Fret indented on my Les Paul Standard ..Is this serious ?

[vanessa]

I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Guitar 3 years ago and have been playing it regularly ( i.e. at least 6 hours/ week ). I noticed the first fret was indented about 1/16 inch at 2 locations under strings B and E ( see Photo) .

 

 

The sound so far appears normal . I wonder is this a nornal usage condition ? Or is this caused by too much pressure in my fingering the guitat frets ?

When the sound is eventually affected, is it a big repair job replacing the worn-out fret ? Please comment and advise . Thanks.

[Sjael]

It happens because of the metal-on-metal contact and rubbing that occurs normally when fretting, and is inevitable on all guitars. The remedy is getting a luthier to re-fret the guitar, the price of which varies from place to place.

[midiman56]

Vanessa ... follow this link:

 

http://www.richbeckguitars.com/refretting/

 

It's a pretty good primer on how frets work and what is involved in getting a guitar refretted. I don't know what part of the world you live in, but you ought to be able to find a guitar tech in your area to get some quotes. Ask at your local music store ... they usually have a pretty good handle on local guys that are reliable.

 

I know that you said your guitar seems to be working okay at the moment, but believe me ... with the kind of wear you're showing in those pics, you guitar will play and sound a lot better onec you get them switched out of there!

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Jim

[vanessa]

Thanhs Sjael & Jim for your kind responses !

 

Jim :

Your link is most useful . It gave me all the basic infos on what involves refretting ! I certainly can find some luthiers to do this job ! BTW, what do you think : is this amount of fret worn-out normal for my guitar ? I suspect I applied too much pressure on the strings ( I started out on acoustic guitars & classic guitars before turning electric 100% ) . Please comment. Thanks Jim .

[Sjael]

Fret wear will be quickened by pressing harder, and it's best practice to only press the strings hard enough to eliminate buzzing. As a gigging guitarist who frequently swaps between electric and acoustic guitars depending on the crowd/venue, I can 100% sympathize with the urge to press too hard when I shift to my electrics; I find a good way to get past that is to spend ten minutes before I practice/play with some simple riffs, seeing how little pressure I can get away with applying to get a clear note. It's also why a lot of guitarists name their guitars with female names; it's a lot easier to be gentle with something you have an emotional connection with.

 

If your guitar was hanging up in a shop for some time before you bought it, that'll accelerate the process some, too. My Explorer was banging around a shop for 5 years before I found it, and the frets weren't in very good shape, but only needed a quick polishing to get them in top shape again.

 

I believe a ballpark figure for re-fretting is every ~5 years of frequent use, although I've not owned any guitar that long to be able to back that up with experience.

[vanessa]

Thank you very much for sharing your guitar playing experience ! I bought my guitar brand new from the original box . I guess I have not been gentle with the strings !

 

Do you have infos on how to polish frets as you mentioned . I am kind of curious on maintenance techniques. Thanks Sjael .

[AlanH]

Wow that's some serious fret wear, Vanessa!

 

Complete refret jobs are expensive. However, if you mainly play chords in the lower register and not much lead work you may only need a couple of the frets replaced which will be a lot cheaper. All the frets will undoubtedly still need to be levelled, crowned and polished afterwards though.

 

Alan

[vanessa]

AlanH :

 

You are right ! I play rhythm and love open chords ... I called a few places and was quoted the cost for a complete refretting job + new bindings would be around 400 U.S$ !! At this price, I will buy a new Epiphone Les Paul !! Cetainly, as you said, I just need to replace those really worn-out frets and save money for the real McCoy ( i.e. Gibson Les Paul Standard , Cherry Heritage :-) ) .

 

Thanks Alanh for your kind comments .

[RobinTheHood]

I think that replacing a few frets and a leveling/crowning will still cost somewhere near a couple hundred dollars.

[vanessa]

 

You are about right ! thanks for the comment . Here are a few interesting threads discussing the cost and pro + con on refretting ...

 

 

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1391490

 

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-20757.html

 

http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-guitar/18320-cost-decent-refretting-job-maple-neck.html

 

 

Some Guitar Repair price lists can be found here :

 

http://ghostriderguitars.com/pricelist.html

 

http://www.seminolemusic.com/GuitRepr.htm

[ken361]

you get the frets re- leveled first and crowned and when that wears out then you get new frets, dont know why there telling you to re fret?? mine wear out there too, I play alot in that area and being a weight lifter I might use more pressure also. I wish it wouldnt wear that would be nice you have to have stainless steel frets I guess. When you go buy a used guitar thats one of the first things to look out for!!

[ken361]

as long it doesnt buzz and intonates your ok for now but its getting there.

[RobinTheHood]

you get the frets re- leveled first and crowned and when that wears out then you get new frets' date=' dont know why there telling you to re fret?? mine wear out there too, I play alot in that area and being a weight lifter I might use more pressure also. I wish it wouldnt wear that would be nice you have to have stainless steel frets I guess. When you go buy a used guitar thats one of the first things to look out for!![crying']

 

I think the general assumption here is that the frets look too far worn at the b & e strings for a level/crown to be effective. What really needs to happen is for this guitar to be assessed by a luthier.