# How do you feel about hemispherical fret ends?



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 1, 2018)

I was messing around in guitar center a few weeks ago and stumbled across something I'd never seen on ibanezes, hemispherical fret ends (they were ibby premiums btw). The only production guitars I've ever seen this on prior to that were some ESP E-IIs.
I think it's a great touch that can make guitars feel a lot comfier, just like blind fret slots help mitigate fret end creep. 
I've been working on my personal guitars and builds to put hemispherical fret ends on them since I like the look and the feel of them so much.

I wish more brands would do hemispherical frets, they look great and feel great when they're done well.


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 1, 2018)

I think they're very misunderstood.

They are but a small part of the puzzle that is great fretwork.

So they're a great touch to an already great fret job, but won't save a bad fret job.


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## Flappydoodle (Sep 1, 2018)

Love them. Only downside is that the string can slip off the edge of the fret more easily


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 1, 2018)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I think they're very misunderstood.
> 
> They are but a small part of the puzzle that is great fretwork.
> 
> So they're a great touch to an already great fret job, but won't save a bad fret job.


true. It just doesn't seem to be a common feature even on a lot of custom guitars from what I've seen.


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## Kaura (Sep 1, 2018)

Now, what the hell is a hemispherical fret end?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 1, 2018)

KnightBrolaire said:


> true. It just doesn't seem to be a common feature even on a lot of custom guitars from what I've seen.



Probably because it's not really necessary. A really good fretting with well rounded, but not totally semi-hemi, will feel identical in the hand. 

It's partially marketing which has made them so popular, and inflated thier importance. 

All you need is the end rounded in such a way that your fingers don't run into a hard, pointy edge.



Kaura said:


> Now, what the hell is a hemispherical fret end?


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 1, 2018)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Probably because it's not really necessary. A really good fretting with well rounded, but not totally semi-hemi, will feel identical in the hand.
> 
> It's partially marketing which has made them so popular, and inflated thier importance.
> 
> All you need is the end rounded in such a way that your fingers don't run into a hard, pointy edge.


oh yeah, definitely, I've just found from working on my own guitars that by the time I start rounding off the sharp edges, it gets a bit hemispherical. Nowhere near perfectly so, obviously, but definitely a step up from where it was.
Here's a squier neck that I practiced on earlier. obviously not the best pic but it's all I took before I sold the neck.




here's a warmoth neck I was practicing on as well:


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 1, 2018)

It's worth noting, when applying semi-hemi ends to a guitar not originally with them, that you'll need to make sure you don't fret out too easily on the first and last strings. You're removing area from the top of the fret, and that can cause problems of you remove a bit too much. This is especially important on guitars already known for having cramped boards.

That's actually one of the advantages of not going for the full, circular end. You get a little more room.


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## Lorcan Ward (Sep 1, 2018)

I like them but I prefer rounded ends with a gentle curve more, you can feel less fret end that way but that requires a wide fretboard or more space between the last strings and the fretboard edge.


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## odibrom (Sep 1, 2018)

Personally, I like the looks if it and the logic behind them makes me think of a better recovery from fretting out, while also reducing string breakage and finger cuts due to sharp fret ends. However, I do agree with @MaxOfMetal on the real advantages to be near to none. For a regular play that doesn't go to the edge of the frets, it becomes meaningless.


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## dr_game0ver (Sep 1, 2018)

cannot wait for the comments from the members of the "flat fret end society"...


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## diagrammatiks (Sep 1, 2018)

Wait is this the same thing as ball end frets?


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## spudmunkey (Sep 1, 2018)




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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 1, 2018)

diagrammatiks said:


> Wait is this the same thing as ball end frets?


yeah basically


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 1, 2018)

diagrammatiks said:


> Wait is this the same thing as ball end frets?



Semi-hemi, ball end, hot dog, J.Custom, tube, etc.

All names for the same thing.


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## odibrom (Sep 1, 2018)

To be fair, it is not semi-hemisphere, more like a quarter of it... geometrically speaking...


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 1, 2018)

odibrom said:


> To be fair, it is not semi-hemisphere, more like a quarter of it... geometrically speaking...



Floyd Rose tremolos are actually vibratos. 

