Refret Question

[kimonostereo]

I was wondering how many of you have refretted your Balls?

When do you know it's time for a refret and where do you take it? Does EBMM do refret jobs?

 

[the24thfret]

Good question, I don't know anything about refretting at all so I'm interested in hearing an answer as well.... When is refretting necessary?

 

[Kaloyan]

It'd take a long time to re-fret your EBMM ... unless you re the most aggressive blues player out there ... I usually have a friend doing it for me (I could probably do it myself but I dont have all the tools). It's a very important procedure and it has to be done by a pro. Usually you'd be doing several re-crownings before it's time for a re-fret.

 

[kimonostereo]

Well there are some folks who aren't the original owners of their Balls. Taking a look at my new/old Albert Lee, the frets seem to be OK but some have deep divots and others are worn near the middle section.

 

[tornandfrayed]

Kim0nostero,first of all if your fretts are worn...having indentations from the guitar string in the frett itself does not mean you need a re frett...you can have your fretts dressed at least two or three times...you have to dress all of them not just the ones that are worn for even playing...get a certified luithier to do this for you...if they are honest and know what their doing they will tell you whether or not you need a complete re frett...i dont think ebmm does frett jobs...you might ask coustomer service and maybe they would refer you to someone in your part of the world...get some referlls before you let anyone do it...if someone doesnt know what their doing you might have to get a complete re frett... I hope i was of some help.

 

[Kaloyan]

Well there are some folks who aren't the original owners of their Balls. Taking a look at my new/old Albert Lee, the frets seem to be OK but some have deep divots and others are worn near the middle section.

They need dressing and re-crowning NOT refretting. Certified luthiers work ONLY!

 

[Jack FFR1846]

I bought a used guitar a few months ago with very deep divots on a bunch of frets. The shop sent it out and had the frets dressed and it was fine. If the guitar actually does need a re-fretting, EBMM does do them. I had them quote one for me before understanding that they could be worked. The price is quite reasonable.

 

[robelinda2]

Ive bought many balls with lots of worn frets. Always took them to a great tech and he did his magic and they were much better. A re-fret would only be on the cards for me if the frets were seriously low and worn down unevenly across the board.

 

[tornandfrayed]

i bought a used guitar a few months ago with very deep divots on a bunch of frets. The shop sent it out and had the frets dressed and it was fine. If the guitar actually does need a re-fretting, ebmm does do them. I had them quote one for me before understanding that they could be worked. The price is quite reasonable.

goog to know!

 

[the24thfret]

Good stuff in this thread, thanks all

 

[fsmith]

I bought a '93 AL that was supposed to be in "mint" condition, but it needed a refret.

Send it back to EBMM, they did a great job and as Jack said, it was *very* reasonable. It was turned around in less than 2 days...

Beej now owns that guitar. What was I thinking?!?!?!

fred

 

[beej]

He he ... you were thinking Beej would owe you big time

(Took a little more work to seal that neck, but it is a keeper!)

 

[panther_king]

The first time I need to go in for a level or refret, I'm considering finding a place that is willing to do the work in putting some stainless steel buggers on there.

No more fretwear, ever.

 

[kimonostereo]

I would be more concerned about changing the tone of the guitar with stainless steel. They play nicely and last long but they sound kinda bright. I guess it depends on the guitar.

 

[B2D]

I would be more concerned about changing the tone of the guitar with stainless steel. They play nicely and last long but they sound kinda bright. I guess it depends on the guitar.

I had my Silo Special refretted with 6115 size stainless wire last May, and I'm very happy with it.

The stock wire had been dressed three times and had gotten to the point where I was getting hand fatigue from the low frets. I'd already tried stainless frets on other guitars and liked them, so I decided to go that route.

The sound IS a little brighter than normal wire, but it's not a drastic change. If you really have to compensate for it, turn your treble or presence back one notch. It made the top end more detailed if anything for me.

The thing I love the most is that bends and vibrato are so much easier now, a very smooth and clean feeling of the string/fret contact. With regular wire you have to polish the frets with a dremel and jewelers rouge every now and then to get that feeling, but stainless wire stays that way.

 

[Jeff R]

If you have bad divots in the cowboy chord areas, there's also the option of a partial refret coupled with a subsequent leveling and re-crowning. A friend did that with his Les Paul.

 

[Abraxas]

Wanted to ask something to all those that have installed SS frets on their guitars:

It's common to hear that "stainless steel frets are immune to dents" but I think this can't be 100% true, since ANY metal will eventually wear a little by being subjected to friction with another metal.

My question is, what is the average timeframe you'd need a fret dress with SS frets? For nickel frets, I usually need one after 5-6 months of heavy playing (~1,5-2 hrs a day on average). To be honest, since I don't play the same guitar all the time, the actual period would be 1 year or so. And after 2-3 fret dressings, it's time for a refret.

The thing is, for nickel frets, I have the tools and the experience to do a fret dress myself quite well, which saves me the cost of paying 70-80 euros to a technician every time.

But is SS frets start to wear the cost for a fret dress will be perhaps twice that (due to tool wear). Of course, if a SS equipped guitar needs a fret dress every 2-3 years or so, the point is moot.

Thanks!

 

[musikarero]

I guess someone could wear SS frets that quickly but it would be hard to do. I do prefer them but they aren't a deal killer if they are not on a guitar. Some people comment about the tone difference but to me it is so subtle it doesn't matter. The playability is where they really shine......pardon the pun.....they just feel so smooth when bending. If you take some auto crome cleaner and polish your nickle frets to a beautiful shine you'll get the the idea what SS feel like and they feel like that all the time. I'd be curious to know if Big Poppa would consider doing a refret with SS.....I think my AL's would be great with them!

 

[paranoid70]

So what is involved in the 'crowning' procedure?

 

[gerry d]

I guess someone could wear SS frets that quickly but it would be hard to do. I do prefer them but they aren't a deal killer if they are not on a guitar. Some people comment about the tone difference but to me it is so subtle it doesn't matter. The playability is where they really shine......pardon the pun.....they just feel so smooth when bending. If you take some auto crome cleaner and polish your nickle frets to a beautiful shine you'll get the the idea what SS feel like and they feel like that all the time. I'd be curious to know if Big Poppa would consider doing a refret with SS.....I think my AL's would be great with them!

I have SS frets on my Luke... I had it done 2 years ago and this guitar gets played a LOT... I do most of my cover gigs with it and a lot of teaching..

I don't notice any wear at all on my Luke... its just sings and is very easy to play...

I have no issues at all with stainless steel frets.