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Post subject: How often do you refret?
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:21 am
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I was talking with a friend the other day at my local guitar shop about doing dressing and fret work on vintage basses. This got me wondering, how long would it take for a newer Fender bass to need work done? I know there are several factors to take in to consideration here. So, my question is.. How often do you take your bass in for a dressing and how often for a refret?


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Post subject: Re: How often do you refret?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:50 pm
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BR5000 wrote:
I was talking with a friend the other day at my local guitar shop about doing dressing and fret work on vintage basses. This got me wondering, how long would it take for a newer Fender bass to need work done? I know there are several factors to take in to consideration here. So, my question is.. How often do you take your bass in for a dressing and how often for a refret?


Premising the one bass is played every day, I've seen players chew up frets in as little as 6 months whereas others, it takes them sometimes two years or so before the frets need a dressing (aka a, "grind and polish" or, "G & P" for short). Regardless, bad frets on a bass are less inhibiting to the player than if it were on a guitar. I've seen guys get away with bad frets on basses for years. Of course, the frets get progressively worse but because of the difference in string gauge and basic differences in playing approach between the two, a bassist can get away with more fingerboard contact and more distressed frets than a guitarist ever could.

In terms of an outright refret, the fastest I've ever seen was 6 years. It should be noted though that the owner never had a G & P and just kept grinding the frets down until they were level with the fingerboard and several had to be picked out in pieces.

Obviously, round wound, heavy gauge, high tension, stainless steel strings will do the most damage in the shortest period of time.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 5:02 pm
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Word :D


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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:50 pm
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I got 11 years out of one of main gigging Fender basses. They where pretty chewed up by the end.

I have replaced them with stainless steel frets. They will supposedly last a lifetime. I can already tell you that isn't going to happen.


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