I hope yours doesn't have the sharp edges. If it does, a little file work and it will be good to go! Thanks for watching, take care

Michael, thanks for watching! Honestly there could be six different outcomes. Each user will likely want, feel, see things differently. My takeaway from all this, was a bit of surprise. The Baroque was far better than I expected, especially for the price. It is a rather large file compared to the others, and doesn't really fit certain use situations easily. The StewMac Compact centered Z file was also very much a surprise. I've since sent it back to SM. It was just too uncomfortable for me to use. Honestly, I didn't see that coming. I've continued to attempt to use the Music Nomad S-File, which is a really cool and well designed file, but it really doesn't deliver a final finish. To me, it is a rough-work file, that needs to be followed by another file. I have ideas for their version 2 file, but I doubt that they are listening. Too much love and hype for the file as it is currently. Good luck with your projects!

@@theNextProject Nooooo. Talk to Rand - he is the Owner of Music Nomad, and a Great guy to do business with. I have about 12 of their products. Good Luck brother. oNe LovE from NYC

Tim, good to hear from you and thanks for watching! I was actually pretty surprised by the Baroque G4, you do get a lot of file(s) for the money, and it actually did work well. The reason I didn't move it up in my ranking, really came to how I work, and it was a bit too big for half of what I do. I've actually thought about cutting the handle off of it, and making it a "spot" crowning all-in-one file. That sounds like work, hmm. I had see the KnowYourGear review too, and was expecting great things from th MusicNomad file. It is a really well made tool, and will do a great job of bringing overly flat-top frets back to a workable crown shape, but I then need another tool to finish the crown before dress and polish work. So, I'm wondering what Phil was doing in his video, as I'm not seeing the same workflow with the file that he presented. Oh well. Everyone has there thing. I'm re-reading your comments about the buzzing and dead notes. It sounds about like there may be a issue where the neck bolts to the body, around the 14th-15th fret. Almost like "ski-jump", or neck hinge. I'm working on an '89 strat, which had early onset ski-jump at that area. Good neck relief right up to +/- the 15th, then it appear the fret were getting higher and fretting out. As it turned out, the neck from the nut to the 14th, was starting to hinge and bow up. The area bolted to the body appears to kick-up, but it's really the rest of the neck that is folding over....that sounds scary. As part of a complete re-fret, I refreshed the radius and removed the "ski-jump" giving the neck a little fall-away. I also filed a little extra fall-away in to the frets from the 12th-22nd. I tested the top 4 files on that project, which was eye-opening. The MusicNomad was useless, as I didn't have any frets that had a wide enough crown for that file to help with. That's were I realised it will be a rough work file for frets with bigger issues. Hope you get your strat sorted out. Be safe and take care!

Hans, thanks for watching and much appreciated. I hope you are doing well, take care!

Jens, good to hear from you and thanks for watchin! Your cut tooth files will last forever, no need to throw money out the window on these items. Take care my friend!

"Almost as good as sanding"! So true! 🤣

LOL, you guys.

Martin, thanks for watching! I hear ya, every option I tested was expensive, even the Baroque G4 has a price that makes me pucker a bit. All the others give me a sharp pain in my....wallet. I hope this test will offer some ideas and insight for others. I was/am a bit surprised that my observations don't align with a lot of social media reports. Maybe it's because I'm not selling anything, or perhaps my process is way off mark. IDK. I hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!

MuseumsBloke, thanks for watching! Agreed, the price of these is off-putting. That is part of the reason I did this test, and basically threw money away doing so. I'm hoping the outcome will help others either side-step, or put off getting certain files. The Music nomad has great hype, offering ultimate ease of use for all audiences. But, while a great tool, I found it sadly fall short of expectations. I could see a few potential upgrades to that file. A thin center crown rib, and finer 300 grit coating. Another idea would be to have one side of the file as-is, and the flip side the more refined "finish file". Meh, they didn't ask me. Any of these files require a lot of work to recoup the initial expense. Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!

