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Fret dressing

All setup work is preceded by a fret levelling process. This applies even to new guitars – almost no guitar has a perfectly level, straight neck, certainly not by the time it has been through transit, warehousing, retail storage and finally purchased by your good self. If there is any unevenness, and there will be to differing degrees, then I cannot set the guitar up to optimum playability. Please budget for a full fret level and setup for any guitar, regardless of the price you paid for it.

You may think that your old guitar needs a re-fret when actually the old frets just need ‘dressing’ (levelling). This cures fret buzz and dead notes caused by the grooves worn in old frets, or from loose frets (loose frets will need securing before they can be levelled) that have risen up. Sometimes a fret has a groove or dent caused by string contact after an impact. Providing the groove or dent is not too deep, the frets can be dressed and the guitar will play like new – usually better than new!

Frets are secured if found to be loose (at extra cost, see rates page) and the frets are then levelled, crowned, and polished. Contact me on – 07923 656 454

Refrets

Unfortunately only a limited number of fret dresses can be done before the frets need replacing. Re-fretting is sometimes necessary in order to level out the underlying fret board surface if the neck has warped or twisted to some degree.

Some guitars are easier to re-fret than others. It’s a time consuming job and some require significantly more time than others, e.g. those with lacquered maple boards. All prices are ‘from’ as I cannot give a firm quote before seeing the condition of the guitar. I will happily give a free, no obligation quote on inspection of the guitar.

Some guitars may need a new nut fitting if slots have worn or been lowered on account of the worn frets, which obviously incurs extra cost. All re-fret prices include high quality Jescar fret wire and a full setup.

Most guitar technicians re-fret Gibson style bound boards by removing the ‘nibs’ from the binding that cover the fret ends. This is the easiest option and therefore the cheapest. Some players actually prefer this as the new frets overlap the binding and therefore are longer, giving a bit more ‘leeway’ for the outer strings. It is, however, possible to retain the original look of the instrument by cutting each fret exactly to length and VERY carefully fitting them so as not to push out the binding. This is extremely time consuming and so greatly increases the cost. Also, it relies on the fret board itself being level and even along it’s length which is often not the case. It is an option though and if you have a Gibson and would like to retain the original look, please contact me to discuss – 07923 656 454.

Stainless Steel fret wire upgrades

Stainless steel fret wire is not technically wear ‘proof’ but it is highly resistant to wear, and for most people it will certainly last a lifetime with very little discernible wear. The silky smooth feel when bending strings on stainless fret wire is also a huge positive. As the wire is so hard it is much more demanding from an installation point of view and therefor there is a significant increase in re-fret cost, which varies depending on the type of guitar and fret wire size. Feel free to contact me to discuss – 07923 656 454.