Polishing Frets

[pauldo]

Uh, never polished frets on my basses... Am I'm missing something?

Same.  I have had my frets  ‘professionally’ redressed once.  They were showing significant amounts of wear from round wounds and an assertive playing style. 

Given Bill’s description it sounds like he is doing much more than “just polishing”.   Which makes a lot of sense, periodic maintenance can alleviate the need for significant material removal to bring the crown of a fret back to smooth and level.

Paul (who plays with a bit lighter touch these days and currently flat wounds)

[Pete si]

I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube vids about guitar repair lately. I would like to become somewhat proficient at doing some repair and maintainence myself. The thought of handing over my bass to someone I don’t know scares me. Not to mention the cost involved. There’s a guy named Dave on YouTube who really knows his stuff and I’ve learned a lot from him. His channel is Dave’s fun and games. He’s a bit of a character too.

Things I would never have thought of doing like truss rod adjustment I now feel confident about.  Alembic even encourages us to do it ourselves. Of course I have my guinea pig guitar to practice on before I would attempt anything on my bass. I get a sense of pride and accomplishment when I finish a task and it comes out like it should.

Leo Fender once said ‘the sign of a good guitar is how easy it is to repair’. When it comes to alembics that is so true.

[lbpesq]

Pete, are you referring to the “Dave’s World of Fun Stuff” channel?

Bill, tgo

[growlypants]

I'll just bet...Alembic fret wire is stronger, more resistant to signs of wear, than...other manufacturers.  I may be wrong, but then again, I may be right!  Round wound strings are "harder" on the frets than flats, any least in my experience.

[Pete si]

Bill, tgo

Yes that’s the channel. The guys a little nuts but he can set up a guitar

[mario_farufyno]

After given some thought about polishing I got inspired and cleaned my bass today, thanks.