Exactly what I thought when I first saw his video.  I would never assume a fretboard was straight and level to the degree needed for the requisite accuracy.   I'm a retired aerospace mech engr.

Your  fears seem valid. the fretboard must be spot on  for it to work accurately  which is a pity as at first sight it looks very good.

Wow, I'm glad I stumbled on this video and the comments. I was " " this close to buying the Fret Maestro. The guy seemed a little odd, but I was taken in by his explanation. I hadn't considered the variations in the fretboard. I'll stick with the trad fret leveling method, but add a Stew Mac Fret Kisser. Thanks!

A very good and well thought out though process.

Thank you Chris for your perspective on this, Never thought about how it's using the fretboard as a reference point. Chris Wisdom. Respect. 😊

I have same thoughts as yours in this video. And same reason stop me from purchase - the Price...
Way over priced for this specific task in fretting process.

Thanks for your videos! ✨🌿☀️

Thank you for this. I only do repair. I thought the exact same thing when I saw their promo video. Oh well, back to the old leveling beam, and radius block. And, of course the fret rocker.😂😂

The StewMac fret kisser has been my best fret tool.

It worked great for me. 2005 SG with pitted frets. Never leveled frets before, and it came out great.

Its simple. The device will not do what it's supposed to. The entire point of leveling frets is because they were somehow not level before. An old fingerboard is not an appropriate gauge for fret height.

I Know this video is a year old but in case it's helpful to someone who might see this, Here goes, I bought the Omni version of this product about 6 mo ago and have leveled the frets on 8 guitars of my own. 6 Epiphones an 2 fenders. The guitars were all purchased new and did not have much fret wear so please bear that in mind. This leveling system worked great for me!! They play so much better after the fret level, polish and nut height adjustment. I am very happy with it! I'm not sure how it works in other cases where the frets are very worn. They are pretty thorough with the instructions online and when used correctly as I believe I did it worked great! Your experience may be different I don't know but for me I intent you use it on all my guitars now and in the future.

did you watch his video on why a traditional leveling beam can cause problems and how he solved it?  i would be interested in your thoughts on that.

I have an old Bondo file and a straight edge that I use. I like em!

If all buildings were built on perfectly level ground, the ground could be used as a reference to build them straight, but everyone knows that's not the case. Both my guitar and bass necks are far from straigth, so off course this product which uses the soundboard as a levelling referance would not make the frets flush with each other.

See you then

I could see the use for that product but not going to deal with a company that has no luthier reviews (they would be the first one to want any tool that can make tasks easier), and that company has their entity status revoked.

Also suspecious that there is only one review on YT that doesn’t even show the process.

Great insight Chris, I suspected that as a setup tool it would be worthless as doesn't set frets relative to one another, it sets them relative to the fretboard.

Simple - The fretboard isn't always known variable, and the stings need a parallel surface to play against.  The frets need to be points on the same plane to work properly.  That tool can't guarantee that kind of accuracy if the measurement is from the fretboard.  I really wouldn't work on a scalloped fretboard, or one with heavy wear from fingernails.

Thank you

The guy actually blackmailed a customer to remove his negative review or he wouldn't get his refund. He bit the bullet and refused to do it and I applaud him for doing so. Some people have morals and ethics, the maker of FretMaestro not so much. Also, when the people in the  comments section brought up the fact about fretboards being inconsistent, he made a new video calling them all naysayers and addressing a bunch of other issues that the commentors weren't even talking about. It all seems a little shady to me so no thanks, I'll stay away. Besides, the tools I already have work just fine, and most of them were cheaper than FretMaestro.