Here we have me old Strat Plus that I have had since 1990. About four years ago I had it refretted for the first time, with 6100 wire. I have never been happy with the job but for various reasons did not pursue it at the time. I think the bevels at the fret ends are too extreme and I am forever falling off the edge, particularly on the bottom E.
There is about 2.5mm thickness of rosewood remaining, looking at the edges. Is this enough to have another go at refretting (probably with 6105)? This used to be my #1 and it is such a shame to have it crippled like this.
Any advice much appreciated!
Pics:
I'm just a Maserati in a world of Kias.
Comments
It can be refretted
Unlike the '71 Les Paul Custom that a friend of mine bought recently, which has been planed down to the tops of the side dots in the binding! The fingerboard is now a compound radius, but not what that's meant to mean... sadly it's unrepairable without replacing the fingerboard now.
Don't be put off refretting just because there are some cowboys who can't do it right.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The correct solution would have been to point out the error to the repairer at the moment when the guitar was collected from his workshop. i.e. Before settling the bill. When you still have leverage.
A new refret will cost in excess of two hundred Pounds. It might be better to replace the vibrato with a design that matches the Fender pivot spacing but allows the string spacing to be adjusted inwards from the fingerboard edges. i.e. the old Kahler Traditional fulcrum from the Eighties.
I agree! We had some mental health issues in the family at the time and this was low on the list TBH. Hindsight and all that...!
I just got a bonus in work (I'm not a banker) so I would rather spend the money to put it right and call it a learning experience I think.
Next: a good luthier in the North West / North Wales!
+1,... talk to Steve.
I shall! I've been playing this guitar for 28 years and it's like part of my body. I need to get it back to where I can rip on it without being "careful".
Thanks all for the advice on this thread and in PMs, what a good bunch!
Fifty gigs later and they still catch the sunlight like he just put them in - they'll outlive me easily
http://i68.tinypic.com/2egduhe.jpg
I always regarded a refret as a repair, but it's worth it as just an upgrade. I will never wait for frets to wear out again before replacing them with my own preferred type.
How do you find the stainless frets?
Did they alter the tone at all?
I wore my bravewood s type frets out during my guitar degree and i'm thinking ss might be the way to go.
I had it made with an enormous girthy neck and thick slab of rosewood.
As a result it has much more beef than my fender, but tbh a tad more treble zing would be great.
I took a quick phone snap of it just now to see how the frets are doing - this is after hundreds of hours of home playing and rehearsals and more than fifty sweaty 2-3 hour gigs.
It's had the odd wipe down in that time at each string change, but the frets have had no maintenance or polishing whatsoever. I've just been up and down it with a magnifier and there is literally zero wear - it looks exactly like it did the day they were fitted.
http://i67.tinypic.com/3496o1y.jpg
I'm depping in a functions band on the equatorial coast of Africa. the guitars are really taking a beating. This looks like the way to go!