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#1
10-01-2014, 08:46 AM
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Fret replacement
I have an old Washburn guitar, which sounds awesome and I played the heck out of it and now it's time to replace some frets. Is this typical of steel string guitars? Do they need frets replace periodically? Is there a fret material that is better for wear, longer lasting? So more expensive guitars have frets that last longer?
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#2
10-01-2014, 09:24 AM
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yes. it's part of the life cycle of the instrument. it really depends upon how much the thing was played, and how it was played. Do they need frets replace periodically? only if they are worn down to the point that a re-dressing and/or a partial re-fret longer does the trick. Is there a fret material that is better for wear, longer lasting? stainless steel. So more expensive guitars have frets that last longer? not necessarily. just how bad are your frets? you might only need a re-dress or a partial re-fret.
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#3
10-01-2014, 10:02 AM
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#4
10-01-2014, 12:50 PM
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I have a heavy touch, so I tend to wear grooves in the first five frets. A little less than in the past, in part because I spread my play time across several guitars now, but it still happens. Stainless steel is generally regarded as the way to go for durability, but some luthiers charge considerably more for SS jobs. They apparently are a bit harder to work with and wear their tools faster. Another option that has been mentioned is Evo metal frets. Some more discussion here: http://69.41.173.82/forums/showthrea...=evo+fret+wire
Evo fret wire is gold colored, so a partial re-fret may look a bit funny. Product information from LMI here: http://www.lmii.com/products.html?pa...ategory_id=825 Last edited by Earl49; 10-01-2014 at 12:57 PM.
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#5
10-01-2014, 02:00 PM
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Arie is correct.
You should be able to get 3 (give or take) good full fret dresses from a set of frets before replacing. A fret dress is levelling to the height of the lowest groove, re-crowning, then polishing. Evo frets are very hard, I think harder than stainless. It is true that evo and SS frets require more effort/time, and can wear some tools more quickly.
__________________
---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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#6
10-01-2014, 02:13 PM
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Evo is harder than normal fretwire, but softer than stainless. It's actually about halfway between the two in hardness.
__________________
Rodger Knox, PE 1917 Martin 0-28 1956 Gibson J-50 et al
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#7
10-02-2014, 06:03 AM
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#8
10-02-2014, 06:13 AM
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__________________
---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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#9
10-02-2014, 06:25 AM
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Think he means the gold color Ned. It's not an issue with me in terms of color but I'm just not as concerned on my own guitars. I will never go back to regular wire as long as EVO is available. Have not used stainless but know from being a machinist that stainless can be a tad difficult to work with hand tools. I find EVO easy to work.
Tom
__________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything
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#10
10-02-2014, 06:41 AM
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I think the gold color of the EVO looks stunning with gold hardware. And it really doesn't stand out with chrome or nickel IMO.
Fret wear can be handled in one of a few ways. Guys who play the entire board will usually get a complete dressing of the frets or a total re-fret depending on how bad the wear is and the players tolerance for lower profile frets. Other players that only play in the first few positions will usually get the first 4 or 5 frets replaced as that is usually a little cheaper than a complete level & crown.
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#11
10-02-2014, 07:21 AM
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