Brian May Red Special Guitars Zero Fret Wear Reasons and Replacement
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- Опубліковано 20 чер 2024
- This video is a follow-up to my 2021 short which illustrated strings pinging in and out of grooves worn into the zero fret of my Burns Brian May Red Special guitar.
I discuss the various factors which cause and exacerbate this issue and remove and replace the zero fret with Jescar FW57110 stainless steel fret wire. The crown is 2.8 mm wide and 1.45 mm high which is a good match to the jumbo 3 mm size fitted to this Burns Special.
I upgraded this guitar as follows:
- Gotoh SG381-01 MG-T Locking 3L/3R Chrome finish
- White pearloid small ‘butterbean’ tuning pegs (set of 6)
- Adeson “Original BM/Guyton Specification” Tri-Sonic pickups with DC resistances and inductances within 1% of the original Red Special (middle RWRP)
- Custom designed pickguard CNC cut from 3 mm gloss black perspex, 45 degree bevelled outer edge, manually polished.
- Custom designed pickup surrounds CNC cut from 2 mm thick gloss black perspex, bevelled edges, hand polished
- Custom designed rear cover plate from perspex (Red Dark Gloss 433)
- Roller bridge saddles
- Brian May Guitars (BMG) aluminium control knob set
- Vintage Burns style chromed brass strap buttons
- Bourns PDB181-GTR02-254A2 audio (log) taper potentiometers at 236 kOhm, remaining stock selected from 2014 Farnell order to match the original Red Special.
- Vishay MKT1813 Polyester capacitor, 33 nF 400V, selected from a large batch to match the capacitance of the original Red Special
- Switchcraft 46200 LRX series DPDT parallel slide switches mounted on a custom designed perspex carrier plate
- Rotosound British Steels BS9 super light string set
For further details, please check out the following section of my website:
dsgb.net/projects/burns/
Time Index of Chapters
00:00 - Introduction.
00:12 - Review of the comments on my original 2021 UA-cam short on string pinging.
00:37 - 2020 project: Burns Brian May Special BHM 4787 upgrade.
01:00 - Montage of some of my UA-cam video thumbnails.
01:22 - Illustration of the string pinging phenomenon.
01:38 - Factors which cause zero fret wear (1): tremolo sawing action.
01:48 - Factors which cause zero fret wear (2): string bending and finger vibrato.
02:01 - Factors which cause zero fret wear (3): string tension.
02:16 - Factors which cause zero fret wear (4): budget fret wire alloy composition.
02:32 - Factors which cause zero fret wear (5): use of harder (e.g. stainless steel) strings.
02:47 - What can be done to alleviate zero fret wear?
03:02 - StewMac (Stewart-MacDonald) fret work content (Fret Work Step-By-Step) book.
03:26 - Will fitting roller bridge saddles help reduce zero fret wear?
03:36 - Will fitting a roller nut help help reduce zero fret wear?
03:49 - Why is the issue worse on commercial (Burns, BMG) Brian May Red Special guitars?
04:22 - Zero fret replacement: Measuring the fret wire.
04:43 - Tools for removing existing fret wire.
05:26 - StewMac fret arbor press cork lined neck support caul.
05:36 - Inspection of the fretboard bass side at the zero fret.
06:11 - Heating the existing zero fret with a soldering iron chisel tip to soften the glue.
06:30 - Pulling out the existing zero fret with small pliers.
06:35 - Inspection of the zero fret slot after removing the zero fret.
07:16 - Inspection of the removed zero fret for blind fret tangs.
07:30 - Radiusing the new fret wire with the StewMac fret bender tool.
07:44 - Cutting the new fret wire approximately to size with StewMac cutters.
08:02 - Off-neck fret wire preparation with a custom oak fret preparation jig.
08:22 - Use of a diamond coated cutting disc with a rotary multitool to prepare the fret tang.
08:40 - Use of a diamond file to manually de-burr and square off the fret tang.
08:50 - Checking fit against the guitar.
09:03 - Discussion of the disadvantages of bevelled fret ends. Guyton RS Transporter fret ends.
09:31 - Bevelling the ends of the new stainless steel fret wire.
09:49 - Checking fit against the guitar.
10:02 - Applying cyanoacrylate superglue into the fret slot.
10:32 - Carefully positioning the new zero fret onto the slot.
10:40 - Options to insert the new fret (1): Squeezing with a radiusing block.
10:57 - Options insert the new fret (2): StewMac fret arbor press.
