NGD Charvel DK24/upgrades

Chewie5150 said:
A dremol makes sense especially if you're doing fret work on a more regular basis. I'm just a regular schlump who will only do this a few times ever so I just went with the Fret Erasers. They're basically just little blocks with varying grit like paper. Will give it a go
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong withe fret erasers other that the cost because they don't last very long with me using them.
 
had some more time to play today. yeah the tuning stability is pretty bad here. Guessing the nut is to blame. Put some nut sauce in nut grooves and under the string trees which is helping. I'm assessing things more closely now that I've had it a few days...does fret sprout bug you guys? the fret ends aren't great and catch a lot. I'm seeing why the guitar was likely returned and discounted. That's not a bad thing as I can fix things pretty simply. Likely just someone who took home and didnt' want to take the time to setup and make a few upgrades. I thought these guitars were supposed to have rolled edges but this one doesnt feel that way. Not sure if I should make a big deal about it or not. Had I paid full price these minor things would bug me way more but I got the guitar a few hundred less than new price. I had an EVH red/white/black striped series last year and that had terrible fret sprout but it didnt diminish the fun of playing the guitar. I could just learn how to dress the fret ends I guess
 
Last edited:
Chewie5150 said:
had some more time to play today. yeah the tuning stability is pretty bad here. Guessing the nut is to blame. Put some nut sauce in nut grooves and under the string trees which is helping. I'm assessing things more closely now that I've had it a few days...does fret sprout bug you guys? the fret ends aren't great and catch a lot. I'm seeing why the guitar was likely returned and discounted. That's not a bad thing as I can fix things pretty simply. Likely just someone who took home and didnt' want to take the time to setup and make a few upgrades. I thought these guitars were supposed to have rolled edges but this one doesnt feel that way. Not sure if I should make a big deal about it or not. Had I paid full price these minor things would bug me way more but I got the guitar a few hundred less than new price. I had an EVH red/white/black striped series last year and that had terrible fret sprout but it didnt diminish the fun of playing the guitar. I could just learn how to dress the fret ends I guess
Click to expand...
Mine had a tuning stability issues at first. In your case I think you bought used, just abuse the trem a little. After a few days the tuning stability improved a lot.

Regarding fred sprout, mine had the same issue, I bought the stew-mac fret kit (sand paper and fret end file) and that was enough to correct it. I was afraid to scracth the neck but it worked very good. I will say be very patient because with those grits takes a while to remove some material, but hey, at least you won't scratch the neck.
 
I"m not overly concerned. These are made in Mexico and don't expect the QA to be that of high end production. It's a matter of deciding how much work I'm willing to put in to bring it up to that level
 
Chewie5150 said:
the tuning stability is pretty bad here. Guessing the nut is to blame. Put some nut sauce in nut grooves and under the string trees which is helping.
Click to expand...
If sauce in the slots improves things, it's likely that filing the slots will be a bigger improvement. If the slots are properly filed, and the nut isn't made of that soft, mushy plastic, nut sauce won't do much.

Chewie5150 said:
...does fret sprout bug you guys? the fret ends aren't great and catch a lot.
Click to expand...
Oh, yes. Sprouting frets can suck all the joy out of playing. At worst, they can draw blood.
 
Last edited:
gennarogiura said:
Mine had a tuning stability issues at first. In your case I think you bought used, just abuse the trem a little. After a few days the tuning stability improved a lot.
Click to expand...

This. It takes a little time for things to settle. Tuning was a
bit of a pain the first month and now it is solid as some of
my hardtail guitars.
 
Chewie5150 said:
had some more time to play today. yeah the tuning stability is pretty bad here. Guessing the nut is to blame. Put some nut sauce in nut grooves and under the string trees which is helping. I'm assessing things more closely now that I've had it a few days...does fret sprout bug you guys? the fret ends aren't great and catch a lot. I'm seeing why the guitar was likely returned and discounted. That's not a bad thing as I can fix things pretty simply. Likely just someone who took home and didnt' want to take the time to setup and make a few upgrades. I thought these guitars were supposed to have rolled edges but this one doesnt feel that way. Not sure if I should make a big deal about it or not. Had I paid full price these minor things would bug me way more but I got the guitar a few hundred less than new price. I had an EVH red/white/black striped series last year and that had terrible fret sprout but it didnt diminish the fun of playing the guitar. I could just learn how to dress the fret ends I guess
Click to expand...
Tuning stability was the #1 reason I sold it. The ESP arm adjuster helped a lot but only after I made the trem down only. Also, I bypassed the D/G string tree, added lube to the nut. I travelled with the guitar and though I didn't see major issues on cold climates, it got worse when I travelled south (FL mainly). YMMV as always.

