Fret dress or refret?

Bidley

The RG550 I just bought looks a little worse for wear in the fret department. There's a high fret further up the neck which causes a bit of choking, but the frets in general don't look as if there's much life left.

I'm taking it to a maestro next week, but does it look like it can be dressed/crowned or are the frets done for?

https://i.imgur.com/uLHIBhG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ah24dz0.jpg

Funkfingers

I see scope for a fret level and dress but the resultant profile will be sub-optimal unless you play with an extremely light touch.

PonchoGreg

Yeah they'd probably end up pretty low, wouldn't they. Which may not necessarily be an issue.

Be worth seeing what the price differential with a refret would be. Unless I'm mistaken, the necks on these are not lacquered to the extent that a Fender one would, and therefore would be more akin to a rosewood refret (effort- and therefore cost-wise, which is usually not a massive amount more than a good level/recrown)? I may be talking out of my arse though, and a good tech should be able to run through all the options.

Jalapeno

Definitely needs a fret level/dress.  Refret is major surgery in comparison.(new neck might be cheaper !) - see what your man says as that's only one picture .....

Bidley

I might just bite the bullet if it needs a refret and put stainless frets on. Those original Wizard necks aren't cheap so refret might be more economical!

Bidley

Let it be known that buying a used guitar sight unseen off eBay has it's pitfalls!

Jalapeno

Bidley said:

I might just bite the bullet if it needs a refret and put stainless frets on. Those original Wizard necks aren't cheap so refret might be more economical!

SS is hard work vs nickel - so will cost even more.  As I said see what your guy says before making your mind up - a fret level/dress can work wonders ....

Bidley

Jalapeno said:

Bidley said:

I might just bite the bullet if it needs a refret and put stainless frets on. Those original Wizard necks aren't cheap so refret might be more economical!

SS is hard work vs nickel - so will cost even more.  As I said see what your guy says before making your mind up - a fret level/dress can work wonders ....

Yep, I'll see what he says, you're right it might not need drastic work. But if I prepare for the worst I can only be pleasantly surprised right

Jalapeno

Bidley said:

Jalapeno said:

Bidley said:

I might just bite the bullet if it needs a refret and put stainless frets on. Those original Wizard necks aren't cheap so refret might be more economical!

SS is hard work vs nickel - so will cost even more.  As I said see what your guy says before making your mind up - a fret level/dress can work wonders ....

Yep, I'll see what he says, you're right it might not need drastic work. But if I prepare for the worst I can only be pleasantly surprised right

WIS'd

guitars4you

I had a used Strat Plus in the other day - 1 pro owner from new (1989) - Frets had similar heavy wear so I went down the fret dress option, as after all they are chunky frets and thought it might be - Played it after and it just felt all wrong - No decent height left on the frets, as they had to be 'stoned' so much to eradicate any wear - Bottom line is @SteveRobinson is now sorting out a good re-fret for me and I expect it to feel/play like I know they can

Sassafras

I always find photos of fretwear almost impossible to judge. They usually make it look  far worse than in reality.

Bidley

I think the photos are quite kind oddly!

The frets themselves have a flat edge to them, like they've been leveled but not crowned. Then there's the wear on top of that. It's a little dull to play which I would attribute to the frets too.

DefaultM

Always thought the frets on them are weird. They're wide but flat with no real height. I have them replaced with dunlop 6000 size. I've had stainless steel in that size on an 89 RG and they were very nice. 
Probably one of the nicest playing guitars I've had, but it was very heavy and sounded shit.

Bidley

DefaultM said:

Always thought the frets on them are weird. They're wide but flat with no real height. I have them replaced with dunlop 6000 size. I've had stainless steel in that size on an 89 RG and they were very nice. 
Probably one of the nicest playing guitars I've had, but it was very heavy and sounded shit.

Interesting that you say that @DefaultM , My RG1570 and RG220B both have 'normal' looking frets. Must be a 550 thing (mine is 1999).

DefaultM

Could just be the 80s ones I've bought that people have worn down and sold on I suppose.

guitarmangler

DefaultM said:

Always thought the frets on them are weird. They're wide but flat with no real height. I have them replaced with dunlop 6000 size. I've had stainless steel in that size on an 89 RG and they were very nice. 
Probably one of the nicest playing guitars I've had, but it was very heavy and sounded shit.

Yeah, I always found the frets on my 570 were wide but not high. Should have whacked 6000’s on ‘em!

FelineGuitars

Dunlop 6100 (or Jescar 57/110) is what the RGs and JEMs had in late 80s

I'd usually go with that or Dunlop 6000 (or Jescar 58/118) when refretting

As said before finding a replacement neck for that isn't easy, and maybe only the best option if the neck has a twist or fault.

PonchoGreg

FelineGuitars said:

Dunlop 6100 (or Jescar 57/110) is what the RGs and JEMs had in late 80s

I'd usually go with that or Dunlop 6000 (or Jescar 58/118) when refretting

As said before finding a replacement neck for that isn't easy, and maybe only the best option if the neck has a twist or fault.

Out of general interest - when refretting these types of neck, do you have to relacquer as well like you would on a glossy fender style maple neck?

FelineGuitars

PonchoGreg said:

FelineGuitars said:

Dunlop 6100 (or Jescar 57/110) is what the RGs and JEMs had in late 80s

I'd usually go with that or Dunlop 6000 (or Jescar 58/118) when refretting

As said before finding a replacement neck for that isn't easy, and maybe only the best option if the neck has a twist or fault.

Out of general interest - when refretting these types of neck, do you have to relacquer as well like you would on a glossy fender style maple neck?

Depends on a few factors, and in all honestly we feel that stripping and levelling the neck gives way more control of the refret job as you correct any defects that have crept in (or were always there). We would do this by default on a rosewood or ebony fingerboard.

But it adds time and expense to the job, so often doesn't get done as customer doesn't want that or maybe they want to keep the wear patterns

impmann

PonchoGreg said:

, do you have to relacquer as well like you would on a glossy fender style maple neck?

Common misconception... you don't *have* to re-lacquer a glossy Fender neck after a refret if the tech/luthier is careful. I've had several done as such, including a guitar that had unique and irreplaceable painted artwork on the fingerboard.

Bidley

FelineGuitars said:

Dunlop 6100 (or Jescar 57/110) is what the RGs and JEMs had in late 80s

I'd usually go with that or Dunlop 6000 (or Jescar 58/118) when refretting

As said before finding a replacement neck for that isn't easy, and maybe only the best option if the neck has a twist or fault.

Thanks for chiming in @FelineGuitars , that's good info!

I'm pretty confident the neck itself is ok, it only slightly chokes on frets 15 and 16 on the G string if you don't apply much fretting pressure. We'll see!