Us guitarists are terrible at naming things.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 1, 2018)

I prefer a beveled fret with rounded edges. Feels much smoother to my hand. But at long as the rest of the fret work is good I could live with any fret end style


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## A-Branger (Sep 1, 2018)

only tried on Ibanez premiums like you, and it was a big surprise, Ive never expected that from them. They felt amazing. Not sure if its necessary or not, but def was a really good touch that made me think higher of the premium line because of it


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 1, 2018)

A-Branger said:


> only tried on Ibanez premiums like you, and it was a big surprise, Ive never expected that from them. They felt amazing. Not sure if its necessary or not, but def was a really good touch that made me think higher of the premium line because of it


I was definitely not expecting to see it on the premium lineup. They all felt really good, pretty close to or on par with some of the prestiges I tried in the same shop, which is something I never thought I'd utter about a non-mij ibanez.


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## diagrammatiks (Sep 1, 2018)

Oh I have these on my Hapas. It looks really cool. 

I think I agree with Max. It looks cool and makes the gear feel very high class. But actually playing the guitar I don't notice a difference between the ball ends and my other guitars with really good fretwork like my Andersons.


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## gujukal (Sep 2, 2018)

My Ltd deluxe from 2004 had this feature, feels very good but doesn't necessarily make the guitar much better imo.


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 2, 2018)

gujukal said:


> My Ltd deluxe from 2004 had this feature, feels very good but doesn't necessarily make the guitar much better imo.


it's a nice little touch, just like other relatively extraneous things like magnetic backplates or locking tuners on a hardtail guitar. They're nice to have but you don't really need them.


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## odibrom (Sep 2, 2018)

Locking tuners on a hard tail guitar are an important feature in my book. They ain't fundamental, but once installed, one won't go back to regular tuners.


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## cardinal (Sep 9, 2018)

Folks on this site seem really obsessed with fret ends. #1 to me is that the frets are level (I like super low action). But I also hate it when the strings are too close to the edges of the neck, and some times the frets get beveled back farther than I’d like, making it too easy to accidentally pull the strings off the edge. 

Sure I’d rather have reasonably smooth fret ends, but it’s low on my list of necessities for fretwork.


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## Hollowway (Sep 9, 2018)

cardinal said:


> Folks on this site seem really obsessed with fret ends. #1 to me is that the frets are level (I like super low action). But I also hate it when the strings are too close to the edges of the neck, and some times the frets get beveled back farther than I’d like, making it too easy to accidentally pull the strings off the edge.
> 
> Sure I’d rather have reasonably smooth fret ends, but it’s low on my list of necessities for fretwork.



+1 to both your points. Fancy fret ends are the icing on the cake, but the cake better have some low action to start with.


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## A-Branger (Sep 10, 2018)

thing is I keep hearing "sharp fret ends" in every review. Yet Im due to touch a "sharp" fret end, like all the reviewers and peopl in this forum make it look like you would cut your fingers if you play the guitar.

I get they are talking about "normal" fret ends, like they arent fully smooooooooooth and perfect round edges, but they arent scissor sharp


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## odibrom (Sep 10, 2018)

I can't speak for what is out there, but eventually that could happen. I've had paper cuts before and even if it is a small and insignificant cut, it can become painful in other situations... one can't be too careful.... [enter drama music... now]


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 10, 2018)

A-Branger said:


> thing is I keep hearing "sharp fret ends" in every review. Yet Im due to touch a "sharp" fret end, like all the reviewers and peopl in this forum make it look like you would cut your fingers if you play the guitar.
> 
> I get they are talking about "normal" fret ends, like they arent fully smooooooooooth and perfect round edges, but they arent scissor sharp



I think folks get pretty hyperbolic about it, but fret ends can be less than comfortable, and what's the point playing something uncomfortable. 

In twenty odd years I've never run into a guitar that had frets bad enough to break the skin. I've seen a few that could have potentially, but they were very very cheap, not taken care of, and experienced significant shrinkage of the boards. 

In 2018, with the production capabilities of modern technology and techniques, I don't think anyone should settle for mediocre fretwork unless we're talking about entry-level or entry plus kind of stuff.