Jauni Anisé, thanks for watching! I'm looking forward to hearing what others are experiencing using these and other files. I was rather surprised by this test, good and bad. The baroque file was actually better than I expected, the SM mini-Z was a huge disappointment. The MusicNomad S-file has a lot of great features, but I'm not sure who their test group was. I really need to follow the MN S-file with another file to get the crown thinned to an acceptable place (for me). I hope you have good luck with the oil-on-diamond technique. I really appreciate not spending the time cleaning and re-cleaning the diamond files when using oil in the process. Good luck with all your projects, take care!

VW, thanks for watching! I feel the Original Z requires a better eye and attention span, than do many of the concave files. It goes where the user drives it, the concave files just ride the rails (frets), for better or worse. The Orig-Z won't give you a crown, unless you drive it to a crown. But like you say, it is one-size fits all file. The Orig-Z is my go-to, and it will do anything I direct it to - at a price as you say. Yep. I was really disappointed by the SM centered V file. Personally, I like the Original far better, but many will debate that. To each there own. I kinda see the concave files as having a generic built-in auto-pilot (the Tesla of fret files), the user isn't required to do as much driving, and the file won't do anything special unless directed to do so. They don't require as much personal touch, or finesse for "basic" crowning. But we want something better than basic, so we reach for the Orig-Z. Just had a mental image/comparison of the the MusicNomad S-File to bumper bowling. An oddly accurate comparison, lol. It just rides the rail, then skates and does nothing. No gutter ball, no strike either, just along for the ride. Thanks for the comment, I like hearing from others and how they get along with this kind of stuff. Be safe and take care!

K Matax, thanks for watching and sharing your tool/process too. I'm really like the original zfile for the hairline too, just not easily getting there with any of these other files. I was really surprised by how much I hate the SM mini centered Z-File, and how many people claim to love it, oh well. I actually have an old offset Z-file that I cut the handle off of. It's basically the offset mini-Z, not centered. I actually use and enjoy the old file that I cut down, but not the new official model. Thanks for the info on the FG and Hosco files, good stuff! Be safe and take care!

Hey Mike, good to hear from you! I'll pass the word along. Take care my friend!

Bernie, thanks for watching, and the really great comment too! To be honest, this test was really tough to call. All of these files are right there, all at the heels of the next one. That made it tough, my ranking shifted continually, but when the dust settled... Each file I tested has its strengths, whether it was price, fit and finish, function, or just a little bit of everything. I was impressed by the Baroque file, actually better than I expected for the money and the downside (for me) was the overall size which limits its ease of use in all areas. Detached necks would be fine, but acoustics, set necks situations require some gymnastics with this file. Maybe the biggest surprise was my complete distaste for the StewMac Compact Z-file, which has such a (cult) following, I felt I was missing something. However, I could barley use it for more than a few frets without it cutting into my hand...nope, it has gone back to StewMac ( SM does have a great customer service ). The affordable offset (knock off) file from Bitterroot guitars, is actually a pretty good file. Once I got beyond the extremely sharp edges as delivered (I softened the edges), it actually worked pretty well. It was more versatile than the Baroque, due to the rounded (spot crowning) ends. The MusicNomad was my expected winner before I started the test. It really is a nicely designed tool. I know it went through testing and research, but once I used it I questioned what I was doing wrong. I was really disappointed, and figured that I must suck at this stuff, but I kept at it.... It delivered what it was designed to do, and that is to coarsely file a reasonably wide crown. A lot of my work begins about where the MN S-file stops. I've continued to try it, and if I "cheat" the built-in design safety-limitation, I can get the crown a bit thinner but still need to reach for a finish-file. Perhaps no one else goes for thin crown lines. Maybe it is just me! That left me with the SM Original Z, which I've used for a number of year, and your DD 2 file which is new to me. I am very use to the way the offset "V" of the SM Z-file works, so I can easily get a pretty good crown. Your DD 2 file was easy to understand and navigate with no on-ramp time wasted. I see the SM original Z requiring more user training and attention, and its next tier pricing, kept it from cleanly taking the top spot. It is a great file - for me. Your file has done well, surprised and impressed me a bit as too. I will continue to use and torture it on upcoming projects, comparing it with the other files over time as well. Slightly off topic, but I don't hear much about "lubrication" when using diamond fret files. I recently started using oil on the files (3 and 1 oil currently). I believe it may slow the cutting rate down a little, but the payoff is not needing to clean the file, and potentially longer file life. Time will tell. Side note, I do have you fret end file, been using that side-by-side with the SM end file . Honestly, your end file is my go-to. The SM end file is a bit anemic, but its small size is occasionally handy. Keep up the great work and products, we all appreciate it! Thanks again for watching and your comment, as I greatly appreciate your time. Be safe and take care, John D.

