Question typical cost for refret?

[billy carr]

I have a jp6 basic, it has some pretty bad fretware. It was made 4.9.11. Would these have been stainless steel? What kind of frets are recommended for these? Also what would it cost to have done by musicman? Anyone ever have to refret? Advise?

 

[lessthanone]

I called a few months ago to see the cost to regret my evh, They said 240. Should be close if not the same

 

[t_rod]

I don't think stainless would wear that quickly, but I could be wrong. I would go with stainless for the refret anyway (may have to find a luthier if it came with nickel). Bends are really smooth and they wear slower, although some people don't like the tone.

Check this thread out
http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/57731-stainless-steel-frets.html

 

[DrKev]

...and some people swear there is no difference in tone.

 

[Lou]

You don't necessarily need to get a refret. Fret leveling can be done several times before a refret is needed. If you want to change to SS frets or different size frets then a refret is your only option.

 

[t_rod]

...and some people swear there is no difference in tone.

+1

 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Just get a stainless steel refret and be done with it. I have yet to find a single person who has shown evidence of SS frets being worn down from normal playing activity. Instead of doing numerous fret leveling procedures and then doing a nickel refret later, just get SS frets from a person who really knows what he's doing. I've been playing my JP-12 7 string almost every day for a couple years now and I can find absolutely evidence of wear on any of the frets. Some luthiers do not want to take SS refret jobs because they are notoriously harsh on their tools. In addition to that, it's not like the customer is going to come back to have you level them in a year.

There is no perceptible difference in sound between the two alloys. I have never encountered anyone who can take the Pepsi Challenge with that. It's more mind over matter. We are a conservative bunch by nature.

The only thing to caution against the way they feel. It is clearly different. My opinion is that they feel better because they facilitate bending and vibrato. Others who are used to the feel of nickel alloy, may not want to get past that difference if it feels foreign to them.

 

[Kenji20022]

Get a stainless refret you won't regret it. I'm so glad that all JP's are equipped with them now, there is no discernible difference in tone between the two, and the only people who dislike them are the people who might be working on them.

The Longevity of both the fret life, quality, and feel is above all else for me. You don't even need to polish these frets, they always feel like glass and perfect to bend on, like a brand new guitar everytime you pick the instrument up. Nickel Frets are fine as well, but given the choice what would you prefer, long life or the same old same old?

 

[jazzyitalian]

The more durable material is called EVO. It's sometimes a bit more costly to get installed because as the video explains (and as my own experience has shown) it wear out fretting tools.

But it will give you a ton more miles. Here's a Youtube video, and there are also several writings discussing the materials.

EVO Gold Fretwire-Highly Recommended! - YouTube

As far as luthier fees are concerned, I would say that $240 is the bottom end of the spectrum and it's goes up from there.

 

[Lucas LeCompte]

FYI Music Man themselves wont refret a nickel freted guitar to stainless. I have asked before

 

[DrGonzo5150]

FYI Music Man themselves wont refret a nickel freted guitar to stainless.

+1
They will only return it to stock, which means fitting whatever frets it had before.