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Unusual fretwear on my Epiphone


Ricochet

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Anyone notice unusual fretwear on their Epis?

After one year of intense playing on my 2005 Unsung LP Standard+ I'm looking at a fretdress within a few months. By my estimation(if this wear continues) I'll need a complete refret at the end of next year! :-s

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I don't want it to sound too alarming, but I never noticed this type of wear on my other guitars.

All other guitars are in cases or on stands. This one just rests beside me on the couch. It's my favourite by far. I pick it up whenever I feel like it, which happens a lot! Also I'm too lazy to plug it in and just **** around with it for an hour playing acoustically and really milk those notes. Alltho I consider myself a lighthanded player that may have contributed to the wear somewhat. Still, I'm a bit baffled. The last guitar that showed this kind of wear I played for 20 years...

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I don't want it to sound too alarming' date=' but I never noticed this type of wear on my other guitars.

All other guitars are in cases or on stands. This one just rests beside me on the couch. It's my favourite by far. I pick it up whenever I feel like it, which happens a lot! Also I'm too lazy to plug it in and just **** around with it for an hour playing acoustically and really milk those notes. Alltho I consider myself a lighthanded player that may have contributed to the wear somewhat. Still, I'm a bit baffled. The last guitar that showed this kind of wear I played for 20 years...[/quote']

 

This does sound excessive. I've been told, right or wrong, that Epi has been using a pretty soft fretwire for awhile !

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hmm, when i bought my lp custom last year, the action was quite low and i use 10 gouge string. after 6 months, few fret started to buzz, and i was surprised to see i have fretwears moslty at the first 5 frets, and the places that we like to bend, the frets are becoming flatter, with sharp edges. after that i got myself a strat to shred on, and the lp becomes my jazz guitar, put in 11s and made the action higher, now its medium high. i noticed after that i have not wear the frets out.

my tech advises me to change to stainless steel frets for long lasting, and one of my student bought the sg menace with brass fretwires, looks cool, anybody knows where to get that?

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my tech advises me to change to stainless steel frets for long lasting' date=' and one of my student bought the sg menace with brass fretwires, looks cool, anybody knows where to get that?[/quote']

 

I'm very reluctant to change to stainless. First I'm not particularly looking forward to do a refret on a 2 or 3 year old guitar, or any guitar for that matter... Then there's the tonal difference of steel frets which may not be to my liking. I really like the sound of my Epiphone as it is. Don't want to mess with the magic formula, you know?

I've never seen brass frets on electrics. Only on classical nylon stringed guitars. Don't they wear out in a couple of months?

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I'm very reluctant to change to stainless. First I'm not particularly looking forward to do a refret on a 2 or 3 year old guitar' date=' or any guitar for that matter... Then there's the tonal difference of steel frets which may not be to my liking. I [i']really[/i] like the sound of my Epiphone as it is. Don't want to mess with the magic formula, you know?

I've never seen brass frets on electrics. Only on classical nylon stringed guitars. Don't they wear out in a couple of months?

I know the brass bridge SADDLES, can wear down on telecasters in about 5 years, depending on beds, action, etc.

So fret would likely fair worse.

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What kind of strings are you using' date=' Ric?[/quote']

 

On my LP-type guitars I generally use D'Addario XL (0.010-0.046). I may have used a set of GHS Boomers on this particular guitar at some time, not sure.

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I've wondered about the hardness of Epi frets. After I did a fret level and dressing on my LP custom, it was slick, really slick. Ocassionally, I will bend a string and feel a grittyness. If I bend it back and forth a few times the grittyness goes away. Maybe it's dirt or time to change strings when that happens. I haven't seen any localized wear on any fret. They all look polished and shiny.

 

My LP gets 5 or 6 hours a week use and I bend strings a lot and I use a lot of vibrato in my technique. I'm a pretty heavy handed soloist. My '79 Strat shows slight wear in certain spots, but not enough to do anything but a simple fret level and dressing. It's never had anything done to it since it was new and I played it 3 nights a week on stage for about 7 years. It also got a lot of use through the 90's mostly at home and an ocassional gig. I have to say that since I bought the LP I have let the Strat rest in its coffin most of the time.

