One of the common fret button tweaks is to insert a bit of thin material under the buttons so they’re more responsive. Here’s how. Let’s start with the Kramer wireless PS2 guitar neck– but the procedure is very similar on the wireless Les Paul.

We’ll need our old friend, the T-10 Torx screwdriver..

.. to remove all the screws from the back of the neck. Flip the neck over and dump the screws– make sure they all come out– then pry the two halves of the neck shell apart.

What’s inside is very simple. On one end we have the contacts that the body pins push against when the neck is inserted in the guitar (note that I have lubricated these contacts with dielectric grease for better performance) ..

The ribbon cable connects the neck contacts with the button circuit board. To remove this, use a small philips screwdriver on the two screws that hold each end.

Under the circuit board is a small rubber spacer. When the fret buttons are pressed, they depress this rubber spacer, which presses on the circuit board to register a button press. Remove this spacer by gently pulling it loose.

Under this, of course, are the fret buttons themselves. This is a also a good time to lubricate your fret buttons with white lithium grease while you have them out!

You can remove the fret buttons as well, if you need to; they just slide right out of the neck.

As you can see the neck is remarkably simple; there’s almost nothing in it. About the only mod that makes any sense is to tighten up the button travel for better response. To do that, cut several small square shims from thin cardboard, plastic, or heavy card stock paper. Size each piece to fit on top of the buttons.

Be careful– don’t make your shims too thick or the buttons will be super stiff. Place the buttons in the neck and lay the shims directly on top.

To reassemble, follow the above steps in reverse order. I highly recommend testing the spacers before closing the neck up– place the rubber spacer and the circuit board on, but don’t screw it in. Hold it against your hand as you test the button action to make sure it’s what you want.

Now your fret buttons have less travel, and thus respond faster! “Flatter” buttons with a shorter throw make it easier to do slides and trills. This also has the nice side-effect of making them a little quieter, too, if you lubricate the fret buttons with lithium grease as well.