Advice re/ fret level

[x-ray]

Hi everyone.

Have some questions about fret leveling. A few months ago I purchased a used Sterling, which I love. At least half the frets have a decent amount of wear (all 4 strings levels), and I would say the wear is at about 25%. It definitely causes some clanking unplugged, but I can't really hear anything once through the amp. I also feel the strings sometimes sliding around the 'dimples', but that's about it.

So my question is, at what point is it time for a fret level? What are the pro's & con's of it? In theory, after a fret leveling, all the fret heights will now will be at the lowest level of the dimples, is that right? Of what I understand, having low or short frets means you have to press down a little harder on the strings to get your notes. Is this the only 'side effect', or is there something else I should know?

Christmas is coming up, and I feel like I may want to get this done as a gift to my Sterling. My local shop is a EB dealer, and they'll also do a setup to EB specs included in the price of a fret level ($120). So far I've set it up myself, but its not yet perfect, so it may be nice to get it to 'factory specs' and take it from there...

Anyways, any advice regarding the fret level would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[strummer]

You won't have to press down harder
When your frets are worn your fretted notes will be sharp, since the "witness point" will have moved towards the body of the bass (your string does not leave the fret at the center of the fret).
I am all for a recrown/levelling!

 

[silverburst]

Hmm. I had never thought about intonation changing with fret wear. I guess that is a good point. If you trust the guys at the dealer/repair shop, you might want to ask them if they think it is time.

 

[Aragorn35016]

I had a factory refret done to my old sterling for about that price. A couple of years back:
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/3092-just-got-my-sterling-may-need-refret.html

Looked great and sounded great! Couldn't even tell they replaced them! Plus they set it up! Id just send it straight to the people in the know! I sure wish i still had that sterling out of the 3 Ive owned it had such a great "broke in" feeling to the neck.

 

[the unrepentant]

yeah i'd just get it completely refretted if i were you mate, it'll give it the new feel and will probably be a lot more playable.

 

[x-ray]

Thanks guys.

Strummer, interesting note about the intonation, makes perfect sense.

Aragorn, a factory refret for about the same price range sounds like a smarter thing to do. Do you know whether or not they still offer it? I'll try that contact number after the holidays.

The only thing is, it my be kinda silly to do a refret at this point, b/c I don't think my fretwear is THAT bad (yours sounds like it was a lot worse). When I took it into the shop a few months back, the tech said a level is in order not a refret, but he may have been just trying to save me some $ and himself some extra labor...

Finally, could there be any advantage to shorter frets than full height ones, assuming they're both equally level? It seems like you could theoretically set the bass up to have lower action (relative to the fretboard of course, not the frets). I'm probably wrong here, as I'm sure there is a reason EB creates the fret height as they do...

Thanks again for your responses...

* Just got an e-mail back from Dan at EB: refret, setup & strings is $230 + shipping. Really great and quick customer service...

 

[the unrepentant]

Shorter frets = higher action, not significantly but still. I think a full refret would be the way to go if it doesn't cost that much. And you don't need to send it to EB for that, just find a qualified luthier, there's plenty around. Just google it and look at their websites with some of their work or something.

 

[strummer]

Shorter frets = higher action, not significantly but still. I think a full refret would be the way to go if it doesn't cost that much. And you don't need to send it to EB for that, just find a qualified luthier, there's plenty around. Just google it and look at their websites with some of their work or something.

Ummm, well that equality assumes you don't lower the strings at the bridge, something you must naturally do
The only little difference will be that the fretted string is a tiny bit closer to the fret board wood, and thus the fleshy part of your finger tip hanging off the sides of the string will have a shorter way down to the fret board, which for some players feel like they get stuck. However, on a bass you need a lot of flesh to actually put the pinger on the wood, so i wouldn't worry about it

If I'm not mistaken EB frets are pressed in, which means that every refret will do some damage to the fret board. Not that you'll notice if it's done correctly, but from what I read you just have frets that are a bit worn, and imho a refret at that point isn't a good idea. As long as there is life left in the frets, keep them!

 

[Aragorn35016]

Thanks guys.

Strummer, interesting note about the intonation, makes perfect sense.

Aragorn, a factory refret for about the same price range sounds like a smarter thing to do. Do you know whether or not they still offer it? I'll try that contact number after the holidays.

The only thing is, it my be kinda silly to do a refret at this point, b/c I don't think my fretwear is THAT bad (yours sounds like it was a lot worse). When I took it into the shop a few months back, the tech said a level is in order not a refret, but he may have been just trying to save me some $ and himself some extra labor...

Finally, could there be any advantage to shorter frets than full height ones, assuming they're both equally level? It seems like you could theoretically set the bass up to have lower action (relative to the fretboard of course, not the frets). I'm probably wrong here, as I'm sure there is a reason EB creates the fret height as they do...

Thanks again for your responses...

* Just got an e-mail back from Dan at EB: refret, setup & strings is $230 + shipping. Really great and quick customer service...

Yep that was almost 4 years ago (wow time flies!) so I figured the labor would go up. Trust me you'll be glad that you go with a factory job. It will come back looking good as new perfectly set up!!