@@theNextProject Hey John, I appreciate your thoughtful, in depth comments, and have discovered and been enjoying your other videos as well! “…at the heels of the next one.” That’s a great description and visual, which could likely describe most every tool at your workbench and mine. As you’ve found, it’s rarely a day-and-night difference of any one tool (though there are some truly game-changing tools), but in finding that 1%-5% improvement in each tool and process, which creates the efficiency and puts the “flow” in your shop’s workflow. While also raising the level of the final result. I didn’t know until more recently there was a name for this 1%-5% principal, or philosophy (of sorts), though I’ve always subscribed to it. The principal is called “Aggregation of marginal gains”, which says, instead of looking for the large and dramatic improvements in any one place, consider the compounding effect of small 1% (or more) improvements, spread over the entire process, which - when added up can create dramatic results. So yes, super interesting - if unpredictable - results of your shootout. MN usually has good/great and innovative products, they typically set the bar fairly high, so their crowning file seemed like it would be a contender for the top spot. So that was a surprise. I’ve also tried the compact Z File, and also found it puzzling, fatiguing to use, and generally a half baked / poorly executed design. As well as the others in your test, which are also part of my extensive file collection, landing somewhere on the usable/useful/pretty darn good continuum. You’ve got me very intrigued about running a diamond file “wet”! Up to this point I’ve only tried Dyna Glide on a file with teeth. Will be trying this soon. You’re not alone… I’m also very obsessive about razor thin and precise crown lines. It was this obsession - as well as the disappointment with the tools that were currently available - that started me down the path of developing a file that could create these centerlines in a consistent, controllable and intuitive way, which resulted in the Dagger 2.0 (the one with steel teeth) and the Diamond Dagger you have. Glad to hear the FretGuru fret end file is serving you well. This was actually the first FretGuru “product”, which wasn’t really intended to be a product at all. It started as merely a solution to my being underwhelmed and disappointed with the SM fret end file - for similar reasons you are. It was mainly that the SM file is too narrow in width, which gives it an unstable platform to work from, and makes it too easy to lean / topple over, which would make the corner of the file dig a groove next to the fret. So after making a new design by extensively modifying a Swiss jeweler’s file, and being stoked with the results - and not thinking anything beyond my personal problem being solved… I then I had a good friend/exceptional luthier visiting the shop, and I said, “Hey, I just made this fret end file… give it a try and let me know how it works for you”. He was blown away by the function, and how stable it was, allowing him to slide right into the lowest corner of the fret, without any fingerboard damage. He immediately asked if I could make 6 of them for him and his guys, to which I reluctantly replied, “maybe”. Which then began to snowball as the word got out, which started many years of me personally making these fret end files by modifying Swiss jeweler’s files, to the point where my hands and wrists were ruined. Can you say “the opposite of profitable?” The secret sauce on these files (aside from the special tooth cut) is just how surgically/insanely flat and smooth the bottom of the file is. I’m not afraid of anyone copying this, because nobody would be stupid enough to go through what we do to make them so flat. These are still the opposite of profitable. You’ve probably noticed that FretGuru has a small, tightly focused product range. That’s by design. I figure you guys (or the market) don’t need another capo or string winder. So I only begin to design a tool when the current available options leave me disappointed, and only move forward if I’ve come up with something that I confidently feel can be game-changing - or at least significantly improve the experience and results while at the guitar workbench. If another company already has a product that performs at the highest level that I demand, then I generally won’t even bother to design or offer a similar product. We have a few game changers in the works, which have been in development for a few years. I’d be glad to give you a preview when they’re ready, in exchange for your astute observations and input. You can reach out to me at the obvious FretGuru website, or directly at: fretguru@ G Mayle dot com (in code so the bots and spammers don’t have a field day). Thanks again, I appreciate your dedication to this work! Bernie/FretGuru

