The Fret Kisser 

I broke my hip 2 weeks ago and been stuck in the hospital, your videos have been helping me get through . Thanks for all you do Chris!

You explain everything very clearly. A lot of subtleties . A real teacher! Thanks!

While using a fret rocker seems intuitive (showing a fret which is higher that the ones on either side), you def need to keep in mind that one of the 'outer' frets may actually be lower than the rest of them: the fret rocker will still 'rock' causing you to remove metal from a perfectly dressed fret. This can get out of hand very quickly, as the fret after the 'low' one will also cause a rocking motion, meaning that a single low fret will result in the two adjacent frets being lowered unnecessarily.

Another great thing about this channel, is that I keep discovering tools I didn't know existed. I haven't built guitars in about 20 years, and I was never more than an educated hobbyist back then anyway. But I ever do return to it as a hobby, I know that this channel will have given me 90% of the knowledge I've gained since then.

I love doing my own maintenance and set-ups. Phenomenal demo & explanation. I feel confident to use this tool.

I bought one a few months back. Bought some good luttheier tools. And videos like yours. Started working on a cheap squier strat as a work on guitar. And have loved it.. Getting it to play like a 1500 dollar guitar. Your videos teach alot with some e others on youtube also. Tha k you for your effort in all you do for us in RU-vid land.

If you need it to be more aggressive you can turn the kisser diagonally slightly and go up and down.

I found that the Fret Kisser is apparently more precise than my fret rocker. I found a few frets that checked high with the rocker but were flat under the Fret Kisser. Moving the FK took nothing off the supposedly high fret.

I've got one and love it. When I first find the high spot I might tap on it with a fretting hammer to make sure it's set. I might lock the fret down with glue. But, the Fret Kisser makes things perfect!

Excellent video! Great info. I have been on the fence for a very long time with this tool, but it is currently on sale for $79.99 and watching your video has taken away any fears that the tool might not work so great. It seems a very useful tool (from your video) even for a person like myself who is a guitarist who prefers to do most of my guitar repairs myself. (I have done many jobs like replacing pickups/pots, rewiring, intonation and setups, etc)... The only jobs I really have limited experience on is fret leveling. (I do own a rocker tool and a StewMac Fret End Dressing file, nut files and I own a 4 sided Crowning file)... I am convinced that I should buy the tool (based on your video) because I own 3 Gibson Guitars, One 12 string Ibanez, One Harley Benton LP (w/P90s), one Ovation and own a Benedetto. Thanks for doing the video! Phil NYC / Jersey Shore Area

thanks for the demostration

Mine just arrived yesterday! :)

It is called "Reference fret level" and it is my invention from 2011. Thank you for appreciating my work. Can you also support the original Buzz Killer?

Very helpful, thank you.

Awesome tool, had this for a while 😊

One of my favorite tools!

Dude I love your videos. I learn something every time.

Thanks for the great demo and helpful information Chris…it really helps make the decision easier!

This video just sold me on the fret kisser. Your video explained it better than anyone. Great video. Thanks. I've been playing guitar for a long time now. But always took my guitars to the shop in town, for 2 reasons. I wasn't good at working on my guitars and I wanted to support the guitar shop. But I've been working on my own guitars more lately, and been looking for tools to work with that was straight forward and not too much of a hassle for to figure out. I've been watching your videos on knowledge. I found a few frets on my stratocaster that was high and wanted to spot level them without going through the whole process. This just helped me out👍👍

Great video Chris! Thanks.

Thanks Chris. I'll be waiting for the email when it's back in stock. This looks very handy indeed.

Perfect video!!!

20 mins cant wait !

I also had the same thought about the abrasive possibly being lower than the outer ends. Good to know its not. I'll have to grab one now. Thanks for the review.

Good explanation. On a side note I wouldn’t want a guitar neck with that inlay, I find it disconcerting.

I'm gonna buy one for my guitar tech! (if he doesn't already have one.. )Thanks for the review!

Excellent video Chris, great camera work. A 100 bucks is a lot of money, but after seeing your demonstration, I think I'm going to buy one from Stewmac. Thanks

No offense, you probably decided not to use the following, but just in case… 1.) Use a marker (pen) to color the high points all the way down the neck. Then go back and file the marked areas until all the marked areas are gone. 2.) Take the strings off at some point, so you don’t have to keep retuning the guitar during the leveling process. 3.) Consider using a “hammer” to tamp down certain high spots so you don’t lose as much fret material over time.

I bought mine a couple years ago. I didn't pay nearly as much. Maybe it was on sale. But you answered the very question I had about it. Thanks.

No surprise they’re now out of stock!

Nice. I actually made an improvement to the fret kisser in my version of the tool, but money isn't an issue so sometimes I question myself if I should get one. Don't need it, but I love cool tools.

