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Pre-CBS re-fret or not?

#22
I have some additional photos!

ImageUploadedByTalkBass1385757750.794502.jpgImageUploadedByTalkBass1385757771.768763.jpgImageUploadedByTalkBass1385757785.693479.jpg

Now you see the fingerboard is getting worn away!

Davo
 
#28
narud said:
if youre worried about the fretboard wear, id consider adjusting your left hand technique. the frets on my 62 jazz are lower than that and after owning it for the last 13 or 14 years i havent made any marks on the board like that. i play it with a dead straight neck and the action super low.
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Erm … I've just recently bought it - so I'm don't think it's about my technique!

Davo
 
#30
I bought a 64 P bass in 1976. I used Rotosound roundwounds, and in two years, chewed through the frets. I replaced the frets in 1978, my second refret job, and it turned out great. I had that bass until late 1983, and the new frets were holding up well.

If they are worn to the point you are wearing away the fingerboard, it's time to do a refret. Replacing frets is normal maintenance on a bass or guitar.
 
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#31
Steve Dallman said:
Replacing frets is normal maintenance on a bass or guitar.
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This.

Even collectors of 200+ year old Stradivarius instruments understand that proper maintenance doesn't detract from value. Many of those things have fingerboards and necks replaced, all kinds of repair work, and the people that appreciate them don't think any less of the instruments unless the work was poorly done. It certainly hasn't hurt their value.

It's funny to me how bent we can get over a refret on a working bass all of 40 years old. Properly done it will extend the useable life of the instrument and protect the "irreplaceable" brazilian rosewood fingerboard. Of course, some AVH collector type will disagree vehemently and it's certainly their right to do so. And its my right to be amused. :D

OP, its your bass, do what you will to make it enjoyable and work for you.:bassist:
 
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#32
bassie12 said:
It's funny to me how bent we can get over a refret on a working bass all of 40 years old. Properly done it will extend the useable life of the instrument and protect the "irreplaceable" brazilian rosewood fingerboard. Of course, some AVH collector type will disagree vehemently and it's certainly their right to do so. And its my right to be amused.
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Exactly. It's not a museum piece, a proper fret job ain't gonna make it any cheaper except to the purists who wouldn't want any other wear anyways. If the frets on my '63 were shot I wouldn't think twice about a new fret job (unless it had a maple fingerboard in which case refrets are a bit messier).
 
#33
bassie12 said:
This.

Even collectors of 200+ year old Stradivarius instruments understand that proper maintenance doesn't detract from value. Many of those things have fingerboards and necks replaced, all kinds of repair work, and the people that appreciate them don't think any less of the instruments unless the work was poorly done. It certainly hasn't hurt their value.

It's funny to me how bent we can get over a refret on a working bass all of 40 years old. Properly done it will extend the useable life of the instrument and protect the "irreplaceable" brazilian rosewood fingerboard. Of course, some AVH collector type will disagree vehemently and it's certainly their right to do so. And its my right to be amused. :D

OP, its your bass, do what you will to make it enjoyable and work for you.:bassist:
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:eyebrow: I think most everyone would agree that re-fretting is a necessary evil on vintage guitars when they get to the point that they won't play well anymore. And once they are at that point, a re-fret isn't going to hurt the value (compared to what it would be worth with used up frets).

But, if you had 2 '64 P Basses just like the OP's.. one that has worn original frets but the neck is still fully playable (like his), and the other with a fresh re-fret.. the original fretted one will always be worth more money.. and be easier to sell (as the word "re-fret" scares off a lot of potential buyers and collectors right off the bat). I know the OP said he wasn't worried about the value because he's keeping this bass, but the value is something to consider. How many people have said, "I'll never sell it" but eventually do?

Even with Stradivari violins, the prices can waver by millions of dollars from one violin to the next. The ones worth 5 or 6 million are almost always more original and in better condition than the ones worth 1 or 2 million - unless they were owned by someone famous, which at that point the violin itself doesn't matter as much, the value is about the provenance.
 
#35
Davo-London said:
Opinions folks.
I'm worried that the feel will be affected. However, maybe the sound will be even better? More articulate or maybe allow more digging in?
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The feel and sound will be affected if you refret. That's what you are looking for. Mining for an even better sound from a bass you already love by doing a major operation is risky. You will lose something about the way it feels and sounds now, guaranteed.. And you may or may not like it.

If you level those small indentations in the board, you've just lost that much material over the complete piece of wood. The profile of the neck is thinner by degrees. Maybe you notice that, maybe you don't.. Unless you are having problems with it affecting the intonation, I'd just live with it. I don't have a problem with those wear spots myself, because I play with my fingers as close to the top of the frets as possible, sometimes squarely on top of the frets for the sound it makes. This makes onstage doubling on fretless a lot easier too.

Whatever, don't take it to anybody who is eager to dig in to your instrument, just to have your instrument to point to as an example of their prowess with vintage Fenders....it happens.
 
#36
I had a new fret job done on my '69 P and it plays like new. But... they were SHOT! These don't look too bad. Try a recrown and relevel first. And play flats or rounds or whatever the hell you want as long as you PLAY that beauty! She's meant to have her voice heard.
 
#40
Get the frets dressed and leveled....it doesn't look like it has been done before and if the bass plays well clearly the wear is not over the edge to where a re-fret is required.

If you love rounds, use nickel as they will not wear the frets as badly.
 

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