Does this price for a fret dress and setup seem allright?

[_tom_]

I just emailed a guy who seems to be the only tech in my area about getting a proper setup on my Pearl (not always staying in tune, low upper fret sustain and a bit buzzy). His reply was

"It sounds as if your Les Paul copy needs a fret dress and full set up.  Shortness of sustain at the upper frets means the neck has bowed a little too much under tension causing it to curve up at the body-end, choking off the notes.  This symptom, and fret-buzz anywhere on the fingerboard, are common occurrences and can be rectified by truss rod adjustment and a fret dress.  Not holding its tune is normally due to the strings binding in the nut slots.
 
A fret dress involves removing the pickups (but leaving them connected), masking the body around end of the fingerboard (if this is a fixed-neck copy) and levelling, re-shaping, sanding (1000-grit) and polishing the frets. to restore the profile that enables a low action with no fret buzz.  
 
The cost is £110 for a fixed-neck guitar, £95 if it has a bolt-on neck.  Prices include all the adjustments of a full set-up. "

Sound about right and like he knows what he's on about? I've never heard from anyone who's used him before so I have no idea what the quality is like. Just dont want to end up paying too much for anything.

Cheers :)

[Will]

I paid 50 or 60 for my epiphone to be set up, dressed, and recutting of a nut slot.
that seems a lot

[Twinfan]

I paid around £80 I think for a full setup, nut swap and bridge post swap.

It sounds a little bit expensive, but what other options do you have?

[FELINEGUITARS]

Sounds just a little more expensive than my current prices but not wildly so.

As long as his work is good then it sounds ok
Interestingly - he sounds like he takes care with all the detail about the pickup protection.

[_tom_]

I paid around £80 I think for a full setup, nut swap and bridge post swap.

It sounds a little bit expensive, but what other options do you have?

Was thinking I could take it to Feline but train prices would probably mean it would cost the same, if not more :( I'm pretty sure this guy is the only one in my area, theres no one else in the yellow pages at least :\

[indysmith]

Sounds like a major rip to me. I Paid £70 for installation of a humbucker, fret dress, string change and setup. He even polished up the whole guitar for me and treated the fretboard beautifully.

[Afghan Dave]

Was thinking I could take it to Feline but train prices would probably mean it would cost the same, if not more :( I'm pretty sure this guy is the only one in my area, theres no one else in the yellow pages at least :\

It's an easy route for you down to Feline from Kettering - straight into St Pancrass on Midland Mainline - Swap platform and go straight through to East Croydon - Really it's not much longer for you than it is for me.

Once you're there and can have a look at his workshop full of treasures!

I know Jon sounds quite scary but he's a lovely man deep down and his fretwork & setups are flawless.

[WezV]

not all fret dresses are created equal and it sounds like his is quite thorough, i dont think the price is too bad if he is good at what he does but ask to see some of his work first and pay particular attention to the shape and finish of the frets.

If jonathan does it for less, or even slightly more once you have posted or travelled... then thats definately worth considering given his reputation for fretwork

[Stevepage]

I'm paying about £80 for a possible fret dress on one of my 7 strings. Includes clean up, filing nut slots for bigger strings and intonation.

[ToneMonkey]

Can you get to Leicester (well near Leicester anyway)?

There's one of my mates here that does a cracking job.  Noramlly charges in the region of 60-70 I think......... but bring your own strings  :lol:

[jpfamps]

This does seem to be towards the top of what you might expect to pay without going to the really top guys, however as a previous poster said there are fret dresses and there are fret dresses.....

To do a really good job takes both time and skill. You are also paying for the repairer not only to get you guitar playing optimally, but also not to damage your guitar. I've seen a "fret dress and set up" done in about 30 minutes! Needless to say the fret board was scored and the pickups were full of fillings from the frets (which are of course attracted to magnets!). Incidentally the customer was very happy with the outcome because the job was cheap!

Many customers just want cheap — they have have cheap gear and want a cheap repair, and object to paying for anything. Unfortunately cheap gear is often much more expensive to repair the decent kit.

I have lost count of the amount of times I've been brought a cheap amp/ebay wreck and then been told that the repair is too expensive to proceed with by the customer. I won't do "cheap" jobs, although obviously the stakes are slightly higher when dealing with amps......

The guy I use for my guitars has an excellent reputation and all of his work I've seen is excellent. I would checkout to see if this chap's work is well regarded before you spend any money with him.

As we always say "buy cheap buy twice".

[ToneMonkey]

As we always say "buy cheap buy twice".

We use "You can have it done cheap, quickly or well.  Chose two of the three"  :D

[_tom_]

Can you get to Leicester (well near Leicester anyway)?

There's one of my mates here that does a cracking job.  Noramlly charges in the region of 60-70 I think......... but bring your own strings  :lol:

Yeah, I can get to Leicester no problem, only 20 mins or so on the train. So you reckon his work is good then - you had a fret dress from him or seen/played any guitars which he's done one on? That's sounding like the best option so far, only a fiver each way on the train for me and itl work out much cheaper than this guy here :)

[ToneMonkey]

If you're on the train then you'll need Hinckley.  I'll ask him next time I see him if he's taking on work at the minute.  If he is then I'll pick you up from the station and go for a beer while the works being done....... you'll probably have to get a taxi back though as I get carried away in pubs.

I have had a fiddle with a couple of the guitars that he built (and therefore did all the fretting) and they were lovely.  But my opinion isn't great as I'm cr@p on a guitar.  Have a look at his website www.deltaresonatorguitars.co.uk and see what you think.  Personally I trust him 100%, I've seen his work and know him well.

Let me know if you want to go this option and I'll have a word with him.  Got to go and see him soon anyway.  Obviously I can't say that he'll definately do it as I know he's got a lot on.

[_tom_]

Maybe I'm searching the wrong thing but according to midlandmainline.com, kettering to hinckley takes about an hour, whilst to leicester its about 20-25 mins. Is it really that much further?

Anyway, if you could see if he has the time that'd be great. Wouldn't mind saving a bit of money on that and his stuff looks nice (plus it'd shut TO up about the UK forum meet ups :P)