D28boy Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Hi took my '87 LP Studio in to a highly respected Luthier to chat about a fret dress & set-up only to be informed that I'd run out of fret wire and that I now needed a re-fret This is all new to me is there anything I should be aware of or ask about ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Get a second opinion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Hello! I am not surprised. My 2011 Classic Custom is nearly there too. If You`re heavy-handed, those soft Gibson frets vanish quickly. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Have you had the frets dressed before on it ? What is going on that you need to have them dressed, is it that they are heavily devoted...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Well Dave...I got the guitar a couple of years ago and the action was very low but also choking badly so I took it to Joe White who said the action was "unplayable" . Paid for a pro set up to include a fret dress and when I got it back it was incredibly quick at the low end but very high up top but with no buzzing or choking...so a very straight neck...I just couldn't get on with the action after trying for a while and so I took it to another guy who basically added some relief and dressed the frets again. I've played with that that way for about a year now but I still feel there's a bit of choking after about the 17th and also a bit of buzz too on the lower strings.There was also a slightly "gritty" feel to a couple of frets on bends.So I took it a specialist who also has a Plek machine to see if he thought he could improve it..After looking at the neck for a while and giving it a good play over the whole range he told me that there were a couple of uneven frets (raised I think) along the neck plus the first was too high. Told me if it was plekked that trimming would mean it's playability would be affected as there was little left on the ftrets overall to loose. So he eventually advised that really all he could offer was a re-fret. All of which I totally respect and agree with...after all its nearly 30 years old now and I play it on average a couple of hours a day. So just really wanted to know what to expect when the job is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Well Dave...I got the guitar a couple of years ago and the action was very low but also choking badly so I took it to Joe White who said the action was "unplayable" . Paid for a pro set up to include a fret dress and when I got it back it was incredibly quick at the low end but very high up top but with no buzzing or choking...so a very straight neck...I just couldn't get on with the action after trying for a while and so I took it to another guy who basically added some relief and dressed the frets again. I've played with that that way for about a year now but I still feel there's a bit of choking after about the 17th and also a bit of buzz too on the lower strings.There was also a slightly "gritty" feel to a couple of frets on bends.So I took it a specialist who also has a Plek machine to see if he thought he could improve it..After looking at the neck for a while and giving it a good play over the whole range he told me that there were a couple of uneven frets (raised I think) along the neck plus the first was too high. Told me if it was plekked that trimming would mean it's playability would be affected as there was little left on the ftrets overall to loose. So he eventually advised that really all he could offer was a re-fret. All of which I totally respect and agree with...after all its nearly 30 years old now and I play it on average a couple of hours a day. So just really wanted to know what to expect when the job is done. I think it may be that this chap with the plek machine can't do it without the plek machine and they are somewhat unforgiving. Get another opinion from someone who does it by hand. If the action wasn't perfect when it came out of Joe's workshop I can only assume it wasn't possible to get it perfect. I say that because Joe is so highly respected and I know him/his work well (I think I recommended him all that time ago?). He usually has this excellent system where he gives you all the measurements in a table, did you get/have you still got that? The numbers might be useful. This reminds me, I was so impressed with Joe's system with all the before and after measurements I intended to post about it. I must do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 I think it may be that this chap with the plek machine can't do it without the plek machine and they are somewhat unforgiving. Get another opinion from someone who does it by hand. If the action wasn't perfect when it came out of Joe's workshop I can only assume it wasn't possible to get it perfect. I say that because Joe is so highly respected and I know him/his work well (I think I recommended him all that time ago?). He usually has this excellent system where he gives you all the measurements in a table, did you get/have you still got that? The numbers might be useful. This reminds me, I was so impressed with Joe's system with all the before and after measurements I intended to post about it. I must do that. Thanx Farnsbarns I believe it was you that refered me to Joe. I'm not looking to dis anyone here and I'm not saying he did a bad job but as I said in the post the guitar came back somewhat different to what I had expected and discussed ...with a very high action up the board.That's why I then took it elsewhere for a second opinion and tweaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I don't think the re-fret is out of the question. You mentioned that you have had the frets dressed twice already, and that ususlly means filing down a few high spots. With the age of the guitar, the amount you play it, and the soft fret wire to begin with a whole new set is probably your best bet IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Thanx Farnsbarns I believe it was you that refered me to Joe. I'm not looking to dis anyone here and I'm not saying he did a bad job but as I said in the post the guitar came back somewhat different to what I had expected and discussed ...with a very high action up the board.That's why I then took it elsewhere for a second opinion and tweaking. Well, it's a shame your experience wasn't up to par. I wont try to convince you to go back. One thing I will say about refretting is go for stainless steel every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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