Refretting

[Ian Price]

Thanks all - it's a rosewood board so hopefully that won't need 'stuff' doing to it as well.

[AndyR]

For folks worried about the extra "stuff" on refretting maple boards (relacquering) - I was worried on my Baja but needn't have been. (I'm talking new here, obviously, not vintage - I'd be after some advice myself there :lol:)

It was an extra £50 on top of the refret itself and, I'm guessing, roughly a week's delay to getting the guitar back because of the prep and trip to the paint shop, but BOY was it worth it :D. Doesn't improve the playing, but it's so much nicer to look at, and caress lovingly, especially when cleaning it!! I didn't see what it looked like with the frets pulled (which was when we decided on a relacquer) so I don't know how bad it was - but I expect it to have been pretty messy given the build up lacquer round the original frets. Having been through it now, I'd happily regard it at as part of the job on a maple fingerboard and would budget accordingly.

It was only the board relacquered, not the back or headstock. And, although both Jonathan and I could see it's very slightly lighter when viewing real close in comparison with the headstock, you cannot see the difference when glancing casually - if anything slightly lighter goes better with the body, and it's certainly more consistent in shading along the whole board now. More importantly, I cannot see or feel a join at the edge of the board. If didn't know already (and if I wasn't intimately familiar with the original lumpy lacquer), I wouldn't know it had been done.

I have to say, I agree with Wez earlier - although they're what I've put on my Baja (and I'm loving them big time) I really would think twice about Dunlop 6000 on a vintage tele!!

My gut feeling Ian is that I'd go for the refret on yours without any feeling of doubt or guilt - I'd want a playable guitar :D

[Philly Q]

I have to say, I agree with Wez earlier - although they're what I've put on my Baja (and I'm loving them big time) I really would think twice about Dunlop 6000 on a vintage tele!!

Apart from anything else, I think huge jumbo frets would be out of place on a vintage 7.25" radius - you'd still have the same old problem of "choking" on bends anyway.  Just seems wrong really.

[AndyR]

I have to say, I agree with Wez earlier - although they're what I've put on my Baja (and I'm loving them big time) I really would think twice about Dunlop 6000 on a vintage tele!!

Apart from anything else, I think huge jumbo frets would be out of place on a vintage 7.25" radius - you'd still have the same old problem of "choking" on bends anyway.  Just seems wrong really.

I dunno Philly - I've never had this "choking on bends" problem of which everyone speaks. My old JV strat that did hundreds of gigs has vintage radius, my #1 CIJ strat has vintage radius, and my new CIJ tele has vintage radius (we nearly changed the Baja, but I decided not to, if I'd had the CIJ in my hands when we were discussing the Baja, I probably would have done...)

I suspect I have a slightly higher action than folks that experience this choking - I cannot make any of my fender "vintage radius" guitars choke in this way... in fact the only choking I've ever experienced of this type has been on flatter gibson type necks! :roll: (classy set ups I suspect :lol:)

Jumbos do "look" very odd on a tele until you get used to it, but feel-wise I love it. Good ole Alice is an absolute dream for me now... My #1 strat will definitely get the same treatment when she needs any fretwork.

Not sure about the other tele at the moment - her action happily goes lower than the other two anyway, but it has "vintage correct" fretwire, and I'm finding it real hard to play after a stint on Alice. I don't want to spend any money on her at the moment though - she plays fine, sounds different, leave well alone (need more blackguards, need more blackguards... down fido!! :lol:)

For an old guitar though - if it was a tele I'd owned myself from the 70s, I'd have no doubts at all about sticking the wire I wanted on it. But if I'd bought a 50s or 60s as a vintage guitar (unlikely to happen, even if I could afford it!), I'd probably not.... (I'd still refret it if it needed it tho...)

[FELINEGUITARS]

Andy - you do play with a slightly higher action (not much higher though) than some
However I do tend to put a little bit of compound radius into my fret dresses anyway (and that goes for refrets too)
We try hard to reduce the likelihood of choking on the jobs we do
Still hard to do on a 7.25" neck but it's an improvement
the worst choking on an old Fender is always on the high E as you are seriously making it go "uphill"

For proof of this if you gat choking on the high e - take a ruler and lie it acros the frets and make it sit at the same angle as the string becomes when you bend it
It will probably rock on the frets!

[Philly Q]

I suspect I have a slightly higher action than folks that experience this choking - I cannot make any of my fender "vintage radius" guitars choke in this way... in fact the only choking I've ever experienced of this type has been on flatter gibson type necks! :roll: (classy set ups I suspect :lol:)

Yeah, higher action helps a lot.  I also find, personally, that it's quite hard to maintain finger pressure on those skinny vintage frets, so I tend to "lose" notes.   I've had several vintage radius guitars, but never got comfortable with them.   Having said that, I don't like a really flat board - Fender 9.5" or PRS 10" feel just right to me.

[Underground_Player]

I've never had choking with a 7.25" either. Just measured the top E on the Tele and it's around 2.5 - 3mm above the 12th fret, which I suppose is on the high side.
Thing is, with a higher action, it's much less easy to accidentally lose notes like Philly Q mentioned. I guess it gives you the space to get the meat of your finger onto the string before you bend it..

Bigger frets pretty much solve everything though!!

[Lazy_McDoesnothing]

For folks worried about the extra "stuff" on refretting maple boards (relacquering) - I was worried on my Baja but needn't have been. (I'm talking new here, obviously, not vintage - I'd be after some advice myself there :lol:)

It was an extra £50 on top of the refret itself and, I'm guessing, roughly a week's delay to getting the guitar back because of the prep and trip to the paint shop, but BOY was it worth it :D. Doesn't improve the playing, but it's so much nicer to look at, and caress lovingly, especially when cleaning it!! I didn't see what it looked like with the frets pulled (which was when we decided on a relacquer) so I don't know how bad it was - but I expect it to have been pretty messy given the build up lacquer round the original frets. Having been through it now, I'd happily regard it at as part of the job on a maple fingerboard and would budget accordingly.

Thanks for this post.  I was considering starting a thread asking about how much of a PITA maple boards were to do.  I have 2 guitars with maple boards that need refretting and one of them has binding as well.  The extra cost is what's keeping me from getting them done, might just have to sell them. :(