Leveling/Crowning v.s. refretting.

[spencer]

How do I know if my bass needs leveling or crowning? I mean my frets are 17 years old and definatly need some work but how do I know if its too the point of refretting?

[Doctor J]

If you've got buzzing, levelling and crowning should suffice. You'd only replace the frets if you wanted to change the size of the frets or if you'd worn grooves so deep into the frets as to render levelling and crowning pointless. Look at the lowest groove in the fret, that's about the height the frets would be after levelling. Can you live with that?

[fretless Bob]

well it all depends on how deep the grooves in your frets are and if any of the frets are lifted or not, i think your best bet is to take your bass to a pro luthier/repairman and have them give you a diognosis.

by the way you might get a better response in the set up and repair forum.


Dave

[jvbjr]

Certainly the frets will be shorter in height later, basically the fret height will be equal to that of your current deepest groove. So it is possible to level and dress frets, however will the result be so short you will be unhappy? I suggest you find your deepest groove and measure the height from the fingerboard to its valley to determine what your new height will be. I would then look at manufacturer's websites and see if anyone is using fret wire of equal height to what your resulting height will be, go to Guitar Center and play such a bass to get a feel for what you are in store for. A refret hurts resale value, even though it makes an instrument more usable.