J 45 1948 - refret

[Dafgog]

I am about to refret the 1948 beauty - any frets that are most suitable? I take it large jumbo fretwire is not desirable

[j45nick]

Measure the width of the fretwire with a digital caliper, then go on Stewmac.com and read the specs of the various fretwire they carry. Ignore the height you have, as the frets, if original, have probably been dressed a number of times.

Fretwire is not easy to measure accurately on the guitar, but the Stewmac medium/medium appears to be fairly close to the original frets on one of my 1950 J-45s.  It also appears to be close to the modern factory frets on my SJ. The other 1950 J-45 I have has late-60s low jumbo frets, which are more like electric guitar frets. They are easy to play if you do a lot of slides, but don't really seem right for the guitar.

What's the FON on your '48?

[Dafgog]

Thanks Nick ---FON 1017-22

[j45nick]

On 10/9/2020 at 2:21 PM, Dafgog said:

Thanks Nick ---FON 1017-22

Nice. Right at the end of '47, or early '48. Does it have a rectangular bridge, or belly-up?

I vaguely remember you discussing it sometime in the past, but can't remember the details.

[Dafgog]

Yes thats right - Belly up bridge. Currently the action has risen slightly - trying to dehumidify and considering a refret as these are really low- as you suggest they've been recrowned and polished quite a few times in the past. Thanks for your interest and info as always

 

[j45nick]

7 minutes ago, Dafgog said:

Yes thats right - Belly up bridge. Currently the action has risen slightly - trying to dehumidify and considering a refret as these are really low- as you suggest they've been recrowned and polished quite a few times in the past. Thanks for your interest and info as always

 

The action can change a lot with variations in humidity, depending on where you live.  If there is a radical difference in humidity over the course of the year, some people keep "winter" saddles and "summer" saddles on hand to accommodate changes without constant neck adjustments.