Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Would you refret, etc....or move on?
- Thread starter Runnerman
- Start date
Another vote for re-crowning here.
Had it done on my main bass since 16 years (and I bought it used...) a while back and it came out stellar. A skilled luthier helps, of course...
Had it done on my main bass since 16 years (and I bought it used...) a while back and it came out stellar. A skilled luthier helps, of course...
yeah,just recrown them,your frets have only a little more wear than mine though. now I'm concerned for MY bass.
Wasn't the idea behind Fender's design that when the frets wore out you just throw out the neck and get another?
But really, get the frets leveled. It's something like $75 or $100 and worth it. I just had my 22 year old Fender levelled, plays better than the day I bought it.
But really, get the frets leveled. It's something like $75 or $100 and worth it. I just had my 22 year old Fender levelled, plays better than the day I bought it.
If you dig the bass, a level and crown would be perfectly fine. Like everyone said, there's more than enough material to make the job turn out fantastic.
As stated, a proper crown and level would make it play like a DREAM!
And if you want to upgrade pickups, there's no shortage of options.
But the ability to walk away at no cost is certainly something to consider. And this is coming from a frequent bass flipper here, so I know the draw.
If you have buyers remorse...
If you don't like the way it (fill in the blank)...
If it has a funny smell...
If you want to upgrade...
You just have to decide if it's worth it to you to have it done.
Keep in mind, a new bass could need work, too.
This bass would turn out drastically better with the right tech doing the work.
If it were me? Unless I loved an aspect of the bass, I'd trade it in and get my money back for something else.
But in all fairness, I'm one of those guys who runs through basses fast, so...
As stated, a proper crown and level would make it play like a DREAM!
And if you want to upgrade pickups, there's no shortage of options.
But the ability to walk away at no cost is certainly something to consider. And this is coming from a frequent bass flipper here, so I know the draw.
If you have buyers remorse...
If you don't like the way it (fill in the blank)...
If it has a funny smell...
If you want to upgrade...
You just have to decide if it's worth it to you to have it done.
Keep in mind, a new bass could need work, too.
This bass would turn out drastically better with the right tech doing the work.
If it were me? Unless I loved an aspect of the bass, I'd trade it in and get my money back for something else.
But in all fairness, I'm one of those guys who runs through basses fast, so...
I don't get all the fuss, refretting isn't that hard to do. if you bang the bass around a lot buy some stainless frets, replace them yourself level them , crown them and file the fret ends to your liking. If you then NEED to have it perfect take it in..
Yup. I bought a used high milage Ken Smith that had grooves WAY worse than yours. I had it recrowned for about $85 and it plays like new. The Luthier did tell me that next time, it would take a refret, but like I said it was WAY worse than yours. Been playing it ever since and it's still looking good.
My philosophy for selling it was that if the thing was played so much that huge grooves were worn in the frets, chances are very good that this was an exceptional bass that someone really liked a lot! If it had been a nasty playing/sounding bass it would have sat home a lot and not clocked the miles. All the more reason to get a fret job rather than sell.
I agree 100%, those babies are just showing some character. There are still a few clean-ups left on those if you know what you're doing. I've done tons of those for people.
Another "level & recrown" vote, bigtime - those are just not even close to "that bad"....
If you're handy, you can do it yourself, there's a really neat tool we use called the "Rectifymaster":
Invalid Link Removed
We don't recommend the "bass" version, the "guitar" one seems to work really well for most situations. They're also putting out a newer, simpler version of it, and we should have one soon to check out - if you're curious, PM me and I'll let you know how it worked out.
If you're handy, you can do it yourself, there's a really neat tool we use called the "Rectifymaster":
Invalid Link Removed
We don't recommend the "bass" version, the "guitar" one seems to work really well for most situations. They're also putting out a newer, simpler version of it, and we should have one soon to check out - if you're curious, PM me and I'll let you know how it worked out.
