity maybe the guitar as a whole might need to be in the bag anyway. This is satin finished guitar, so although sealed I can still feel and see the pores/wood grains. The Music Nomad Humidifier is supposed to arrive this afternoon, so then it’s going in the bag for a week. I’ll lwt you know my results. Thank you for the quick reply and the help. You rock!
– Alex
You’re welcome Alex. And remember, it’s not unusual for this to take up to 2 weeks.
And in the end, if it doesn’t ultimately fix your issue 100% and you have to have the fret ends filed, it’s not a bad thing. As long as it’s done by a reputable guitar tech or shop, it’s a pretty common procedure that works well. I just like to try the humidification approach first, because that’s usually the actual cause of the problem (as opposed to bad fretwork at the factory).