Refretting questions

[Denis]

Blackbird's followup on strings and refretting, etc in the Ric threads prompted me to ask, "just how invasive is refretting"? The only bass I have which needs it is my '75 p-bass. It's a maple board and I don't know how or why but some of the frets are worn down so much they are practically flat.

A buddy was given a local quote of $350 to refret his Strat, so I can't imagine refretting a P-bass would be less.

Thoughts?

[Dave W]

That sounds a bit high to me. From what I've seen, about $250 for a maple board is more common in most areas (guitar or bass). That's from someone who knows how to do it without having to refinish the neck. The frets were installed from the side, and they need to be removed the same way or the surface will get chipped and have to be filled and repaired. If you decide to have it done, make sure it's someone who has experience doing it the right way. Some shops won't do them at all, which is better than taking it to someone who will hack it up.

Edit: take a look at this, this guy (Bryan Galloup) owns the shop originally started by Dan Erlewine. He also teaches courses in repair and building.

[dadagoboi]

Blackbird's followup on strings and refretting, etc in the Ric threads prompted me to ask, "just how invasive is refretting"? The only bass I have which needs it is my '75 p-bass. It's a maple board and I don't know how or why but some of the frets are worn down so much they are practically flat.

A buddy was given a local quote of $350 to refret his Strat, so I can't imagine refretting a P-bass would be less.

Thoughts?

Frets don't get worn down flat, they get notched directly under the most used notes.  If some frets are flat all the way across they may have been filed without recrowning.

$350 doesn't sound that far off the mark for a full refret.  $300 was reasonable a few years ago in a high cost of living area.  Having lived in NC, it qualifies as that to me.  State income taxes are HIGH there!  A partial refret may be a possibility.  Whichever, it will be worth the $ if done right.

[gweimer]

I know that Mark paid $350 for a full refret of the Embassy a few years back in Chicago.

[Highlander]

Quality work is worth every cent/penny...

I was astounded with what Peter Cook did to my RD when he gound down the frets rather than pulling-and-filling so I could experiment with running the beast fretless - all shiney fret-markers and no buzz...

[drbassman]

Refretting properly is a the key to a good playing bass.  $350 isn't out of sight if the luthier knows what he is doing.  Someone screwed up the frets on your bass for sure!