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Post subject: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:55 am
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After playing my 1988 Strat into the ground it was finally time for a fret dress and setup. Just got it back from the incredible local luthier Ged Green and those frets are shining and the guitar's playing better than I ever remember it playing. Superb setup, got it back in 24 hours and I'm taking my Tele to him for a complete refret next month, he's talked me into stainless steel frets.

Now I'm going to play this beautiful guitar all day and most of the night.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:48 am
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Makes me more eager to take my Guild in on Friday...

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:01 am
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If it's a guitar you know very well and you're taking it for a fret dress then be warned that it will feel very different when you get it back. I know this guitar like the back of my hand and I'm having to get used to the feel of it now. Very odd.

It's affected the action at the nut, the lower frets have meant he's had to re-file the slots so it feels very different to do bends down there. I'll get used to it though.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:50 am
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Oh, no, I'm getting it refretted, the nut replaced, the wiring fixed, everything.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:31 am
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Well, after playing the Strat for a good few hours I think it does in fact need a refret. The action is superb BUT frets are so low now it's really difficult to do bends below the 5th fret, my fingers keep slipping onto adjacent strings just because there's no space for them to slip UNDER the D string as I bend the G string up. So while Ged Green's done a superb job, there just wasn't enough fret left after 26 years of hard playing and the low low frets won't let me do my playing style the way I want it. Quick phone call to Ged and he's kindly offered me a discount on a stainless steel refret.

Told you they come back feeling different!

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:29 am
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Well, what's the damage. The refret for my is literally $300 of the $600 total for me, and that's 24 frets of stainless.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:42 am
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Glad you got your guitar back up and going. It must be a good feeling.
I need to get something done with my Tele. This was my only guitar for about 10 years.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 11:09 am
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Buxom wrote:
Well, what's the damage


The stainless refret is usually £180 so around $305, as I'm a good customer he's quoted me £150 which is $250 and he'll probably do me another discount when it's time to do the Telecaster.

Fret dress only was £60, about $100.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 11:12 am
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yodacaster, that's getting to be in dire need of a fret dress but mine were really chewed up worse than that.

Side note, it's a little embarrassing to see how much grime he's cleaned off the rosewood. I thought I had it pretty clean after a once over with the old lighter fluid, turns out that filth was caked on pretty bad.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:05 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
yodacaster, that's getting to be in dire need of a fret dress but mine were really chewed up worse than that.

Side note, it's a little embarrassing to see how much grime he's cleaned off the rosewood. I thought I had it pretty clean after a once over with the old lighter fluid, turns out that filth was caked on pretty bad.


I hear ya! I wasn't the best at keeping my tele clean for those 10 years either!

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:33 pm
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I always use the green bottle organic Mr.Clean on my fretboard. I take an old, CLEAN, t shirt and cut a small strip, then ball it up and put it over the nozzle and spray a couple small shots into it. I can do all 24 frets with just one or two rags, and I always have a clean fretboard. Be sure to scrub hard.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:28 pm
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Frank, if you have a caliper to measure your fret height, I'd be interested in hearing what they are. The vintage frets on my Clapton are a little too low for me. They measure .088"w X .032"t.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:41 pm
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Not trying to thread steal, but on a related note ... Is it odd that my 79 Gibson SG Standard that I have played the absolute snot out of still has original frets that are in near-perfect condition? By comparison, the bridge on that guitar had to be replaced because it was worn so heavily ... but frets and nut are fine.

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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:52 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
Not trying to thread steal, but on a related note ... Is it odd that my 79 Gibson SG Standard that I have played the absolute snot out of still has original frets that are in near-perfect condition? By comparison, the bridge on that guitar had to be replaced because it was worn so heavily ... but frets and nut are fine.


With the SG being shorter scale than a Strat or Tele, you need a softer press, which I presume means less wear.
As for the bridge wear, I think the height of SG bridges might have something to do with it.


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Post subject: Re: Fret dress!
Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 1:05 am
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Drew365 wrote:
Frank, if you have a caliper to measure your fret height, I'd be interested in hearing what they are. The vintage frets on my Clapton are a little too low for me. They measure .088"w X .032"t.


If they're really too low for you then definitely think about getting the guitar refretted. I don't have a caliper here right now but these frets were horribly worn below the 5th fret and around the 10th to 14th. I never realised how important that aspect of the setup is for me, if I had then I would have gone straight for the refret and not even tried the fret skim.

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