mojogood Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The original frets on my '57 Southern Jumbo are about .022" to .025" in height and I'm wondering if it's time for a refret. Every now and then, an E string will slide off the edge, due to the wear on the fret ends but otherwise, it plays good. If I refret it, the binding nubs would be sanded off so that the new frets can be extended over the edge of the binding which would give me a longer fret and more room on the fingerboard. I'm a fingerpicker and I figured that taller frets would allow me to play with a lighter touch. The old frets are .080" wide and I don't know what crown height would be best but I'm thinking of .043" (before leveling), like my Martins. MY Questions: 1. Do I need to go ahead and refret it or forget about it and leave it original. 2. If I refret, what size fretwire would be good for it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is a "players" guitar with lots of mojo but it is in excellent playing condition and sounds...........well uhh, like a 50 year old Gibson should. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acousticworship Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Personally, I'd leave it alone unless it's just really getting unplayable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The original frets on my '57 Southern Jumbo are about .022" to .025" in height and I'm wondering if it's time for a refret. Every now and then' date=' an E string will slide off the edge, due to the wear on the fret ends but otherwise, it plays good. If I refret it, the binding nubs would be sanded off so that the new frets can be extended over the edge of the binding which would give me a longer fret and more room on the fingerboard. I'm a fingerpicker and I figured that taller frets would allow me to play with a lighter touch. The old frets are .080" wide and I don't know what crown height would be best but I'm thinking of .043" (before leveling), like my Martins. MY Questions: 1. Do I need to go ahead and refret it or forget about it and leave it original. 2. If I refret, what size fretwire would be good for it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is a "players" guitar with lots of mojo but it is in excellent playing condition and sounds...........well uhh, like a 50 year old Gibson should. :) [/size'] [/img] "Is it a tool or an icon" is the way some observers boil down the question you pose. If it is your intention to play your '57 SJ, then I'd suggest you refret it so that you can useably play the guitar rather than struggle with "original" frets, as if to pay homage to the worn originals. At some point, that's a decision you'll have to make yourself. My input would be to say that ultimately, if you decide the guitar is your tool to enjoy and to play, then go and do "maintenance" to it, by refretting. Perhaps not a completely appropriate analogy, but I would liken it to changing a worn muffler on a car, or replacing the worn bias ply tires with new radials. My '53 SJ sounds great, looks worn, and plays fair, but for me, when it comes time to refret (not too far off), I will certainly consider refretting using a slightly larger wire. Heck, I even got a pickup installed in my '59 so I could play out with it (gasp!). Hope that helps, Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojogood Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 "Is it a tool or an icon" is the way some observers boil down the question you pose. Thanks Fred, that's a great way to look at it and I don't use it as a professional tool but I don't consider it an Icon at all. I'd say it's closer being a tool since I use it when I feel the need to hear that deep dry Gibson mahogany bass thunk for my boom/chick playing and the strong high notes for bluesy stuff. You know what I'm talking about, for sure since you own a '53. I'd love to see a pic of it. When you mention a larger fret, are you refering to crown height, width, or both? A little more width could possibly come in handy to cover up any possible chip-out when removing the old frets. I believe the SJ went to a larger fret in the late 50s but I don't know what size they were. Here's a pic of the old SJ. You can see the wear around the sound hole and there's several repaired cracks on the back (due to a loose brace years ago) but, it's all original except for the saddle, pins & tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Nice SJ -- and that burst finish is very typical of the latter '50s 'bursts, with the thinner edge/bigger burst area. This is my '53: It's an Alberta farm warhorse, spent most of its life in rural Alberta. Not pretty but sounds pretty good! Here's the '59 Country Western: Sorry I don't have any closer photos of it. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojogood Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Now that's a nice SJ with the small PG and I like the burst with a thicker edge. The C&W is a nice one too. When I put down my newish Martin and get out my SJ, it's a whole 'nuther experience in sound, sight, smell, feel and a weird sense of how many folks the old guitar has made music for. ***Whoa Fred, I just noticed the "through saddle" on your SJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 ***Whoa Fred' date=' I just noticed the "through saddle" on your SJ. :D [/quote'] Generally, '53 is about the last year you see the through saddles. '54 seems to be the transition year to the drop in saddle. Don't think there's any tonal contribution one way or t'other -- but the drop in does make it easier to stick a UST in the guitar. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Regarding the e-string slipping off the neck..on my 1956 Epiphone F-79 (Texan) had a similar situation when I firfirst bought it used and thought it might be in need of a re-fret...especially as visually it looked like the end of the fret might have been too worn down as the cause. However, I first played around with the truss rod a number of times, changing the bow of the neck (and the angle of the string over the fretboard, too...I suppose) and that solved the occasional E-string slide off issue. Hasn't had a similar issue in over 5 years now. QM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I've had the same difficulty, that being "high E-string finger slippage", on new Gibsons (two to be exact). In those instances, merely a case of the installation of an improperly-cut nut. Same problem, different cause, different solution. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Come to think of it, I also changed the nut after I bought my '56 Texan, which was quite worn down. So, yes...that too likely contributed to stopping it, too by changing the e-string's angle and height. QM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Very nice guitar! I am in agreement with shrimer. Replacing the nut and cutting the E slots in from the edge a tad, may solve your slippage problem. Worth a try before doing a total refret....unless the fret height is an issue also. Good Luck, RRod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojogood Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 Actually, the slippage isn't very bad and I don't need a refret for that reason alone. It's just tempting to have full fer height and be able to extend the frets over the binding like in the pic below of a neat refret on a LP. I also like the shallow angle on the fret ends............ still pondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We should all strive for 'full fret height' and 'extension' ! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I had to make a new nut for the 89 J200 due to the pattern being too wide & the high e slipping off. That almost never happens, usually the pattern is spot-on. Seriously amazing what a difference 0.010" or 0.012" will make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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