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Hello all, just received a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III which is in lovely condition but it is hitting the frets on the treble side when I play a barred G major (third position).
I have capo'd it at the 12th fret and at the first fret (to remove any effect of how the nut is cut) and measured the relief at the treble and bass E. There is a slight difference, Bass is 0.15 mm and treble is 0.05. What should the tolerances be on measurements like this please?
Compared to my Strat which is exactly the same both sides.
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07-01-2026 06:02 AM
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So far, I've found (on about twenty different guitars, with over a hundred measurements in total) a maximum discrepancy of 0.05 mm, so 0.1 seems a bit excessive. However, I've found that on guitars with truss rods that weren't used much, heavy use over a period of time limited or eliminated the discrepancy. On an older guitar, however, especially when tightening, it's important to be very careful and progressive.
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No expert here but Id test it out with a straight edge too in order to double check your variance.
It feels a lot different checking opposite strings. Big round strings can test differently than a thin string.
For instance, it can be easier to see the thin string move when barely bumped vs the heavy string not being displaced as much (in terms of percentage) when it gets bumped. Depending on your feeler gauges, a rounded edge can kind of quitly squeeze underneath a curved surface of a string. A string is fine for general use but to diagnose a problem Id use a different tool. So Im guess Im suggesting the possiblity that your amount of variance between top and bottom just might be less than you have measured.
Also, for us mere mortals it can be difficult to tell if its variance in frets or an issue with the neck.
I would also check the other strings too...not just relying on the hopes that the outisde strings are representative of the whole. Depending on the quality of past fretwork , the outside edges could either be uneven. Its easy to over do them as well as under. Anyway, you dont want to make decisions with a limited data set.
The best advice...since it isnt playing right... is to stop by a luthier if you have one.
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I contacted the store and they are happy to arrange a return.
Originally Posted by Sigmund451
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It could be a twist of a bit, or it could be the way the frets are dressed. What you did is fine but to completely check it you need a fret rocker and go over the entire fingerboard and frets. The neck with more relief under the bass side actually make sense and it easily could be more but not twisted as such. Without see and going over the guitar cannot make any judgement. I can say though that if a person owned and there was this twist action, a fret dressing could easily make it play fine. That would in fact be the first move to get the guitar playing correctly.
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I think with the barre at the third position causing string rattles that aren't present at adjacent frets then the neck or the frets have a bump or a high point somewhere. Paid towards the high end of what they are worth so don't want to have to start paying to get things fixed.
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i agree if you are not happy with it and it needs fixed then yes send it back. However, your way of diagnosing with the barre at the 3rd fret is not something any luthier would consider making determinations about the neck twist. But yes, send it back. Originally Posted by Rango Blindheart
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Sorry, the third fret barre was merely an additional comment that there were clearly issues with the guitar's neck. I've played guitars for nearly fifty years and never had one do this before. The measurements revealed the twist.
The guitar was returned but it took a solicitor to get the company to behave themselves. The solicitor spoke to a senior manager on the phone and they claimed it was all down to a rogue employee that they had experienced problems with before. The manager confirmed that the neck was twisted and issued a full refund without charging me for the return costs. This all seemed good at face value until the same guitar was relisted by the company at the same price I had purchased it at without any additional mention that is has a twisted neck. I will be on to some regulatory bodies tomorrow.
So buy a red HRFIII in the UK at your own risk.
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Ah, the good ole "Standard practice"
Sell soemthing and hope you get away with it. If not make up a bad employee to blame it on.
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Sadly, the bad employee(s) are often real. Knowledgeable sales people are getting scarce in all industries. IME, the only reliable source of helpful sales staff who know the industry and the products is former owners of successful local music stores who sold or closed because they were squeezed so hard by web vendors and big manufacturers / suppliers. Originally Posted by Sigmund451
When I walked into GC to check out the Fuchs amp I just bought, the salesman looked familiar. He owned a very nice little shop in a small town in our region for years, and he bailed when he realized what was happening. Unknown to me, he’s been at a GC about an hour away from me (and to which I’d never been before) for about a decade, since his shop changed hands. The new owner finally had a GOOB sale a few years ago, by which time his stock was all crap.
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