Ended up going back to Floyd Rose for my "whammy" guitar, unfortunately (since I think the Charvel's neck is awesome).
 
gennarogiura said:
Regarding fred sprout, mine had the same issue, I bought the stew-mac fret kit (sand paper and fret end file) and that was enough to correct it. I was afraid to scracth the neck but it worked very good. I will say be very patient because with those grits takes a while to remove some material, but hey, at least you won't scratch the neck.
Click to expand...
Need that kit for a couple of mine. AZ dries things out....
 
I'd rather have one that needed rolling and the fret ends doing than one that was overdone or the frets beveled at too much of an angle. The issues are just a reflection of the cost and if they were perfect the guitar would be a lot more money. A DK 24 with all these little issues corrected is a great guitar that would usually cost twice as much from any other builders.
 
Andy Eagle said:
A DK 24 with all these little issues corrected is a great guitar that would usually cost twice as much from any other builders.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. Overall its still a killer deal. Is there a fret end file you'd suggest? I've read conflicting things about when best to address fret sprout...during the driest/coldest season when fret sprout may be most pronounced/worse or do it during spring/summer....or does it really matter? Either way i was just thinking finding a decent fret file and be gentle about it just to take off some of the sharpness.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/files/fret-end-dressing-file/
This is only about $20 which i can live with but I'm not spending $20 on shipping just to get it. Uggh. I need alternatives...dare I look on Amazon?

edit: found this file online at local hardware store. It looks very similar to the stew mac. can't be rocket science as long as the file is made of good quality material the rest is technique
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...6Gn_GsIepzl_5vcfa60X-LaeJoPmv9kYaAs_BEALw_wcB

Fret Guru..most expensive of the three here
Amazon product ASIN B013ZHK4DM
 
Last edited:
Chewie5150 said:
My thoughts exactly. Overall its still a killer deal. Is there a fret end file you'd suggest? I've read conflicting things about when best to address fret sprout...during the driest/coldest season when fret sprout may be most pronounced/worse or do it during spring/summer....or does it really matter? Either way i was just thinking finding a decent fret file and be gentle about it just to take off some of the sharpness.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/files/fret-end-dressing-file/
This is only about $20 which i can live with but I'm not spending $20 on shipping just to get it. Uggh. I need alternatives...dare I look on Amazon?

edit: found this file online at local hardware store. It looks very similar to the stew mac. can't be rocket science as long as the file is made of good quality material the rest is technique
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...6Gn_GsIepzl_5vcfa60X-LaeJoPmv9kYaAs_BEALw_wcB

Fret Guru..most expensive of the three here
Amazon product ASIN B013ZHK4DM
Click to expand...
The "StewMac Fret End Dressing File" is listed on Amazon, if that helps.
 
Dave Merrill said:
Can you order from the us site? I don't know how that stuff works.
Click to expand...
it can be done but there are typically shipping charges , so prime membership doesn't help, and/or duties. I just checked on the USA amazon and it shows unavailable currently for that file. Uggh and I just ordered from stewmac few days back for the fret erasers...wish I would have thought of this and included it in one order for one shipping charge. Maybe I'll send stewmac an email see if they can add to the order. It hasnt shipped out yet I dont think
 
Chewie5150 said:
it can be done but there are typically shipping charges , so prime membership doesn't help, and/or duties. I just checked on the USA amazon and it shows unavailable currently for that file. Uggh and I just ordered from stewmac few days back for the fret erasers...wish I would have thought of this and included it in one order for one shipping charge. Maybe I'll send stewmac an email see if they can add to the order. It hasnt shipped out yet I dont think
Click to expand...
I ordered from Philly Luthier a while back, then realized I should have added something else. Got back to them right quick, but they were faster, the original order was already being packed.
 
Did you lock the trem posts?

Are you using .009-.042 strings or did you go to something heavier? The guitar comes with 9s from the factory, so heavier ones will probably require filling the nut slots.

Sucks to hear about your fret ends...
 
unix-guy said:
Did you lock the trem posts?

Are you using .009-.042 strings or did you go to something heavier? The guitar comes with 9s from the factory, so heavier ones will probably require filling the nut slots.

Sucks to hear about your fret ends...
Click to expand...
Thx. to be honest fret ends aren't really bad. My old EVH striped was way worse and I played the hell out of that guitar. I'm being extra picky so i'll take the time to file them a bit. GIves me the excuse to finally learn how to do it anyhow. I havent' changed the strings so believe they are 9's. Once I put the new staggered tuners on I'll be able to rule a few things out...the string trees do push the strings down quite a bit coming off the nut so it could be binding on the one edge of nut. The nut sauce also helps. Haven't looked at the trem posts..what do you mean about 'locking them'?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom