Post by CTGull on Aug 22, 2018 13:11:17 GMT -5
In my continued research I've found a few characteristics that have changed during the early Red label years. In the past week I've found another subtle change, the size of the fret tangs, which is the vertical part of the fret that is driven into the fretboard. It's possible in 1969 & 70 they used .028" tang frets, and .018" before and after. Very odd!! I made a PDF template for each size and sent it to everyone I’ve contacted, hoping to get a better idea when the change was made.
This may not mean much too many people, but it does to people who want to refret their guitar. They don't made frets with tangs that big anymore. The largest is .024", which might work, or they may come loose and have to be glued. Worst case the neck ends up with some extra neck relief (curvature) due the extra few thousandths adding up. I'd like to identify when they used these frets and warn people.
If I haven’t already talked to you, could you check your frets with the attached PDF template? Print it out full scale (not to fit), cut it out between the dimensions and the fret slots, and let me know what yours are?? It's best to check the frets over the body because they tend to not have lacquer closing them up. Check a few to be sure. Send a picture to YamahaVintageFG@gmail.com if you aren’t sure. Thanks!!
Vintage Yamaha FG Fret Tang Width Checker.pdf (18.51 KB)
This may not mean much too many people, but it does to people who want to refret their guitar. They don't made frets with tangs that big anymore. The largest is .024", which might work, or they may come loose and have to be glued. Worst case the neck ends up with some extra neck relief (curvature) due the extra few thousandths adding up. I'd like to identify when they used these frets and warn people.
If I haven’t already talked to you, could you check your frets with the attached PDF template? Print it out full scale (not to fit), cut it out between the dimensions and the fret slots, and let me know what yours are?? It's best to check the frets over the body because they tend to not have lacquer closing them up. Check a few to be sure. Send a picture to YamahaVintageFG@gmail.com if you aren’t sure. Thanks!!
Vintage Yamaha FG Fret Tang Width Checker.pdf (18.51 KB)