refret time?

[charleyrich]

I have an ASAT Classic III and it is going to need a refret soon. I play it so much, I wore down the frets.

My local luthier told me it will cost 2x as other guitars to refret the guitar since the maple fretboard is finished and it will require refinishing after the refret. There is nothing wrong with the finish on the fretboard.

Anyone else experience this? They want $500 to refret it. Is this exorbitant? I love the guitar, but that is a lot for maintenance.

--Charley

[yowhatsshakin]

Charley,

I do not have any experience on refretting nor whether the pricing is fair or not. But if you have to dole out that much money for the job, you might as well go the extra distance and use stainless steel frets. Will push the next refret so much further into the future.

- Jos

[helle-man]

Seems pretty high to me. Get a second opinion.

Will

[Fumble fingers]

email Mark Kaiser ..... you can google his name , he's real good on frets !!
he has prices in the first link

http://fretrepairbymark.com/

mark@fretrepairbymark.com

[KenC]

I don't see why it would require refinishing, unless he plans to mangle the board while pulling the old frets.

Ken

[jeffmarshall67]

Find a luthier who knows what he's doing. I had my 86 asat refretted last year for way less, by the best guy in Seattle

[louis cyfer]

Charley,

I do not have any experience on refretting nor whether the pricing is fair or not. But if you have to dole out that much money for the job, you might as well go the extra distance and use stainless steel frets. Will push the next refret so much further into the future.

- Jos

i would actually use the jescar evo frets. i much prefer them to stainless. even smoother feeling wears about the same, sounds like nickel-silver. stainless would be my second choice. for someone playing so much , getting just regular frets is nuts. both stainless and evo will run more, 400-500 is reasonable for that, but by the second dressing you are ahead of the game. ii the long run, much more economical.

500 is outrageous. 200-250 is normal, maple running 250-300. maple usually costs a little more, but refinishing is usually not needed, but the tech needs to be a lot more careful pulling out the frets. if the lacquer is old and brittle, it may chip, but that is how you get that cool worn fretboard look.

is this guy a luthier or a tech? a lot of luthiers are not that good at tech work. you need a tech, not a luthier. luthiers build guitars, and put in new frets, refretting is not usually their forte. some luthiers are also good tech work, and a lot of techs call themselves luthiers, but have never built a guitar. in any case, i would not trust someone like that, giving insane quotes, with my guitar. look around, i have seen a lot of shoddy refrets, my tech fixes other refrets all the time, often from highly regarded high end outfits.

[charleyrich]

Thanks for all the replies. I will look into the link provided and stainless steel or the other type mentioned. The "luthier" is actually a tech. But, I am going for a second opinion before I do anything. Any recommendations for someone to do the job on Long Island?

I also need to buy another G&L to play while this one is in the hospital...

--Charley

[Craig]

I also need to buy another G&L to play while this one is in the hospital...

--Charley

Please post your Want Ad in our Marketplace.

[Fumble fingers]

I also need to buy another G&L to play while this one is in the hospital...

--Charley

Ebey , Craigs List or G & L dealer if you have one ..... I bought a used ASAT Classic while waiting for my new Legacy to be built from the G & L dealer , I made him a offer on the ASAT and they took it , no shipping no waiting just brought her home , it made the wait much better


there some nice G & L's in the market place here also

[charleyrich]

Will the G&L factory do the refret for me (for a fee, of course)? Am I best off sending it back to them? The maple fingerboard has a tint and a gloss coating and I suspect a repair person might not be able to match the tint exactly.

Anyone have experience with this?

--Charley

[louis cyfer]

i wouldn't. the tint was rubbed in then, and the gloss is clear. a decent tech can match it no problem, but it shouldn't have to be refinished.

[sirmyghin]

300-350 is the usual going for a fretboard here, as mentioned finished boards cost a touch more. Around here 50$ surcharge is the norm for something like Stainless Steel, but that varies. I have seen some folks wanting 200-300$ for it, which is absurd imo. They will cite tool wear, but it can't be that drastic with a lot of folks doing it for a 50$ surcharge. I stick with stainless, and don't notice a sonic difference for fret material.

[louis cyfer]

300-350 is the usual going for a fretboard here, as mentioned finished boards cost a touch more. Around here 50$ surcharge is the norm for something like Stainless Steel, but that varies. I have seen some folks wanting 200-300$ for it, which is absurd imo. They will cite tool wear, but it can't be that drastic with a lot of folks doing it for a 50$ surcharge. I stick with stainless, and don't notice a sonic difference for fret material.

i have never seen stainless steel for only 50 dollar more. at least 200. tool wear is only a small part, it takes a lot more time, a lot harder to work with. radiusing is harder, so is seating properly. g&l charges 400 extra.

[charleyrich]

Can anyone recommend a tech on Long Island to refret my guitar?

I just picked up an ASAT Deluxe semi-hollow to tide me over while the Classic Three is being refretted. I got it ahead of time. Life is good.

--Charley

[sirmyghin]

300-350 is the usual going for a fretboard here, as mentioned finished boards cost a touch more. Around here 50$ surcharge is the norm for something like Stainless Steel, but that varies. I have seen some folks wanting 200-300$ for it, which is absurd imo. They will cite tool wear, but it can't be that drastic with a lot of folks doing it for a 50$ surcharge. I stick with stainless, and don't notice a sonic difference for fret material.

i have never seen stainless steel for only 50 dollar more. at least 200. tool wear is only a small part, it takes a lot more time, a lot harder to work with. radiusing is harder, so is seating properly. g&l charges 400 extra.

Had a few shops in Toronto quote me at that, in the end I decided to wear out the nickle frets first and am still working on doing that, slowly going at this rate. Twelfth fret was one of them, and their other prices appear the same as then. I would never bother paying 400$ extra for SS frets, just not worth that much.

[louis cyfer]

300-350 is the usual going for a fretboard here, as mentioned finished boards cost a touch more. Around here 50$ surcharge is the norm for something like Stainless Steel, but that varies. I have seen some folks wanting 200-300$ for it, which is absurd imo. They will cite tool wear, but it can't be that drastic with a lot of folks doing it for a 50$ surcharge. I stick with stainless, and don't notice a sonic difference for fret material.

i have never seen stainless steel for only 50 dollar more. at least 200. tool wear is only a small part, it takes a lot more time, a lot harder to work with. radiusing is harder, so is seating properly. g&l charges 400 extra.

Had a few shops in Toronto quote me at that, in the end I decided to wear out the nickle frets first and am still working on doing that, slowly going at this rate. Twelfth fret was one of them, and their other prices appear the same as then. I would never bother paying 400$ extra for SS frets, just not worth that much.

i think 200 extra is worth it as you won't need fret dressings either, so in a year, at most 2 you are already saving money. 400 is too much.

[sirmyghin]

^^ Agreed