JP Frets

[TheShreddinHand]

Hey guys, there seems to be a lot of buzz about stainless steel frets and how long they last, etc. That got me thinking about the normal frets on our EBs. At what point do they begin to wear down and can you send a guitar to EB to have it refretted?

-Eric

 

[dhalif]

ive been playing my jp everyday since last year.. at least 6 - 7 hours a day, i can already see frets caving in..

 

[PaoloGilberto]

I have my JP sicner Auguts 2009 , an play around 1-2 hours per day only - average, and I see the fret wear.
I said many times before that SS frets on the JP would have been fabulous and saving us from the trouble and money spent later (fret job, reffret, etc)

ive been playing my jp everyday since last year.. at least 6 - 7 hours a day, i can already see frets caving in..

 

[Spudmurphy]

six to seven hours playing every day will contribute substantailly to fret wear.

There can be no definitive answer as to when (in playing hours?) a guitar needs refretting unless someone here keeps a log? (get a life!)

Fret wear is expected and you need to consider a refret when the wear has a detrimental effect on the playing characteristics of the guitar.

Stainless steel frets? - yes please - I'd be up for that as a production standard but then some may say that it has an effect on the sound/playability of the guitar. Manufacturers tend to build with nickle frets - I can't see that EB would offer it as yet another option - but thereagain I don't speak for EB - just giving my opinion (after a good few glasses of chardoney)

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Interesting....anyone know if EB does the refret work if you send them the guitar? Just curious. Thanks!

-Eric

 

[beej]

EB does amazing fret work and their prices are fantastic. (Seriously, I've sent a few from Canada for work.)

Depending on how hard you fret/pick, you could go years w/o needing any fret work, or it could be a year. Usually a quick fret dress solves the problem, you can get through quite a few of those before you'd need a full refret.

 

[RocketRalf]

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is a fret dress?

 

[the24thfret]

I play my JPs often and don't notice much fretwear at all. It's all how you play and how much. Nickel frets sound great, anyway.

 

[littlephil]

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is a fret dress?

Levelling and re-crowning the frets. Levelling is to even the heights, which reduces buzz because it ensures there aren't some frets higher than others, and re-crowning is rounding the top of the frets after they've been levelled, otherwise the intonation will be off.

Stainless steel frets are supposedly a little brighter than nickel steel.
Probably the main reason manufacturers don't typically use stainless frets is the hardness, stainless frets are a lot harder on tools.

 

[straycat113]

I am very hard on frets just like I am on shoes lol, just one of those things. One tip I can throw out there that has helped me out is to make sure when you wipe down your strings after playing, and to pinch the string with a cloth so you have both the top and bottom of the string in between your thumb and index finger and to ride it up and down a few times. If you have never done this you will see probably more dirt and crud under your string then on top. When this is left alone it hardens, and cuts into your frets a lot faster.

 

[Raz]

I wash hands before I play, always, plus I wipe each string (just as you mentioned), fretboard, frets and the neck, always! Beej, can we get a price on EB doing the refret? What about surface scratches on the finish (body) can they do that as well???

 

[TheShreddinHand]

EB does amazing fret work and their prices are fantastic. (Seriously, I've sent a few from Canada for work.)

Depending on how hard you fret/pick, you could go years w/o needing any fret work, or it could be a year. Usually a quick fret dress solves the problem, you can get through quite a few of those before you'd need a full refret.

Good to know for the future! I doubt I'll wear mine down very fast but it's just good to know I could call them up in the future if I ever need to have it done. Thanks!

-Eric

 

[beej]

I can't really comment on their rates, prolly best to email CS. Basically it's a bench rate, depending on how long the work takes. You get amazing work.