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I just had a refret done on my two year old sheraton. Yep, you got it. My frets were shiny and flat were I bend alot. I have never gone through frets like this. I play maybe fifteen hours a week. I had some stew mac jumbos installed. I hope they last. I use d Addario tens. My refret ran me about 280.00. He also put in a bone nut. With my upgrades and refret job I have about 1200.00 into this baby. I getting close to the cost of a new ES339.

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i've also had that problem with two of my guitars, both epiphones. i bought one in december of last year and in about 5 months it started with fret buzzes. they werent small fret buzzes typically found in many guitars because of truss rod or other things, but noticable fret wear. it looked pretty bad and i didnt play a much as i play today, i use to play my acoustic alot.... this problem, in addition to the quick nut wear, led to pretty bad action that is still till this day on my guitar.

i did an amataur fret leveling, which helped alittle, but the wear is stil there...

I'm afraid of upgrading an old epi i have because of that...

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After a close inspection under bright light, I have localized wear in the areas that I bend and do vibrato frequently. There is some flattening of certain high use frets. I still have lots of fret heightleft for another fret dressing, but a little over a years use on this guitar doesn't seem like it should be enough to create this kind of fret wear.

 

Stainless frets would last a long time and the wear would move to the strings instead of the frets. I wouldn't think that there would be a significant tone difference in SS. Fret dressing SS would require some pretty good sand paper and a lot of time to level, i'd think.

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After a close inspection under bright light' date=' I have localized wear in the areas that I bend and do vibrato frequently. There is some flattening of certain high use frets. I still have lots of fret heightleft for another fret dressing, but a little over a years use on this guitar doesn't seem like it should be enough to create this kind of fret wear.

 

Stainless frets would last a long time and the wear would move to the strings instead of the frets. I wouldn't think that there would be a significant tone difference in SS. Fret dressing SS would require some pretty good sand paper and a lot of time to level, i'd think.[/quote']

True, but you could always try fretwire from dunlop or any other place. you dont have to use stainless frets, i'm pretty sure any fretwire wil be better than the stock...

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I buy and sell a lot of *imports* and the first thing I check on Epi's is the fret wear. Some of these guitars are only a couple years old and look like they've been played 10 hours a day...hard...

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I have two Epi Dots, one 2004 and one 2005. The 05's frets have flat spots and grooves in them already. I own eleven guitars and none of them get a beating. I use Elixir Polyweb 10's on my LP's and the Dots. I think it's something about the fret wire on the '05 because the '04 still looks unworn. It's a real defect that should be addressed.

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well i have a 03 lp dw on serial dont know wich factory is but its made in china, its built like a tank, i just adjust it cuz i dindt like the action on it and frets are ok i play like 4 to 5 hours a day on it for about 3 years before i need to refrett it, soon ill have to refrett it again, but out of the box was ok

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I don't want it to sound too alarming' date=' but I never noticed this type of wear on my other guitars.

All other guitars are in cases or on stands. This one just rests beside me on the couch. It's my favourite by far. I pick it up whenever I feel like it, which happens a lot! Also I'm too lazy to plug it in and just **** around with it for an hour playing acoustically and really milk those notes. Alltho I consider myself a lighthanded player that may have contributed to the wear somewhat. Still, I'm a bit baffled. The last guitar that showed this kind of wear I played for 20 years...[/quote']

 

So Richochet - what you're implying is that Epiphone, for some unknown reason, might be using inferior fret wire compared to "other" guitars. I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. How much is "good" fret wire - $2.00 per guitar? What would Epiphone be saving - $0.50? Also - with all the talk of Epiphone's being made at the same factories where other brands are made including ESP, Ibanez, etc., are you telling me the guy that puts in the fret wire sees an Epiphone coming down the line and switches fret wire? Not likely. Well in the spirit of this post, I have some great USA-made guitars where the fret ends are popping out the of the fingerboard, slicing my hand and pushing the binding away from the neck. Are they using inferior materials? I think so.

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So Richochet - what you're implying is that Epiphone' date=' for some unknown reason, might be using inferior fret wire compared to "other" guitars. I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. [/quote']

 

Yes, that would be a pretty ridiculous implication to make Mr. Sandman...

It could be just one factory, that had one faulty batch of fretwire. That's why I mentioned it being a 2005 Unsung...

