Considering refretting my Axis...

[Chad]

Lately I've been playin' the poo out of my Axis. I just love the feel of that neck and most everything about the guitar except for a couple things:

1. I wish the frets were bigger. I really wish it had 6105's or 6100's.

2. As mentioned in this thread, I shimmed the saddles on the bridge to make its radius match the fretboard radius. Actually, I'd prefer that the fretboard radius match the factory radius of the bridge and this could be taken care of during a refret. I'm guessing the bridge is around a 12" radius? That is the optimum radius for me.

Has anybody else done this? I'm wondering how involved this is since the fretboard is maple. Would it be better to plain the frets to a 12" radius and leave the board as is? Or could the board and frets both be radiused to 12" with relative ease? Any idea how much this would cost? Will EBMM do a refret? If not, does anybody have a referral?

Thanks!

 

[PugNinjas]

That is one ridiculous looking neck, my friend.


As for your questions, several people will chime in here with recommendations and info/tips.




Pug

 

[Jonny Dubai]

Amazing axis mate. I like the 6105 and the 6010's too. I have them on my other guitars, but have never put them on my MMs. Too much money to replace if i dont like it and i like to have guitars with different feels.

Let me know hoe it goes.

Jonny

 

[jazzbo jim]

Can EBMM do a refret? yes.
Will they plain the board or dress the frets to a 12" rad? likely not
Can a competent tech do it? yes.
Cost?....I'd be guessing (Tommy would know better) $250-300?...
Good luck. (nice axe!)

 

[Jimi D]

I'm sorry, but it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. A refret is pretty radical surgery on any guitar - it can be done, and done very well, but it's not cheap, and it's not always done well... I've seen some good refrets in my day, but I've seen others that have completely ruined the guitar. A maple board can be particularly troublesome... Personally, I would never put myself through the cost and risk of a refret on a guitar that didn't need it.

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

Me too Jimi !!!!

Can turn into a headache.

 

[GHWelles]

I had an expert in LA re-radius a 7.5" to a 10" and refret a guitar. Worked great, but he was the best. Now he builds guitars only, so is not available for refrets.

 

[Chad]

Since the board is around 10" and I'm looking for 12", those radii are close enough that it sounds like it would be best to just leave the fretboard as is and just shape the new frets to a 12" radius. The only disadvantage I can think of would be the middle strings would be a hair closer to the wood when fretted. But certainly not any big deal and comparable to what happens with compound radius boards.

I know people can botch fretjobs, so if I do this, I definitely would want to go with somebody I'm 100% confident with. Any referalls would be appreciated. I don't trust any locals to do this work, so keep in mind I'm totally okay with shipping the guitar.

BTW, thanks for the comments on my guitar. I'd like to get some outside pics sometime.

 

[jongitarz]

tommyindelaware

 

[Thirdpole]

I have had my Axis refretted twice with 6100's by a pro luthier. The jobs both turned out great. I wouldn't recommend messing with the radius !

Cheers ! (TGIF !)

 

[Beth]

Lately I've been playin' the poo out of my Axis.

hehehehehehe

I love words that end in "oo"

 

[jongitarz]

Oh, doo yoo?

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I have had a number of my guitars re-fretted, and they live to tell the tale! Play better than before.

 

[Colin]

if you change the fretboard radius, remember to adjust the radius of the saddles on your locking trem. The Morse neck has a 12" radius and I personally think it's awesome

 

[pauldogx]

Neck refrets and fret dressings are an essential part of keeping a guitar playing its best. If the frets are hashed you'll never get a good set up. Most guitars can take 3-4 fret dressings give or take before a refret is needed. As most people have said----just make sure you have a competent luthier do the job-----this is not an uncommon procedure for guitars that are heavily played (especially by pro's). One of the reasons SRV's number one developed such a compund radius on the fretboard was from numerous dressings and refrets.

 

[Chad]

Any other referrals? Thanks.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I'm sorry, but it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. A refret is pretty radical surgery on any guitar - it can be done, and done very well, but it's not cheap, and it's not always done well... I've seen some good refrets in my day, but I've seen others that have completely ruined the guitar. A maple board can be particularly troublesome... Personally, I would never put myself through the cost and risk of a refret on a guitar that didn't need it.

+1

 

[jazzbo jim]

Colour me stupid but.....
Can someone refresh my memory re: the pros and cons of big and small frets?
(personally, I'm thinking about stainless steel for my next refret))

 

[Colin]

Color me stupid but.....
Can someone refresh my memory re: the pros and cons of big and small frets?
(personally, I'm thinking about stainless steel for my next re fret))

Stainless is a longer lasting material but the general consensus is they are to bright sounding for most. as for thin v wide or high v low frets, it's really down to personal preference. similar to neck shapes.

 

[Chad]

Colour me stupid but.....
Can someone refresh my memory re: the pros and cons of big and small frets?
(personally, I'm thinking about stainless steel for my next refret))

I like frets to be high enough that they prevent the wood of the fretboard from getting in your way. With tall frets, you can glide from fret to fret more easily. A con would be that you have to be careful or you can dig in too much and fret notes sharp. Some people are used to low frets where they can bottom out to the wood and the note is still in tune. For those players, big frets can be a nightmare to get used to. I have to admit that I learned on a guitar with fairly low frets. The first time I got a guitar with 6100s, I *hated* the frets because I would fret notes sharp. But the more I played, I grew to love them. They are just easier to play IMO. And they are easier on your hands. J. Mascis got a bad case of tendonitis many years back and he switched to 6100s on all of his Jazzmasters and that helped. I battled with tendonits myself for awhile, so I like to make the playing experience as easy on the hands as possible.

As far as fret width, I'm not sure I can really explain the pros/cons of narrow vs. wide. If they are both properly crowned, I'm not sure it really matters if they are wide or narrow. The key thing is that you want the strings to fret on a "peak" and that peak needs to be where the guitar intonates properly. If a person just planes wide frets completely flat, then there is an undefined "peak" for the string to land on and intonation can vary/suffer. That is why fretwork is such an art.

The big drawback to stainless frets is that they are hard to level/crown. A lot of techs refuse to use'em because they can wear down luthier tools like crazy.