Tweaking, monitoring and replacing gut frets is certainly one of the more tiresome aspects of playing historical plucked instruments. However, it is also one of the most important. If done correctly, your notes will have a purity, clarity and resonance that can never be achieved if the frets are poorly tied (or in some cases, if the neck is not properly shaped to support the gut frets).
A poorly tied fret usually doesn’t have enough tension to pull the fret flush against the fingerboard on the bottom edge, meaning many notes on the top G string will sound muted, muffled or muddy. This can sometimes be an artefact of a fingerboard that has not been adequately rounded at the edges to support the frets – however this can be diagnosed easily, as explained below. Old frets also cause similar issues when the fret is so drastically worn down that the strings no longer clear the neighboring frets.
An example of a fret that is is on its very last legs. Producing a reliable sound with this instrument (in this state) would be very difficult.
Hopefully the tips below will help you tie frets like a pro and avoid wastage, breaks, slips and buzzes. Some of these tips I have learned from luthiers, some from professional players and some I have learned through tying hundreds of my own frets over the years.
Pro tip 1: Choose the best frets
The two most common brands of Gut frets in my area are Kirschner and Aquila (although there are certainly many more available). Kirschner tend to make rather stiff frets while the equivalent gauges in Aquila are much more flexible. Nowadays I always go for the most flexible fret I can get my hands on as this really helps the fret to hug the fingerboard and makes tying the knots that much easier. If however, you have a rather heavy playing style (particularly with the left hand) stiffer frets can be more resistant to wear and will last longer before they need to be replaced. Whilst this may seem like a rather appealing prospect, stiffer frets can be harder to tie and more prone to bubbles (gaps between the fret and the fingerboard) which lead to dead notes on the strings. Synthetic frets (such as those made by Aquila) are, in my experience, a bit of a waste of time as they don’t sit completely flush on the fingerboard - or at least I couldn’t get them to after dozens of attempts. I was able to get them to sit flush for a day or two but the knots wouldn’t hold the tension (as they aren’t able to be burned) and slowly they would sag and come loose.
Pro Tip 2 - Get it wet.
I know it sounds a bit odd, but soaking the bottom fold of your fret in some water for a few minutes helps the keratin in the fret to become softer and more flexible. This in turn helps the knot sit flush around the bottom corner (chanterelle side) of the fingerboard – this is the most crucial spot to watch when re-fretting as it must not have any bubbles (or gaps) in it. If it does, you must start again (or check that you don’t have any dips or dents in the fingerboard itself). The fingerboard should be either completely flat with the edges rounded, or slightly convex with the edges rounded. If it is at all concave, or if the edges are sharp corners, the fret will not work properly and the fingerboard will need to be planed until it is either of the former two profiles- I cannot stress how important this is, it can completely transform the sound of your instrument.
This is a clear example of frets that are not sitting flush against the fingerboard. The thin stream of light that appears at the bottom edge of the fret is a good way to diagnose a bubble or gap.
Pro tip 3 - Waste not.
I often see people cut their fret to approximate size when re-fretting and then tie the fret in place. There are two problems I have with this approach:
1 – you have less of a tail of fret to hold as you pull the fret snug – sometimes if this length is misjudged you will need to use pliers to pull the little tail of fret in place – and this is very fiddly.
2 If there is enough of a fret tail left over for you to grab and wrap around your finger, you have certainly wasted too much fret (sometimes double the amount you need)!
The best way to tie the frets is to tie them straight off the spool they come in. This way there is no waste because one trims the fret after it has been tied AND you have plenty of fret tail in your hand to allow you to really snug the fret in place.
Pro tip 4 - Use a soldering iron.
Lighters are a good portable backup, but soldering irons are the safest and most accurate method. I find it especially difficult to use lighters on archlutes and theorbos because the flame sits directly under the diapason strings when you are sealing the knots on the fingerboard….it doesn’t take much to burn right through the diapason strings….believe me I have done it! A soldering iron lets you control the burnt nibs on the ends of the frets and allows you to cap the knot with precision. There is also no risk of harming the finish of your instrument (and the other strings) with unnecessary flames.
Pro tip 5 - Your frets control your action.
If you are having difficulty with your action, but don’t want to fiddle around with your nut- remember that the frets themselves can adjust this. Re-fretting the first fret (and subsequent frets) with a thicker gauge will lower your action and re-fretting your first (and subsequent) frets with a thinner gauge will raise your action.
Pro tip 6 - Second wind out of your used frets.
This is quite a well known tip, but worth mentioning anyway. When your fret starts fraying, have string divots in them or the the strings start buzzing, you can pull the fret back (toward the peg box) until it is loose and spin it 180 degrees so the knot is just under the bottom corner of the fingerboard (under the top or thinnest G sting). Then you can slide the fret back up into position and if the knot holds up you should have a fresh face of the fret with no bubbles because the kinks in the frets from the fingerboard edges have simply swapped spots from top to bottom. This can give double the fret life and is a great tip for emergency situations…be prepared that it sometimes won’t work if the fret is too far gone or the knot doesn’t hold.