Just Suppose I Wanted A Fret Level-Job?

[SurferJoe46]

Would I be doing the luthier a disservice by just bringing the neck and not the whole bass?

I mean - he's only gonna level and re-whatever to the frets, right?

[bassteban]

Semi-educated guess: The neck needs to be at tension(be installed w/strings on)to have this job done. The hassle of bolting it to a body & adjusting everything up to do the fret job properly would likely far outweigh the space-saving.

[Rocky McD]

A Luthier can certainly level frets without the body available. However, usually the Luthier would do a complete setup as part of the service to check the overall quality of the fretboard/action. I would include the body, if possible.
Rocky

[bwest9]

I go a step further and tap the frets out yourself, and then bring them to him.

[HogieWan]

like rocky said, the guy would probably do this all for the same cost.

Related - how much do you guys normally charge for a fret level/dress/set-up?

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by bwest9

I go a step further and tap the frets out yourself, and then bring them to him.

I'm no expert here, but the term *tap* confuzzles me- isn't the more common method to pull them? Either way, if the OP is not terribly experienced in setup & repair I'd suggest leaving it to a pro- it's remarkably easy to jack up a bass(speaking from experience ).

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by bassteban

I'm no expert here, but the term *tap* confuzzles me- isn't the more common method to pull them? Either way, if the OP is not terribly experienced in setup & repair I'd suggest leaving it to a pro- it's remarkably easy to jack up a bass(speaking from experience ).

HUH?

You gotta take them out to get them level?

Ididntknowthat!

[John Wentzien]

No problem at all!!!

edit<< You'll have to adjust the truss-rod after you restring the bass!

[Musiclogic]

Fret leveling is usually $100 to $200 in most shops dependant on the amount of "real" work that is needed. Please leave the frets in, refrets will add another $200+ to the job...LMAO geeeeez

[JLS]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Would I be doing the luthier a disservice by just bringing the neck and not the whole bass?

I mean - he's only gonna level and re-whatever to the frets, right?

This is a joke, right?

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by JLS

This is a joke, right?

Uh uh!

Serious as a heart attack!

I wonder if taking just the neck - (you know - where the frets are) to the luthier is all that's necessary.

I can perform intonation, shimming and heights, but taking a 24 inch mill bastard to the frets has me a little nervous.

Hmmm - wonder if the filter will catch that PERFECTLY LEGAL AND LOGICAL NAME FOR A FILE out of this post?

[Fasoldt Basses]

I'd bring the whole bass, strung up and everything. A good luthier will want to test the strength of the neck and the abilities of the truss rod before they start working on the frets. If there's a problem with the neck, they might be able to correct it by replacing a few frets or by leveling with the neck adjusted slightly out of dead straight.

[Musiclogic]

Surfer...bring the whole bass. You can have the frets leveled by just bringing the neck, but this is a waste of the luthiers time, and your money, as none of the final touch ups can be done before polishing without doing a set up on the bass, if you cannot bring yourself to comprehend this after redundant advisions, you should avoid taking your bass to any luthier, buy an Erlewine neck jig, a set of radius blocks, a bench plate or fret leveling beam, a crowning file, a set of precision ground straight edges, a fret dressing file, crowning sticks, moto tool and fret polishing wheels and Jewlers rouge, and do it yourself.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by bassteban

I'm no expert here, but the term *tap* confuzzles me- isn't the more common method to pull them? Either way, if the OP is not terribly experienced in setup & repair I'd suggest leaving it to a pro- it's remarkably easy to jack up a bass(speaking from experience ).

I prefer a Sawz-All for efficient and thorough fret removal.

[stflbn]

To do a fret leveling he will "FLATTEN" the neck completely... do all your leveling, crowing, and polishing, then re-setup the bass after all is done. Definitely asking for less possible problems if you take him the entire bass.

A fret leveling and a refretting of a neck are ENTIRELY different things. I do all my own fret-levelings, crownings, polishing, but I would never consider doing my own refret work.

.

[202dy]

Actually, this is a good question, and one that deserves a serious answer.

Many luthiers employ a surrogate body when doing fret work. Some will simply use an old body and bridge they have lying around the shop (trust me, if they've been at the craft for any length of time, they have something in the back ready to go). Or it may be a more complex set up that allows the entire neck to sit proud of the body. That gives the best access to the upper frets.

The neck is removed from the existing body and bolted to the surrogate and strung to tension. Adjustments are made on the bench and the frets are then leveled, crowned and polished. When the fret dress is completed the neck is bolted to the original body and a set up is performed before the service is complete.

So the answer to your question is, yes.

Sort of.

Here's the catch. Once the neck leaves the luthier's shop, he cannot be held responsible for what the owner does with it. If the owner is not particularly well versed in doing set up work, the luthier will ultimately get the blame. The owner may go so far as to tell all his friends what a bad guy the tech is, get nasty on the phone or his shop, pillage his pantry, pour salt on his fields, and just generally carry on cranky.

It is quite a risk for the intrepid instrument repairman. However, if you have a good relationship with him, go ahead and ask.

By the by, why would you want to go this route instead of letting the luthier do the complete job?

[JLS]

Once the neck leaves the luthier's shop, he cannot be held responsible for what the owner does with it. If the owner is not particularly well versed in doing set up work, the luthier will ultimately get the blame. The owner may go so far as to tell all his friends what a bad guy the tech is, get nasty on the phone or his shop, pillage his pantry, pour salt on his fields, and just generally carry on cranky.

Yep...

[Joshua]

Much wisdom.

[Musiclogic]

26 years in this business, I have not heard of too many luthiers or repairmen that will do a leveling and redress with a surrogate body. You can level the frets without any body, anyone who does this for work or career, knows you don't need a body to level frets, but you do need the instrument to complete the set up for that instrument. If you do a fret job without the instrument, you are jobbing your customer.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

26 years in this business, I have not heard of too many luthiers or repairmen that will do a leveling and redress with a surrogate body. You can level the frets without any body, anyone who does this for work or career, knows you don't need a body to level frets, but you do need the instrument to complete the set up for that instrument. If you do a fret job without the instrument, you are jobbing your customer.

Standard operating procedure at many shops. This is especially true if they use a neck jig. There are a number of good reasons to use one. The surrogate body eliminates accidental damage from a stray file. Abrasives or steel wool particles do not find there way into pickups. It also allows setting up a repeatable, constant base line from which to compare/contrast necks.

Methods of work are a constant source of discussion and debate. There are many who do not believe in or use a neck jig. Some feel that the best fret work can only be performed when the body and neck are mated and worked on as a whole. Others feel strongly that the neck can be worked on separately. To each his own.

My personal preference is to work with a surrogate body and a neck jig.