Pinch Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I started rambling on this in a Thunderbird thread and thought I should save ksdaddy the trouble of moving my post. As some of you may remember, I bought an Epiphone Plustop a couple of years ago. Love at first sight and first note played. Sounded VERY Les Paul-y. The frets started looking a little off after about six months of playing it for an hour or two every other day or so. Couple months later, I inspected them closer, and the rounded frets were getting flattened by wear. Last time I saw that kind of wear on a MIM Strat similar in price over here, it had been played 24/7 for a good decade. We're talking six months here. The price of a re-fret would be half the price of the guitar, and I eventually got a 2017 Tribute on sale. It's a superior guitar, even if I had to part with my very last penny. As Revolution Six would be all to happy to chime in, there IS a difference. But... What bugs me is that I think the Epi sounds great as well, if not as good, and is a beautifully built guitar with flawless binding and everything - and it's relegated to beater. Or, rather, I play the Gibson more, because the Epi still intonates great - but that's because most all the frets are as worn! This, of course, means that selling it to someone who doesn't know better would be highly unethical - and I don't really want to part with it either, because apart from the fretwire, I really dig it. But I can't afford a re-fret. Basically, the fret wire is solder. Is this something others on here recognize? I feel a bit funny posting this, but I see people on here psyched about picking up a new Epi for cheap, and feel they should be aware of my story, seeing as a re-fret isn't cheap. Yes, you could dress the frets, but if the material's so cheap from the get-go, you'll be in the same boat six months on. Or is mine a one-off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 The price of a re-fret would be half the price of the guitar, and I eventually got a 2017 Tribute on sale. It's a superior guitar, even if I had to part with my very last penny. As Revolution Six would be all to happy to chime in, there IS a difference. But... What bugs me is that I think the Epi sounds great as well, if not as good, and is a beautifully built guitar with flawless binding and everything - and it's relegated to beater. Or, rather, I play the Gibson more, because the Epi still intonates great - but that's because most all the frets are as worn! I think if I had your choices I would prepare to have the fret job done, or even dressed first. The end result would be having your guitar better than it was originally.Its an investment..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megafrog Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 If you want to salvage the Epi, get a refret done. If you are not using the guitar at all and have no intention to, don’t waste the money because there would be no return for you. Getting a refret done won’t increase the value of the guitar. As to the question about fret issues on Epiphone guitars, I have never had any problems. I had a Korean made LP for over 20 years and had no issues. I also have none on my Nighthawk, Casino or Riviera. I suspect that you got a lemon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Bummer sitch for sure, too bad the fret wire used is that soft. I suppose you could get a fret level re-crown but, that's not going to prevent more premature wear, it will just restore the fret crowns till they disappear again. But if it's relegated to back up / beater, maybe the crowns last longer? I can understand and appreciate you not feeling great about selling the problem to some one else. Maybe you could trade it, you'll get lowballed for it, but at least it's out of your hands from there, and you can find something reasonably worthy to recoup. and to the point that this is FRET wire probably used universally on these guitars who's to say any other one wont have the same end result? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I have an old Epi Junior DC, looks like a Les Paul TV DC, that was built in the 90's in Indonesia. It is a LP Jr Double Cut that has a maple neck with unbelievable access to the 22nd fret. The quality of build on this guitar was not very good requiring complete disassembly and careful rebuild. It is incredible to play but the fret wear happened very fast, which was very distressing. Even though it is a very low end Epi, not very many Epi LP Jr DC's were made and I am considering having it re-fretted and getting another 30 years of enjoyment out of it.. If you have a Plustop that sounds and plays really good, I think it could be worth the investment of installing BETTER FRET WIRE.. I think it becomes more of an issue of finding a good luthier that will do the work for a fair price.. Recovering upgrade investments in Asian built guitars usually doesn't happen, its more like how much do you love playing this guitar. My Les Paul Double Cuts.. EpiLPJrDC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Jerry Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I can totally relate. I have an Epiphone Riviera Custom P93 guitar. Over time, the guitar rattled and buzzed so bad that I brought it back for another set-up (I also had a set-up done when I bought the guitar). The tech showed me the guitar had uneven frets and that the frets were badly worn in places. I asked him if that was normal wear and he said no and suggested that it could be due to my playing style, poor fret material or both. I had him do a fret level and all was good. It’s been about nine months now and I’ve noticed the frets are starting to wear heavy in places again. I trade off playing with a Gibson Les Paul Standard and the frets on that guitar do not look very much worn at all. I’ve got some time before I have to worry about doing another fret level or re-fret my Epi. