Wow! Thanks much. I have a fairly new nylon string guitar that was giving me some strange sounds particularly on the 5th string when played near the head. I got a fret rocker and found that the 3rd fret is considerably higher than the 2nd and 4th. I will use a fret file to bring it down. Without the fret rocker and this video I would have tried to adjust the neck but that would throw everything else out of balance.
I have a six inch metal ruler. It is perfectly flat. It works great as a fret rocker. I found the likely high fret by playing, and the fret in front of the first buzzing position was the guilty fret. The ruler see-saws just a little on the high fret. So you may not need to buy a special tool. That is, if you only have one high fret. Don't know about different situations.
Appreciate all the info. Was wondering why a person don't just use a ruler. (but you can't use a ruler because you can not do more than 3 frets at a time (or you'll skip over any low frets)... and also, because the frets are not all the same distance apart. Makes sense on why people buy them.
doing just three frets at a time with rocking means the middle fret of those is the high one. often it's just one spot on the fret or under one string as well. it's nice to know exactly where it needs work!
@@PorterPickups Ok, I'll rephrase: checking frets 1, 2, 3. Scenario 1: 1st fret is seated lower than frets 2 and 3 Scenario 2 (the one you are describing): fret 2, middle one is high Scenario 3: fret 3 is low
@@al23x56 you can figure that out if it rocks towards 1 then it might be lower, or rocks towards 3 then that one could certainly be lower. I like to have a smaller straightedge and put a light behind to double confirm with another visual if i'm unsure of the specific problem area. the rocker should be stable on two of the frets, so you can check the movement to confirm.
Use it on frets 1-3 and see if the rocking happens on the first. It might be higher or lower than the other two. Alternatively, see if you can set the rocker on those frets and use a light behind the fretboard to see if you have any gaps. (More like a mini straightedge)
Wow! Thanks much. I have a fairly new nylon string guitar that was giving me some strange sounds particularly on the 5th string when played near the head. I got a fret rocker and found that the 3rd fret is considerably higher than the 2nd and 4th. I will use a fret file to bring it down. Without the fret rocker and this video I would have tried to adjust the neck but that would throw everything else out of balance.
I have a six inch metal ruler. It is perfectly flat. It works great as a fret rocker. I found the likely high fret by playing, and the fret in front of the first buzzing position was the guilty fret. The ruler see-saws just a little on the high fret. So you may not need to buy a special tool. That is, if you only have one high fret. Don't know about different situations.
yeah for sure, that will work for some circumstances it really just depends how messed up your neck is ha!
Appreciate all the info. Was wondering why a person don't just use a ruler. (but you can't use a ruler because you can not do more than 3 frets at a time (or you'll skip over any low frets)... and also, because the frets are not all the same distance apart. Makes sense on why people buy them.
yeah, it's a handy tool for sure to get right to the problem areas and know exactly where it needs work
@@PorterPickups Inexpensive too. We all should have one.
Is it necessary to straighten the neck before doing this ? Is it alright to use a fret rockers to check the frets on a neck which has relief ?
You can still check frets with some relief and it will be ok, you’ll want it straight if you are doing any leveling
@@PorterPickups Thank you for replying, Amazing Video
What's the best way to tell if the middle fret is high (out of 3) or it's rocking because the last of the 3 frets group is low?
doing just three frets at a time with rocking means the middle fret of those is the high one. often it's just one spot on the fret or under one string as well. it's nice to know exactly where it needs work!
@@PorterPickups Ok, I'll rephrase: checking frets 1, 2, 3.
Scenario 1: 1st fret is seated lower than frets 2 and 3
Scenario 2 (the one you are describing): fret 2, middle one is high
Scenario 3: fret 3 is low
@@al23x56 you can figure that out if it rocks towards 1 then it might be lower, or rocks towards 3 then that one could certainly be lower. I like to have a smaller straightedge and put a light behind to double confirm with another visual if i'm unsure of the specific problem area. the rocker should be stable on two of the frets, so you can check the movement to confirm.
Isn’t there something I should do with the truss rod first?
you can straighten the neck first but you can still identify problem frets either way with this tool
@@PorterPickups is straightning the truss rodd mandatory ? or we can do it with a crued neck too ?
@@dhwanitrathod4126 it's useful if you have a neck you want to adjust, change the action or make play a little more to your liking.
How do you use the fret rocker on the 1st fret?
My gibson is buzzing on the 1st fret I just want to check on the 1st fret if it's to high so I can sand it down. Thank you.
Use it on frets 1-3 and see if the rocking happens on the first. It might be higher or lower than the other two. Alternatively, see if you can set the rocker on those frets and use a light behind the fretboard to see if you have any gaps. (More like a mini straightedge)
3 at a time ? You doing 4 ?
3 for finding rocks, but you can check larger spans of frets visually with it where needed!