11:20 - Reviewing the completed work.
11:56 - Outro 1.
12:05 - Outro 2.
#BrianMay #RedSpecial #zerofret
Hi Doug. Thanks for making this video. It cleared up a lot of misunderstandings I had about zero frets. I'm not sure that I want to try changing mine any time soon though! Cheers, Adam.
Hi Adam. Many thanks for your supportive comments. I'm pleased that you enjoyed it. 💜👍🏻😀
Hi Doug, as always your videos are spot on and full of so much useful information. I hope to see you again on day soon. Take care.
Thank you for your kind words Ron. I'm sure Jon and I will be back in the good ol' U.S. of A. hangin' out with y'all and talking the finer points of imperial thread pitch and drinking Knob Creek beers with you sooner rather than later. 🙏🏻😀💜
Very Interesting Video !
It makes me think about the measures to take before buying a BMG Red Special
Thanks Nolhan. Certainly check out any new or used guitar carefully before committing to buy it.
The previous owner of my Burns Red Special had inserted a block of wood in the tremolo cavity to prevent movement, turning it into a hard tail instrument. This must have reduced the zero fret wear because it was barely noticeable when I bought it.
Hi Doug! My BMG super came brand new out of the box with a pinging zero fret- it is annoying! Wasn’t expecting that to be honest … hope you are well!
Hi Tom. Good to hear from you. I have been hearing of some quality issues with the BMG Super. To pay that much money and wait that long, only to find the guitar has flaws straight out of the box must be very frustrating.
I have changed my opinion on fret wire since making this video. I think it's worth fitting more durable fret wire to premium guitars and especially where a lot of string bending and tremolo use will happen. Also, that you can't simply fit stainless steel strings and hope for no fret wear.
I wish I had said something about it at the time but I was a bit naive not really knowing if that’s just how it was meant to be.It would be a bit late now to go back to BMG and complain about it. If I bump into Brian up the shops I’ll let him know…
I was surprised also to find the fingerboard not lacquered and it has the feel of a rosewood fingerboard- but you can feel the gaps in the grain… it makes a kind of scratching feeling when you bend the plain strings… such a shame as it was a significant purchase money wise. Another thing it does is the trem springs “ping” as well and you can feel it up the tremolo arm… apart from that it does sound great.
My Burns which I have had for around 18 years has almost no wear on the zero fret at all- I always had rotosound 10-46 on that guitar…
Great video Doug- you are an engineer through and through! I love your approach and explanations
Tom, I understand that feedback on the BMG Super quality control issues has been given to Pete Malandrone and Nigel Knight in person at meetups and via messages by some members of the enthusiast group so I hope BMG take it on board.
I sympathise with the issues they face trying to sell quality replica guitars at affordable price points. Material and build quality can suffer and buyer reactions can range from "not particularly bothered" through to "fix it or I'll sue you". The Red Special was obviously never designed to be optimised for future commercial production and any of us would struggle to achieve a compromise that is acceptable to discerning enthusiasts.
I read on one of Brian's recent "guitar signing day" Instagram posts that BMG have sold over 40,000 BMG Specials so there are lot out there. I really like this Burns and it was in excellent cosmetic condition when I bought it.
I have that damn pinging sound open top E, on my squire made in indonesia cabro, lowered the strings, different tuning still there, drove me crazy, i can only think its vibrating in the nut.
Some component will be not fully fixed or tight. You will have to systematically diagnose it.
Try putting some pencil lead on the nut grooves. Just scribe on the nut groove a few times. You might want to try nut lube or even replace it with Graphtec nut, but try the pencil first.
It's possible that the string is bound to the nut groove due to the friction. This happens a lot when you use tremolo bar or bending the string.
Of course it's also possible that the nut slot is not cut properly as well.
When removing frets its often best to “walk” the fret rather than pull to minimise chip out
I was trying to ease the old fretwire out without using excessive force but it didn't quite work out as you saw in the video. 👍🏻😀
@@dsgb that was a bit scary! 🎃
Indeed. 😮 The cracking sound was frightening! I genuinely expected to see a disaster zone when I removed the masking tape. Fretwork is quite intimidating for the amateur, occasional luthier.