@@FretGuruHi Bernie, how to crown a narrow and quite short fret wire like jescar 43080 with your diamond dagger?

@@theNextProjectHi John, same question as i asked Bernie, how about your take on small wire for all of the file you’ve tested?

Hey Bobby, Thanks for watching! I won't speak for Bernie, but I would expect the Diamond Dagger to work well on 43080 wire. For this test, I was using 51100 Jescar SS, and some StewMac nickel wire that was roughly the same. I also used the DD on a squire recently, it had pretty narrow wire and all went well. Hope this helps.

Philip, thanks for watching! I was having some serious hand cramps from using the SM mini file, and getting poked by the sharp edges too. Ended up wrapping part of it in masking tape just so I could test the file more. So my takeaway with the SM Mini was "why should I use a tool that makes a less than enjoyable task, painful?". The MusicNomad S-File is really well made, I like the innovation and such, but it seems be a rough-in type file. Take a set of heavily worn and plateau leveled frets and bring them back to near crown. Then grab the SM original Z to finish the job... Doesn't really seem like the ideal workflow to me. But maybe I'm just a bit weird. I did attempt to use it on a strat refret, but the new frets barely needed any leveling, even at the fall-away area. The MN S-file, has such I wide crown ( approx. 1mm ), there was nothing it could do to help, so I used other files to do the crowning. I have some MN nut files (new to me), so I'll keep and eye on them to see how quickly they wear - thanks for the heads up on that. Be safe and take care!

I almost bought the whole set of music nomad nut files😮😮😮

Johny, thanks for watching! Sorry to hear of your poor experience with the Baroque file. I think there is a "break-in" period for that file, and maybe some of the others too. I was really excited to try the Music Nomad file, and while it is a great and innovative design, it didn't really fit my needs. I've dropped a few hints to MN, suggesting a version 2, but we shouldn't hold our breathe on that. As you mentioned, it does need a second file to finish the job, which is sad to say. Right now I'm splitting project work between the FretGuru Diamond Dagger 2, and the old StewMac original Z-File (offset "v" design). Both of these files seem to get me where I need to go. Good luck with your projects!

Thanks for watching, take care my friend!

Tommy, thanks for watching! Yep, the SM safety edge Z is nearly identical to the SM original Z, only without the diamond grit on one surface. They do make/sell really get files.... accept for that mini-me-Z thingy I tried, LOL. Hope all is well for you, be safe and take care!

ranman! good to hear from you, and no worries. I could tell you were dealing with some tough times. Hope things are going better for you now. Agreed, the Z file probably has the largest need for user input and control, but it can also deliver great results. My impatience often gets in the way of proper handling. I find myself needing to step-back, regroup, slow myself down and work the file, not just rush the process. Haste makes waste, and I'm pretty good at haste! I'm finding that using oil (3 and 1 oil most recently), really resolves the need to clean the diamond files. The oil keeps everything suspend, no more plugged up diamond grit. I wish I would have stumble apon using oil a few years ago. Sounds like a great project you have going. I'll check your channel, you may have that guitar in one of your vids. Good to hear from you again, take care my friend!