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 10, 2018)

A-Branger said:


> thing is I keep hearing "sharp fret ends" in every review. Yet Im due to touch a "sharp" fret end, like all the reviewers and peopl in this forum make it look like you would cut your fingers if you play the guitar.
> 
> I get they are talking about "normal" fret ends, like they arent fully smooooooooooth and perfect round edges, but they arent scissor sharp


I've literally played guitars with fret ends so rough they tore up the tips of my fingers, and they've got thick calluses from years of playing guitar and rock climbing.
It's far more common with really cheap guitars, but I have encountered it on higher end guitars as well because there was some fretboard shrinkage.


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## cardinal (Sep 10, 2018)

I did have a custom BC Rich loooong time ago where the end of the first fret actually did cut me. I developed a callous on that part of my finger and it never bothered me again, but it was one of a few pretty sloppy things about that guitar.


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## Lorcan Ward (Sep 10, 2018)

I sliced my hand on one of the recent maple boarded Ibanez prestige guitars, they don't dress the frets at all after cutting them so they are quite sharp. 

I've cut a bit skin on premiums before too. That's because of board shrinkage so the tangs stick out. 

And worst was a fret sticking out on a Sabre Uk guitar that was like getting jabbed with a guitar string.


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## spudmunkey (Sep 10, 2018)

I've experienced "rough" on many many guitars. It doesn't bother me very much, expecally since I've leard to file a bit...

A Mitchell at Guitar Center drew blood, though. I've had strings get caught between a fret and the type of binding Gibson uses where it extends up the side of the fret. I've had a sleeve get caught and pulled a string out where it got caught on the sharp underside of a fret...it stuck out juuuust enough to catch a tiny loop in the woven fabric.


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## Hollowway (Sep 10, 2018)

Yeah, I have a guitar (A custom) that the ends are so sharp that the side of my hand and index finger look like I've sanded them with 80 grit after about 5 minutes of playing. I gotta get that guitar either to a luthier or figure how TF to fix those little bastards on my own.


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 10, 2018)

Hollowway said:


> Yeah, I have a guitar (A custom) that the ends are so sharp that the side of my hand and index finger look like I've sanded them with 80 grit after about 5 minutes of playing. I gotta get that guitar either to a luthier or figure how TF to fix those little bastards on my own.


either take it to a tech or invest in a fret file like the squirrel fret file/stew mac safety edge file.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 10, 2018)

I built a guitar with a macasser ebony Fretboard. First winter the fretboard shrunk a bit, and it was like playing razor blades.

Lesson learned.


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## Hollowway (Sep 10, 2018)

KnightBrolaire said:


> either take it to a tech or invest in a fret file like the squirrel fret file/stew mac safety edge file.



Cool, thanks for the tip! But how do I do it so that the fret itself is shorter? i.e. it's sticking beyond the edge of the FB, so I want to reduce the length, and I'm paranoid I'll end up touching the wood on the edge, and make it look crappy.


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 11, 2018)

Hollowway said:


> Cool, thanks for the tip! But how do I do it so that the fret itself is shorter? i.e. it's sticking beyond the edge of the FB, so I want to reduce the length, and I'm paranoid I'll end up touching the wood on the edge, and make it look crappy.


there's a number of good tutorials out there but here's some that I've referenced in the past:
https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onli..._fret_ends_that_stick_out_in_dry_weather.html
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/20662-guitar-shop-101-how-to-file-sharp-fret-ends?page=2
it doesn't take much pressure to remove metal with a good file, so you can work relatively slowly and methodically.

max can prob help you more if you need it.


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## NateFalcon (Sep 11, 2018)

Neat touch, but the best guitar players in history have been just fine without them...


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## laxu (Sep 12, 2018)

They look cool but don't really make any difference in playability compared to ends that have just been rounded a bit and are the right length for the fretboard. 

Sharp fret ends can happen on any guitar if the wood shrinks a bit in a dryer climate. Several of my higher end guitars have done this during a harsh Finnish winter, filing the fret ends a bit at that time usually helps eliminate the issue for good.


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## IbanezDaemon (Sep 12, 2018)

Really like then. Had them on a pile of my post 2002 J Customs...def an upgrade on the earlier ones which were just done like standard RG's in the main.


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## bubucci (Sep 13, 2018)

I agree with ''high class feel'' with rounded, hemispherical fret ends. Moving hand across fretboard is really smooth. This and velvet touch finish are main playability diffences between J. Custom and Prestige line.


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