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 If you want to salvage the Epi, get a refret done. If you are not using the guitar at all and have no intention to, don’t waste the money because there would be no return for you. Getting a refret done won’t increase the value of the guitar. As to the question about fret issues on Epiphone guitars, I have never had any problems. I had a Korean made LP for over 20 years and had no issues. I also have none on my Nighthawk, Casino or Riviera. I suspect that you got a lemon. *Nods* It's kind of a weird situation. I play my Gibson because I don't want to wear out the Epi! If I can ever afford it, it will get a re-fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 6 String Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 *Nods* It's kind of a weird situation. I play my Gibson because I don't want to wear out the Epi! If I can ever afford it, it will get a re-fret. Hey Pinch; You may want to have your guy look at it, you may be able to get away with a level and recrown if there's enough meat left on the frets. Could buy you a fews more years of joy before a full refret is required. Johnny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 Hey Pinch; You may want to have your guy look at it, you may be able to get away with a level and recrown if there's enough meat left on the frets. Could buy you a fews more years of joy before a full refret is required. Johnny Thanks, but if the fretwire's crap, that'd just be my money for nothing and my chicks for free. Minus the chicks. I've been playing it a lot lately. And it's not like it needs work right now... In time, though... The ProBuckers are pretty dang cool. Attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Thanks, but if the fretwire's crap, that'd just be my money for nothing and my chicks for free. Minus the chicks. I've been playing it a lot lately. And it's not like it needs work right now... In time, though... The ProBuckers are pretty dang cool. Attitude. Sounds like your LP has a lot of viable qualities. I have heard that Sweden has a lot of highly skilled craftsmen. Perhaps the LP could be a project to develop your luthier skills even farther. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 Maybe I'm just too OCD. I did a Gorgomyte cleaning (which I should probably do more often than every other two years) which is a great fret polisher as well, and considering the amounts of bends that guitar has seen, I probably make it sound worse than it is. I've been rehearsing a "proper" Gibson daily for a coupla months, and the fret wear is, if not as bad, certainly similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Buy one of those re-crown files off ebay and just keep re-crowning the frets once or twice a year until they're gone. In the meantime, enjoy the instrument. That should get you a few years down the road, and then you can decide if you've developed enough sentimental attachment to the guitar to justify the cost of a re-fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FemmeParallell Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Tough one, also you can try to sell it like it is or just telling the buyer exactly what the problem is. Although probably you would have to sell it really cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 The Gorgomyte did wonders. I look at it now and think, that's not so bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yelemusic Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Why not refret it yourself? It’s not rocket science. Watch some vids on YouTube, get a cheap Chinese neck for 20.- and a bag of pre-cut pre-bent fret wire and practice it a couple of times. You‘ll need a few tools too, but it can easily be done! Still cheaper than giving it to a luthier, plus you‘ll acquire a set of skills that can come in handy in the long run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockgitarristen Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I had defenitely made a fret job, thats for sure, it's an excellent guitar well worth new dunlop frets and you can enjoy the guitar for the rest of you life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 I had defenitely made a fret job, thats for sure, it's an excellent guitar well worth new dunlop frets and you can enjoy the guitar for the rest of you life Mm, but the Gorgomyte really brought them back to life. No need right now! So basically I've been prattling on about this for a year for no reason (I could use better lighting, too). A very me thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockgitarristen Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 ok, I misunderstood the problem, I thought the frets were worn out and bumby and time for change or dress at least, so they just become dirty and a bit sluggish :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Mich auch. Weird. The frets look great now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 To determine if your frets are indeed flattened, paint one or two of the suspected "flat" frets with a black or blue sharpie pen and then VERY LIGHTLY scrape them with the edge of a razor blade-- just enough to scrape off ink, but not dig into the fret itself. (Make sure to keep the blade edge parallel to the fingerboard). A flat fret will show a wide shiny scrape, a crowned fret will show a very narrow scrape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 They look fine now. Crap lighting and dirt, apparently. Which is good, because I'm afraid I'll have to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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