my LP needs work =(

[adamj]

i took my chinese epi LP into a local luthier/guitar workshop for a setup yesterday as it is a new guitar for me and i have a few gigs coming up. I noticed there was a dead spot on the high e at the top of the fretboard, and the guys pointed out that the frets wernt sitting in the board properly i.e. making full contact in the middle but slightly raised atthe edges.
anyway the shop quoted around another £100 to get this sorted . Once i have some money ill get this done as i want the guitar to be the best it can be. im guessing some of you have done this before, how much work is this to get right? any similar experiences to share?

[Alex]

If it is new you might be better of returning it.  Not sure if bad frets count as a quality issue/fault, though.

[adamj]

i bought it for £180 2nd hand, but basically "as new" when it arrived, so with the money i saved its not too bad. Apparently the luthier said 9/10 chinese ones are like this, korean are miles better....
im happy to keep it though, its way sexy my girlfriend is jealous :)

[choucas09]

£100 to sort a few frets out seems pricey.

[FELINEGUITARS]

If the repairer is going to reseat some frets and then do a fret-dress and set up then the price is about right.
Reseating and reglueing is fairly time consuming , but if he does a good fret dress then the guitar should be great

[Telerocker]

You can't buy a decent guitar for hundred quid. Anyway, that's the shadowside of some chinese copies. Workmanship not happening. Cheap hardware. I have a Yamaha pacifica 311ms, sort of a telecaster. Body, neck and frets great, as is the sustain/vibe. Tuners, pots, bridge, pickups were rubbish. Replaced them all with quality components, with costs about the price of the guitar, but now it's a fine guitar.

[Sifu Ben]

Yeah, like Feline said, it seems costly but a decent fret job will really elevate your guitar, so is well worth it.

[adamj]

yeah, feline u said it takes a while, what kind of time frame would you expect? The shop is the only oen in this area and for example its gonna take about a week to get it back from being set up. Would they take off every fret and re set them all?

[FELINEGUITARS]

yeah, feline u said it takes a while, what kind of time frame would you expect? The shop is the only oen in this area and for example its gonna take about a week to get it back from being set up. Would they take off every fret and re set them all?

No - thats a refret when you remove the frets
I'm suggesting that they reseat them and flow a little glue under and hopefully dress the tops of them

I reckon that they will spend 3-4 hours actually working on the guitar  and fitting it in the schedule may take however long (for us it can be anywhere between 5-10 working days typically)

[ericsabbath]

you better gather some money, sell it and buy an edwards or something

korean epiphones aren't the best example of reliable guitars at all
I've seen epi les paul customs with over 11 piece alder body backs, nato necks and no top at all, full plywood body flying V's, factory glued headstocks (very common), SG's made with some porous and very fragile light toned wood

[choucas09]

I'm inclined to agree with the above. £100 to sort the frets outs and no doubt the hardware and certainly the pickups will be underwhelming. there are some pretty nice guitars out there for £180 plus £100. I've wasted a lot of money back in time buying cheap, since I've been buying higher grade I've ended up with keepers. Sorry to sound not too positive mate, but that is how the proverbial cookie crumbles.