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Post subject: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:14 pm
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Hi guys!

I want to ask you about your opinion about the refretting work that a tech guy just did for me. My fault was that I have not inspected the guitar carefully enough, when it was given back to me. You can blame my lack of knowledge and experience.
The guitar is a Fender Strat Mex. It was the first time I had given the instrument to a 'luthier'. The guy installed pickups for me (this part seems to be allright, so far) and refretted the guitar with general setup afterwards.
He gave the guitar back to me two days ago. Today I started hearing some serious buzzing around the 12th fret of the low E string. That alerted me. I have also inspected the fretboard closely.
I am posting some photos, but I know that the quality is not so good.

CHIPS

The fretboard has chips in some places, also on the side of the neck.

Image Image Image Image

STAIN

There is also a large stain visible, glue or something like that.

Image

FRETS

Frets are sometimes 'uneven'. I do not know the proper terminology (I am not a native English speaker), but the end of the fret seems to be 'cracked' on one side.

There are also instances when there is some space left beneath the tang of the fret and the 'slot', where the fret is fitted. I also have a bass guitar where these 'slots' are neatly filled.

Image
Image


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:50 am
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Go visit the tech again, tell him about your concerns, see what he says.

On the quality, I'm a bit torn.
On the other hand, those flaws in the pics most likely have no effect on how the guitar plays. And they don't even show very well - I had to blow up the pics to original several-Megs size on some to find the flaws. And some chipping can be expected on a refret, the glue stains happen, etc.
But then again, I would not be totally satisfied - it could have been done perfect...

That buzz around the 12th fret can be a lot of things, but my first guess is that the change of conditions during & after the tech trip affected the neck, and it probably just needs a relief check + truss rod adjustment.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:08 am
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jmattis wrote:
Go visit the tech again, tell him about your concerns, see what he says.


.



+1

He is not a qualified luthier, a jack of all trade. I would tell him to never do a fret job for his customer


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:30 am
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Thanks for your answers. So, you say that the guy is not qualified enough and the job was done really bad? Should I go to the guy again or rather expect his adjustments to get things even worse? Is it possible for another luthier to make amendments without removing all the frets again?


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:49 am
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I don't fully agree on stratele52's opinion - we don't know anything about the background & experience of the tech.

The terms "luthier" and "(guitar) tech" sometimes confuse. I usually use luthier for a person with proper schooling in building/repairing instruments - in many countries, this is a term reserved for certain level education. A guitar tech can be anything - but some of them are every bit as good as the best luthiers.


As far as that fret job goes, I repeat: those flaws are mainly cosmetic (except for that 12th fret area buzz, which could be conditions-based).
I would not let a guitar leave my workbench like that, but a) I'm OCD, and b) I've seen many like that (& worse...) coming from techs who work in guitar shops.

When you contact the tech, don't go in with blazing guns. Remain calm & collected, keep the discussion in the flaws of the guitar and not in the tech's skills.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:56 am
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jmattis wrote:
I don't fully agree on stratele52's opinion - we don't know anything about the background & experience of the tech.

.


The bad job say all.
Log time ago I see a very well know luthier for a fret job. Neck look like new after the job.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:58 am
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pagorek wrote:
Thanks for your answers. So, you say that the guy is not qualified enough and the job was done really bad? Should I go to the guy again or rather expect his adjustments to get things even worse? Is it possible for another luthier to make amendments without removing all the frets again?



I will never leave my guitar to this guy, but I will say to him he do a very bad job and ask a refund.

Is another luthier can fix ? i don't know. Ask to a real and qualified luthier.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:40 am
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jmattis wrote:
As far as that fret job goes, I repeat: those flaws are mainly cosmetic (except for that 12th fret area buzz, which could be conditions-based).
I would not let a guitar leave my workbench like that, but a) I'm OCD, and b) I've seen many like that (& worse...) coming from techs who work in guitar shops.

Well, visible and left over chips in a fretboard are only cosmetics? I also forgot to mention that it is hard to bend the high E string above the 12th fret. The sound is 'dull' and the bending itself feels awkward.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:30 am
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Only cosmetics in the sense that the chips, air under tangs and glue residue don't affect playability. And they probably won't show at ten feet / 3 meters distance, judging by the photos.
But like I said, I'm not totally satisfied with the result.

Note: I don't take sides here, just trying to help. And another note: it's a sad fact that this kind of end result is not rare.

On the highE issues, that's new to the conversation - and that could/should be checked with the rest. Could even be related to the relief mentioned earlier.
You can do something yourself, prior to taking the guitar back: check the setup measures - are they in factory specs (or your personal specs, if you asked the tech for those).

And this is again one valuable learning opportunity to anybody: don't accept anything back from repair (or pay the bill) until you're satisfied. :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:42 am
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I know everybody is trying to help and I appreciate that. However, I came to a conclusion, I must disagree with the neck relief part. There is a photo with colored lines and the 12th fret visible. When you zoom it on the 13th fret, I suppose you can see the 13th fret being lifted near the edge of the board. I bet - again as a layperson - that the fret is sticking out.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:45 am
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jmattis wrote:


And this is again one valuable learning opportunity to anybody: don't accept anything back from repair (or pay the bill) until you're satisfied. :wink:


Too late guitar is damaged.

Best is to see a well know qualified luthier recommender by friends


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:16 am
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pagorek wrote:
However, I came to a conclusion, I must disagree with the neck relief part. There is a photo with colored lines and the 12th fret visible. When you zoom it on the 13th fret, I suppose you can see the 13th fret being lifted near the edge of the board.

If the frets are not level a couple of days after a fret job, that of course is a defect. Can be checked with a fret rocker or a ruler. And that's another issue to be added to your complaints list.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:35 pm
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Having had a refret last year, changing jumbos to medium jumbos on a maple board, which is more difficult than rosewood, I certainly wouldn't have been happy with the appearance of your one, let alone the other faults. Frankly, I can't believe any pro would make such an awful job of it. The tech/luthier I use isn't cheap but his work is top quality. The problem is finding one like him!

I'd be asking for my money back, although how this mess can be mended now I don't know. Certainly wouldn't be cheap, I'm afraid.

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 12:55 am
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Peter S wrote:
The tech/luthier I use isn't cheap but his work is top quality. The problem is finding one like him!

Expanding the topic to general advice direction: Many(/most) countries have local guitar(/bass/instruments/music) forums, and asking there for local tech recommendations often helps when one doesn't have the peer connections.


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Post subject: Re: Refretting gone wrong?
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:07 am
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Actually, the tech was recommended to my by a friend who had the frets polished and guitar setup by the same guy. Moreover, the tech has a legitimate website and was the only guy in my town who maintained electric guitars. I heard no bad opinions about him. It is just a pure disappointment...


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