@@theNextProject, thank you, good to hear from you too. I'm ok but it's still very hard here. Good word man. Lots of peoples lives are crashing. I love guitar's but I cannot focus on it for long or I get accused of not doing what I could be doing instead. So, I have projects now, that don't get done. Focusing on the garden now. Food for the future, if there is one.

Dugbert, thanks for watching! True, triangle files do work, and have been used by a lot of us. This is a test of diamond files, which I switched to a long time ago, being the SM original Z. It was a great expense and full of frustration due to the surface continually plugging up. Since adding a cutting fluid to my process, the need to clean the file has been resolved. Even when I used 1/4 round and triangle files, I had to clean the teeth of those files, so possibly using cutting fluid may help that style file as well, but I haven't tried fluid with those. Hope all is well, take care!

LOL "nerdy, niche", bwahaha, that got me laughin! 👍

Sam, thanks for watching! Agreed, offset is a huge improvement. The otherwise rounded nose on a couple files also helps greatly. Take care!

Andrew, thanks for watching! Crown width seems to be subjective, but I personally attempt to reduce the flat leveling area to a thin "hairline", at least as much as possible. I didn't waste much time during this test trying to get a hairline, as a couple of the files just won't go there. As for ruining the leveling, I guess that depends on how heavy handed the person is doing the crowning, dressing and polishing. If I happen to crown and finish the hairline away, it would likely be in the ten-thousandths of an inch amount. Interesting thing, while I was working and re-working this test board, I only removed 0.007" of material total during all the re-levels. So a lot of leveling didn't take much off the frets. So even less is removed bringing the flat level into a crowned shape, again depending on how heavy handed the person is. For me, the finer the crowned line, the less finish work and smoother polished frets I can make. Better bending, smoother feel... better playing guitar. That being said, I've seen, and worked on some frets that I call "plateau crowned". They are pretty much flat top leveled, maybe a little crowning to ease the edges, then fine sanded and polished.... still a flat top fret, just shiny. So, to each their own I guess. Hope this helps explain what I mentioned. Thanks for asking, take care!

Hello, hello and thanks for watching! Great question, and potentially that could be the case. Typically the SM Original Z file, with the offset "V" surface, is worked in a way that rounds one side of the fret at a time. With each pass you angle the file slightly more upright, giving you a rounded fret side, while retaining a centered crown area. Then the file is flipped over and the other side of the file is used to round the opposite side of the fret, again filing from an angle to an upright path. Hopefully ending up with a center hairline crown. This process is why I mentioned that the StewMac Original Z-file requires the most user input. You are driving the file to position the center hairline crown. It takes a little practice, but the file can do a great job once the driver is trained. Most of the other files have a concave filing surface, and a different kind of attention is required. None of the files are "auto-pilot", but perhaps the closest to that would be the Music Nomad S-file. However I feel it stops short of reaching the destination. So, you need to reach for another file to finish the trip. Sorry for the weak analogies. I hope this helps explain the SM Original Z file. Thanks again for watching, be safe and take care!

@@theNextProject I see. Thanks for the explanation!

Thanks for watching! Completely get what you're saying. Maybe the electrical tool market has a larger audience, and the tools are mass produced. Luthier repair tools cater to a rather small following, so it's kinda like everything is "custom". A fret slotting circular sawblade is $100, but we can buy a sawblade at Lowes for $15 and up. Of course the Lowes blade is made by the tens-of-thousands, and marketed at the home DIY person. I looked into this kinda thing a few vids back. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p6uPlJqEtcDYkmg.html Be safe and take care!

@@theNextProject ….agreed…well said!!!!

Bilal, thanks for watching! SM might borrow the idea and release a file with a smaller safe zone, that would be interesting. Not sure why the Music Nomad S-file is getting so much praise. I guess everyone else either accepts a wide crown, or is doing something else with the file. I like the idea, just not the results. Take care!