1986 G&L L2000 neck refret question

Secret Journey · #1 02-15-2010, 03:26 PM

hey gang, I own an 86 L2000. My luthier tells me it is time for a refret.. There appears to be a dip in the neck around the 12th fret. He says if he refrets and sands the fretboard he can have it like new again. This man is a highly respected luthier in Connecticut. The cost will run between 3-4 hundred depending on the amount of work. Right now i have the action kind of high to avoid too much buzzing, he says after he performs this work, it can be as low as i want it to be. (which i prefer)
A fellow bass player on the other hand says, I may be better off buying a new neck instead. I guess my question is should i go for the refret? or get a new neck? Will the refret job get the neck straight again? Thanks for any advice guys.!

Johnny Alien · #2 02-15-2010, 03:31 PM

Go for a refret definitely. That price seems high though. I think you can get a refret and board level done by Dolan (who is extremely good) for cheaper than that including the shipping.

Maybe Chef will see this and comment as he just had his G&L neck done by Dolan. I think it was around $200 including the shipping. I had a vintage Fender refretted by Dolan. At the same time he leveled the fretboard for me and I think it was $250 shipped.

lethargytartare · #3 02-15-2010, 03:59 PM

Johnny's numbers match what I've seen -- I expect a pro refret to include planing the neck and to run 200-300. 300-400 sounds high.

Personally, I'd explore new necks first. A refret on a nice instrument is a worthwhile investment. But 250 bucks is 250 bucks, and if I can find a replacement neck in good enough shape, or where a fret dressing is all it needs (40-50 bucks worth of work), and get it for 150, then that's probably what I'd do. And then I'd sell the old neck and recoup as much of the money as I could.

But it might be harder to find the exact matching neck (model and year).

Good luck!

ltt

Turnaround · #4 02-15-2010, 05:36 PM

Why not try and retain as much of the original instrument as possible? A new neck will not improve resale value - in fact it probably will have the reverse effect.

Then there's the unknown about a new neck. Will it be stable? Will it be properly levelled? Many that I have seen were neither. Unless you have had other issues with the neck you have, why replace it with something that may have issues?

The devil you know.......

Johnny Alien · #5 02-15-2010, 05:48 PM

Here ya go:

Why Micheal Dolan rules; or G&L re-fret

G&L's have square heels which means that replacement necks are not readily available and I imagine buying one from G&L as a replacement would be very expensive.

Dolan does great work and between $200 and $250 is cheaper than most any quality replacement neck and you keep the originality of the bass.

walterw · #6 02-15-2010, 08:56 PM

if you like the bass, a refret (with proper fretboard leveling) will give you your bass, but playing better.

a new neck will pretty much give you a different bass, one which you may or may not like as much.

Secret Journey · #7 02-16-2010, 07:06 PM

thank you guys for all the advice, I will probably go for the refret, once i save up enough money. Also, I will check into this "Dolan" guy. Thanks agaiN!

dougjwray · #8 02-16-2010, 07:25 PM

I had my 1981 L2000 refretted by Jim Mouradian (in Winchester, Mass.) and he charged me about $150. Granted, he's about as fair as you can find in a master luthier, AND it was in 2000. But still...

Also, he used vintage (skinny) frets; he recommended them, telling me that they would significantly warm up the tone, and he was absolutely right. That might not be what you're looking for, of course.