I have a 1986 '62 AVRI that I have owned since 1989. We've had a lot of gigs together, but now it is close to needing a re-fret. Also, over the years my playing style has evolved, I'm now much more of a lead player than when I bought the guitar. As it stands now, it's difficult to get the string action as low as I would like it without notes fretting out during whole note (or more) bends. I've been comparing the cost of a re-fret versus the cost of replacing the AVRI neck with a California Series neck (neck would be a bit more than re-fret, but still feasible). Part of me feels like this guitar is a treasured old family member that shouldn't be torn in two , while another part of me wants a 9.5" radius fingerboard on my old pal so that we can wail away off into the sunset together. I like the feel of a vintage neck and frets, but even with a re-fret I'm not sure I can achieve the low action I want without fret buzz during aggressive bending. I have a '99 CIJ RI with frets in great condition, but still get some fret buzz here and there. I have had Am Std's before, so I'm familiar with the feel of a modern Fender neck & radius. Also work at a pawn shop, so I see lots of modern Fenders & Squiers.

Unfortunately, since the economy has downsized my income, money is an issue. I really need to examine this issue carefully and make the right choice first. I thought about just adding a California Series to my collection, but the added expense of another guitar, and the thought of my old buddy being relegated to closet patrol (or worse... E-Bay!), make me rather sad. I'm looking forward to hearing the thoughts of all the Strat players have to say. Thanks in advance for your advice and guidance!

I would vote for Re-Fret.

That neck is well worth restoring.

By definition, a "good" luthier should be able to get it playing the way you like.

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My other guitar is a Strat.

I am with orvilleowner. If you find a decent luthier, a re-fret with a leveling will not be that bad. You want to have someone who is good at this though. Keep the old work horse in one piece. A few years from you you will be happy you did!

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Why not go with a new MIA Hot Rod '62 re-issue or MIM '60s Classic Player's neck?

IIRC, they both have the 9.5" radius with the medium jumbo frets you seem to want. And they both use the vintage-style Kluson-esque tuners with the traditional Fender spaghetti logo and single string tree.

(and both of those necks have the correct 12th-fret dot spacing for a '62 Strat)

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Pretty sure a MIA Hot Rod RI neck is gonna be cost prohibitive. The MIM '60's classic player neck is 12" radius, little too flat for me. That's why I had my eye on a California Series neck, very similar to the RI series, with the slotted tuners & vintage style string tree. Not spaghetti but still cool mid-60's type logo, too.





There is a very good luthier in my area, I'll check on the cost of modding to a compound radius, which would be awesome. Probably not cheap, but I'll admit there isn't any solution that isn't gonna cost a few bucks.

Thanks for all the ideas!!

+1!!!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
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STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

+2!!
A good luthier will,(should be able to), take your playing style into account and come up with a fret job that will be a custom fit for you,and your nice Strat will still be together.

If I were having a guitar re-fretted, here's the shop I'd bring or ship it to:

http://www.ericsguitarshop.com/index.html

Eric is incredibly skilled and has excellent customer service skills -- he's got the rep to back that too!

Good luck with your re-fret!!!

Hi Furvel: in that case in addition to what the others are saying, I wonder if you know that a decent luthier can usually do just a partial refret, only swapping the frets that are too worn to recrown. They generally will charge per fret, and that can help keep the cost down. Worth asking.

Cheers - C

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1980s guitars are good and the reissues are good.
Keep it and refret. Like getting new windshield wipers

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+1 on the re frett, ive refretted many guitars, while its a lot of work it not difficult, just time consuming and heavy on tools, but a usefull skill to have, unless u have friends like me who will convince you to do the job for free id rather re fret a neck than buy a new one any day, unless the old neck is damaged

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blues - its a religion...

Thanks for all the advice guys!! I will keep the AVRI in one piece and have it serviced by my local luthier in the near future. Also will save up in hopes of adding a "modern" (re: 9.5" radius) Strat to my arsenal. Would love a California Series or possibly a LPB MIM standard. The Pawn Shop '72 and Blacktop series are intriguing as well.....

Good to have backup guitars. Buy more and have a backup competition

Toppscore

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