As I said I love my Epi and I hope I'm wrong, but judging from actually reading the replies I'm not alone.

 

How much is "good" fret wire - $2.00 per guitar? What would Epiphone be saving - $0.50?

 

Yes' date=' It's quite ridiculous isn't it? Together with the mediocre pots and caps they save a good few bucks. Multiply by a couple of thousands of guitars and you have your common business practice economics...But that's just speculating.

 

Also - with all the talk of Epiphone's being made at the same factories where other brands are made including ESP, Ibanez, etc., are you telling me the guy that puts in the fret wire sees an Epiphone coming down the line and switches fret wire? Not likely.

 

I never claimed they did. I've never visited the factories, so I don't know for a fact. It is my understanding however they have seperate sections for each brand tho...

I've never played budget ESPs and Ibanezes before so can't say anything about the quality of the fretwire. I didn't know they were made in the same factory?

 

Well in the spirit of this post' date=' I have some great USA-made guitars where the fret ends are popping out the of the fingerboard, slicing my hand and pushing the binding away from the neck. Are they using inferior materials? I think so. [/quote']

 

I call that inferiour workmanship. Or severe neck abuse...8-[

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So Richochet - what you're implying is that Epiphone' date=' for some unknown reason, might be using inferior fret wire compared to "other" guitars. I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. How much is "good" fret wire - $2.00 per guitar? What would Epiphone be saving - $0.50? Also - with all the talk of Epiphone's being made at the same factories where other brands are made including ESP, Ibanez, etc., are you telling me the guy that puts in the fret wire sees an Epiphone coming down the line and switches fret wire? Not likely. Well in the spirit of this post, I have some great USA-made guitars where the fret ends are popping out the of the fingerboard, slicing my hand and pushing the binding away from the neck. Are they using inferior materials? I think so. [/quote']

 

Well, for whatever reason, we are seeing unusual fret wear on these guitars. My '79 Strat has fret wear in the areas that I bend strings more than others, compared to the areas that I seldom play, but it's 29 years old and was played very heavily from '80 until the early '90's. I even used Dean Markley SS strings on it for a while.

 

Brass isn't nearly as hard as other metals, but I can imagine that there are various grades of hardness. Then, there's nickel and stainless. Yes, all my guitars show some fret wear on close inspection, but the Epi seems to have unusual fret wear for the year that I have played it under 10 hours a week. Maybe I played it harder than the others...naw.

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  • 8 years later...

so fast forward to 2012 when my epi LB standard was made. I bought it used in 2014 and I had it checked by several shops and set up by the best Luthier in my area

now after almost two years of playing I went back to Luthier to have another guitar set up and to have this one checked and I was told that I have to re-fret soon.

 

this seems to be an on going problem, my epi was made in Indonesia, at a time when Epi was seemingly doing ok with quality control. but as I read this seems like a constant problem with this brand of guitar

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so fast forward to 2012 when my epi LB standard was made. I bought it used in 2014 and I had it checked by several shops and set up by the best Luthier in my area

now after almost two years of playing I went back to Luthier to have another guitar set up and to have this one checked and I was told that I have to re-fret soon.

 

this seems to be an on going problem, my epi was made in Indonesia, at a time when Epi was seemingly doing ok with quality control. but as I read this seems like a constant problem with this brand of guitar

 

i wouldn't call this a constant problem when the last time this was mentioned in a thread was 8 years ago. of course your "luthier" is going to tell you it needs a re-fret. that's how they make money. i've owned Epiphones for years and have played them to no end and haven't had to re-fret one. sure the frets may need a level or crown job done but unless they are completely damaged a total re-fret seems extreme. just my opinion though.

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i wouldn't call this a constant problem when the last time this was mentioned in a thread was 8 years ago. of course your "luthier" is going to tell you it needs a re-fret. that's how they make money. i've owned Epiphones for years and have played them to no end and haven't had to re-fret one. sure the frets may need a level or crown job done but unless they are completely damaged a total re-fret seems extreme. just my opinion though.

 

without seeing the guitar one cannot assume the luthier is wrong.

 

Try taking it to another place and see what they think. You could try to post pictures but it may be difficult to see the full extent of the wear in a picture.

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