I like the concept of the fret kisser, I've used it a handful of times but I don't like how it will scratch the frets to the left and right of the fret you're leveling. I'd like to see someone come out with their own take on it like the new music nomad crowning file or for stewmac to release an improved version.

I did give it a thumbs up but wish you would have included the finishing of the fret. Thanks as Always for the videos!

What a great tool, thanks for the video, I'll get one. UPS, oh no, "Sorry, this item is unavailable for purchase or backorder at this time." 😢

That looks like a must have tool, thanks!

10:30 you mention only needing to buff and polish the newly flatted spot. You would say there is no need to go over the fret with a crowning file to reform the fret shape? I would love to hear your input; your videos have been a massive help and inspiration!

Love your videos! I've used the fret kisser in the shop and i find that it grinds down high frets but leaves a tiny bit that is detectable by the fret rocker. Also, just so you know, there's a high-pitched squeal throughout the entire video.

How smooth are the non-grindy parts of each edge? I'm assuming they are fairly well polished so you won't end up inadvertently grinding down the "reference" frets on either side of the high fret. I have to say my only concerns with this thing have to do with it wearing down. But I guess the lifetime replacement thing takes care of that concern huh.

I love your videos man! Do you make the fretboard dead flat before using the fret kisser?

how flat should the fret board be before spot leveling? or does the relief in the neck matter if only spot leveling? thanks.

OK, starting with the three where you first found a high fret, what if you go to the next three frets and find that the one closest to the neck of the first three was too low? Are you not now just chasing frets? Shouldn't we be checking the entire fingerboard before focusing on any one fret or area?

One thing which intrigues me most is some people claim that you cannot be sure if that certain fret is high because the adjacent fret might be lower than the rest. Now what is the possibility of having a low fret in a NEW guitar? I say new guitar because I want to rule out the fret wear. And how can you detect a low fret? Because using a fret rocker then becomes useless in that case. Logically to have a low fret you should either have a faulty fret which is thinner than the rest or you should have compressed the fretboard while pressing the fret. I believe both are very rare occasions

I've had a fret kisser for awhile now and have been thinking about using it again but am wondering if I had used it correctly before. When spot leveling, starting out with the rocker, should you start towards the neck (so 2nd fret 1st check) or start at the body. (I am thinking at the neck.) Then, when you find a spot, do you fix that one fret first and then continue on? I'm definitely not a luthier, just a hobbyist. and have had difficulty getting things right. Thanks for all of the great videos.

Great review thanks! What process or tool would you recommend if I have two frets in a row that are high? I love the concept of this tool, but not sure how I would accurately use it in my situation. Cheers

when you do verify the fret level the NECK shoul be put straight perfect before doing it ? or as i heard you do it after adjust the trussrod, tuning strings, intonation. I just want to be shure of the steps in order to do it right. Because i think when giving a small curve in the neck will change all of this.

Trouble with mine is that is will sand until there's no contact, but the fret is still high. I was hoping to find some nuance that I was missing while using it, but the truth is that it's an untrustable tool.

All outta stock atm Neat tool to have Spot leveling makes SS fretwork far less tedious

Hi. Do you ensure the neck is straight after removing the steings or remain where it is after string removal?

Could you do the same thing using the fret rocker by adding a piece of scotch tape on each end to slide on the reference frets and adding a piece of fine sandpaper in the middle to cut down the high fret? (Assuming that you have the same thickness for the tape and the sandpaper)

Do you re-crown afterwards or just polish fret.

Is it possible to fret level the first fret with this ?

On a compound radius fretboard, how is it possible to level the frets? Seems that the 3D geometry does not make it possible.

Great for high frets. Are low frets not a thing? And what about adjacent high frets?

Does the fretboard have to be completely flat, before using this tool? Or can you leave the amount of relief you had dialed in.

Do you got your CNC in the background. The background sound is driving me nuts.

Where can I find you I’d like to get a refret on my guitar

Still a little too pricey for me. I do love Stewmac though.

Three questions on using fret rockers: How can you be sure the rocking is a high fret? If you have a low fret you will see similar symptoms (and misdiagnosing one low fret as two high frets). And if you find a high fret (particularly if it is only high in the middle of the fret) wouldn't the first step be to see if you can tap it down before griding off fret material? Finally, you didn't mention this but I always assumed the first step before doing any fret leveling exercise is to make sure the neck is straight with your slotted straight edge first. Otherwise you end up removing fret material to compensate for relief (which wastes fret material and completely defeats the purpose of having any relief in the first place). If you leave the strings on and attempt spot leveling using this device, is it still not important to make sure there is no relief first (even if you need to re-introduce some relief after you are done spot leveling)?

I find to spot level I just use my fret end file and a rocker . Works great

Dude use it with the strings tuned to pitch. Critical....

Fи#! me, this tool is £280. Damn!

To much long

To much talk. You should do less talk and go the point ok