+1
I flip so frequently I wouldn't mess up over an already secondhand, not attached to it, bass
Yet
if any affection's goin' on, together with certain cash shortage
I'd definitely take recrownin' into consideration
Cheers,
Wallace
Bridge Builder
Commercial User
- Mar 22, 2000
- 1,156
- 86
- 46
- Disclosures
- owner: J. Kennedy Guitar Repair, Guitar tech for Walk the Moon
Those frets aren't bad and all that's needed is a fret dress (aka Level and recrown). In my shop that's about a $100+/- job and comes with a full set up, buffing of the frets to new, a re-slot of the nut if that's needed from removing the tops of the frets, and a thorough going over from top to bottom of the instrument. (if you're spending $100 you should have the instrument functioning perfectly when it leaves the shop) Depending on fretwire size, material, and rate of wear you may be able to get as many as 4 dressings out of a set of frets (2-3 is more typical). There are lots of factors with that.
As for this:
Sure, refretting isn't hard to do... after you've done about 15 of them. Having done around 100 refrets, partial refrets, and fret dressings in just the last year I can say this: no two fretwork jobs go exactly the same. To do them correctly and at a high level requires hundreds of dollars of tools and materials. If you've never attempted a refret before make sure the instrument in question is able to be deemed worthless in case you screw it up. If you want to play with stainless steel fretwire understand that your expensive tools will get chewed up at a remarkable rate. The last thing a beginner needs is to start on a job like I stumbled into a few months ago: a vintage guitar with a compound radius board and requiring a full "glue in" fret job. The end result: custom shaping for each fret, 4 frets installed a day for a week and nearly 3 times the amount of time as a typical refret.
As for this:
Sure, refretting isn't hard to do... after you've done about 15 of them. Having done around 100 refrets, partial refrets, and fret dressings in just the last year I can say this: no two fretwork jobs go exactly the same. To do them correctly and at a high level requires hundreds of dollars of tools and materials. If you've never attempted a refret before make sure the instrument in question is able to be deemed worthless in case you screw it up. If you want to play with stainless steel fretwire understand that your expensive tools will get chewed up at a remarkable rate. The last thing a beginner needs is to start on a job like I stumbled into a few months ago: a vintage guitar with a compound radius board and requiring a full "glue in" fret job. The end result: custom shaping for each fret, 4 frets installed a day for a week and nearly 3 times the amount of time as a typical refret.
Heck, I play some basses with that much fret wear.
If you can get the action to your preference without buzzing being troublesome, I wouldn't do anything to the bass.
YMMV, of course.
Musiclogic
Commercial User
- Aug 6, 2005
- 6,505
- 75
- 60
- Disclosures
- Owner/Builder: HJC Customs USA, The Cool Lute, C G O
Took it to a luthier yesterday. It was only about 10 thou at the worst, so yeah no problem to recrown. I went for it at $95. Amazing that it looked so bad....at least to me. I've always flipped things before they looked that bad. I really appreciate all the opinions guys. Now for the 3-4 week wait.
I'd hate to see what you guys categorize as "severe wear and tear". Any pics?
I'd hate to see what you guys categorize as "severe wear and tear". Any pics?
Bridge Builder
Commercial User
- Mar 22, 2000
- 1,156
- 86
- 46
- Disclosures
- owner: J. Kennedy Guitar Repair, Guitar tech for Walk the Moon
This is an old Hamer guitar that came in the shop today. The frets have been dressed down a few times, and the divots in the frets go almost all the way to the fingerboard under the unwound strings. THIS is serious wear.
They look fine to me, but when in doubt, go by sound and not by looks. If I'm not getting buzz that I can't get rid of by adjusting neck relief and bridge height, I don't need to mess with it. However as someone mentioned, it might be cheapest to ditch the bass, and of course you would want to do that before it gets any worse.
Here's a pic of my first fret, the worst one on my third neck. It's not causing any playing probs, so I don't need to level my frets right this moment. I'm going to do the frets and nut anyway just because it's a fun, easy thing to do, and I already have the tools (it's a one-time investment; after that, it's all free).
Here's the best starter article I've run across: Invalid Link Removed