Dan Erlewine is an incredible Luthier however I recommend buying tools elsewhere if it can be avoided. Stewmac likes to copy other tool designs, manufacture them in China and sell them at ridiculous prices. Hosco (Japanese company) makes some of the best Luthier tools in my opinion 🍺🇨🇦
Thanks for the tip. I like Hosco fretwire and Japanese tools including the "Engineer" brand. 👍🏻😀
Zero frets should never be brass. I had a Hofner with a brass zero fret and caused all sorts of problems almost immediately, like felt friction when bending the strings. I could feel the strings grinding against the zero fret.
That's interesting to know. The Jescar and StewMac gold fret wire is C425 brass and I haven't heard any complaints about it. 🤔 Brass alloys can be polished smooth so perhaps this is the key to avoiding friction?
@@dsgb maybe Hofner used low-quality brass. All I know is that it completely turned me off against them. There were grooves all worn into the zero fret after just a few hours of playing.
Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. 😐
@@dsgb yeah, pretty obnoxious for a $2400 guitar. My Warwicks don't have issues with their brass frets or the brass nut, so maybe it was just the type of brass Hofner used for the zero fret. I wouldn't dare try anything less than a stainless zero fret again, but I'd rather avoid them all together.
I have two burns guitars, both with zero frets. One has no pinging, the other pings. The one that pings is virtually brand new(no marks or depressions). I've polished it etc.. The only difference I can see is that the pinging zero fret is much higher than the other frets, whereas the non-pinging guitar zero fret is level. Maybe the higher zero fret is putting too much tension/downforce on the string contact point and causing the noise. Also, it must affect the action at the first few frets. I may try levelling it.
Thanks for the input. 👍🏻😀 My thoughts are that the zero fret surely must be higher than the other frets otherwise there is unlikely to be sufficient clearance/action at the lower frets and this will cause the strings to buzz.
There aren't too many options for high fret wire crown height, 0.058" (1.47 mm) being the highest that I can see and 0.036" (0.91 mm) the lowest with 0.045-0.050" (1.14-1.27 mm) being typical.
www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html
So I don't think approximately 0.20-0.35 mm difference between regular frets and a higher zero fret is going to be a significant factor.
@@dsgb mmmm the zero fret when you think about it is no different from the other frets, other than it's fretted with the down angle/force of the headstock angle rather than your finger or say a capo. Let me put it this way, I'm sure you like a level fret board and the normal cause of buzzing lower down the neck is a high fret, not a level one? I think the higher zero fret on my instrument might just be crap manufacturing or to compensate somehow from a poorly levelled fretboard out of the factory. As I say my much older Burns is perfectly level with the others and it sounds and plays great. How high is the one on your Red Special? Zero frets are a continuous issue :) cheers man.
I'm suggesting that if the zero fret is the same height as the other frets, the action at the lower frets will be less. If you desire a low action, that is obviously preferable but the reduced clearance of a low action can cause buzz when the strings vibrate.
To avoid this, it is sensible to fit a zero fret with a higher crown, as Brian May Guitars and Guyton Guitars do.
Brian's original Red Special buzzes due to the low overall string action which is likely contributed to by a worn zero fret, not necessarily because some of the regular frets are high.
@@dsgb Cool, thanks for helping and great video :)
Thanks. I hope you manage to cure the issue with the pinging on your Burns. 👍🏻😀
new fret seems fine but I still see a tiny gab underneath it, it could have been probably pressed more. Also fret hight check and how much higher compare the the rest of the frets has not been described in the video. Besides that really nice work out there and nice video!
Thanks and well spotted. There is a small gap which was irritating. I should have smoothed the fretboard surface more and not elected to hammer the fret in. The idea of compressing it with the radiusing block was an afterthought.
This was only my second attempt at fretwork and my first attempt at a removal and replacement. The main focus of the video was intended to be the reasons why zero fret wear occurs. DIY removal and replacement was kind of bonus content. 👍🏻😀
It's not fully-seated. You can see it's slightly raised just from the video. Is that how zero frets are supposed to be installed?
No. The fret didn't drive in flush with the fretboard surface but the installation is solid and fit for purpose.
I should have smoothed the fretboard surface more and not hammered the fret in. The idea of compressing it with the radiusing block was an afterthought.
This was only my second attempt at fretwork and my first attempt at a removal and replacement. The main focus of the video was intended to be the reasons why zero fret wear occurs. DIY removal and replacement was kind of bonus content. 👍🏻😀
@@dsgb I see. Thanks. I don't have experience with zero-fret guitar and basses.
No problem. Another commenter also pointed this out. I decided not to mention it in the narrative and hoped nobody would notice. 😀👍🏻