refret for 78 Musicmaster

[black57]

So I just got done talking to the repair guy and he said there were humps in the neck and the only way to fix it was to do a complete refret. The neck also needs a new nut. He quoted the cost to be a little over $400 which costs more than the bass. Is 400 for the new fret job, nut and setup worth it or can I get it cheaper somewhere else.

[XylemBassGuitar]

Without actually seeing the bass I am kind of guessing here, so take this with a small grain of salt.

$400 for all of those repairs/modifications sounds about right. You are looking at a minimum of about $200 for just the refret plus a bit extra if he/she needs to dramatically re-level the fretboard itself. Add at least $30 for a custom-made nut and about $40 for the setup. It also depends on who will be doing the modifications. If it is an accomplished luthier that you trust, $400 would be reasonable. If it's just some guitar tech without much experience he/she may be over-charging you. I've found that repair charges can have quite the range for similar procedures.

Probably the best thing to do would be to get a second opinion and compare the estimates.

As far as whether or not the repair is worth the cost, you should ask yourself if you'd be happier with a brand-new instrument or if you just love that MusicMaster too much and can't let her go. If the person that does the repairs knows what they are doing, the bass should play really well when it is finished.

You should post some pictures of that thing once the repairs are done (if you do them of course).

Have a good one.

[Pilgrim]

Might be smart to see if you can find a replacement neck.

[therex]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Might be smart to see if you can find a replacement neck.

+1
it could also be cheaper