Good tools, good lighting, and good magnification make good fretwork possible. Ideally, the frets on an instrument should “disappear”. The player should be able to do their thing without having to pay special attention to the frets. Frets should support the player in their music.

I use a structured approach to evaluate fretwork.

1. Evaluate the action making note of any buzzing, hi or low frets, string height at the first fret, string height at the twelfth fret, string spacing at nut and bridge, head tension, and bridge height.
2. Check relief of the neck using a straight edge.
3. Search for hi or low frets independently of other factors.
4. Explore whether leveling and crowning the frets will do the job.
5. Consider need for partial or full re-fret.
6. Determine a course of action to restore the instrument to full play-ability.