Refret costs?.....

[Gryf]

I've never had to have a regret job done before. And I'm considering the possibility of having it done to a guitar I bought back in high school in the 70's. I'll start making some local calls, and finding references, etc.., but in the meantime I was hoping someone could state what a reasonable cost for a job like this would be. Does the make of guitar make difference? Are there different quality frets that you can select?
Maybe Re-fret 101 is what I need!..

[WindChaser]

I’ve seen refret jobs from $250 to $300 here in Indianapolis. That price includes having your guitar set up afterwards since it is usually needed after a refret. I’m not sure if the brand matters; probably not for the most part.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Expect to pay $200-500 depending on who does the work and what kind of frets they use.

Regular frets are made of a nickel-silver alloy, they wear out. There is a company that makes "EVO" fretwire that's gold in color, but doesn't hardly wear at all. Or you can get stainless steel frets, which don't wear. Most shops either won't do stainless, or they'll charge extra.

Type of guitar doesn't matter much, though sometimes luthiers will charge a bit more for a guitar with binding on the fretboard.

If you love the guitar and plan on keeping it forever, get stainless or Evo frets. You'll never need a re-fret again.

[srick]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

Expect to pay $200-500 depending on who does the work and what kind of frets they use.

Regular frets are made of a nickel-silver alloy, they wear out. There is a company that makes "EVO" fretwire that's gold in color, but doesn't hardly wear at all. Or you can get stainless steel frets, which don't wear. Most shops either won't do stainless, or they'll charge extra.

Type of guitar doesn't matter much, though sometimes luthiers will charge a bit more for a guitar with binding on the fretboard.

If you love the guitar and plan on keeping it forever, get stainless or Evo frets. You'll never need a re-fret again.

I agree 100%. The EVO frets are just great. I have had several guitars re-fretted in the central Connecticut area and have paid $350-400. There was an extra charge because two of the guitars had bound necks. The EVO fretwire is only slightly more expensive. You might consider a slightly taller fretwire to make playability a little easier. Talk to your luthier about that.

If you mention your location you might get some good recommendations from fellow AGFers.

best,

Rick

[llew]

I paid $300 for a D-15SM 12 fret maybe a year ago with s/s fret wire.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Gryf

I've never had to have a regret job done before. And I'm considering the possibility of having it done to a guitar I bought back in high school in the 70's. I'll start making some local calls, and finding references, etc.., but in the meantime I was hoping someone could state what a reasonable cost for a job like this would be. Does the make of guitar make difference? Are there different quality frets that you can select?
Maybe Re-fret 101 is what I need!..

Hi Gryf…

Do you need a full refret or partial refret job?

[perttime]

One thing that local luthiers here mention in their web price lists is a higher price with bound fretboards.

[StevenL]

I paid $375 each for 2 guitars, full refret, in Jackson, MS about a year ago. Both only really needed the first 5 replaced, but he refused to do a partial refret before he even saw the guitars. This price did not include any setup work since he left one of mine badly intonated since he slopped a new used-and-dirty saddle on it (for an extra $40). In my neck of the woods, one has little option for this kind of work but I'll not make that mistake again. Would be better off just buying a nice $400 guitar every few years and tossing the fretworn.

If you have some skills, it would be worth it to learn how to do refret (and setup work) yourself.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Originally Posted by StevenL

I paid $375 each for 2 guitars, full refret, in Jackson, MS about a year ago. Both only really needed the first 5 replaced, but he refused to do a partial refret before he even saw the guitars. This price did not include any setup work since he left one of mine badly intonated since he slopped a new used-and-dirty saddle on it (for an extra $40). In my neck of the woods, one has little option for this kind of work but I'll not make that mistake again. Would be better off just buying a nice $400 guitar every few years and tossing the fretworn.

If you have some skills, it would be worth it to learn how to do refret (and setup work) yourself.

I'm a handy guy and have all the tools in the Binford catalog... When I looked into how a proper re-fret is performed, I gladly forked out $250 to have an experienced professional do it.

Sorry to hear you don't have a good luthier in your area.

[StevenL]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

I'm a handy guy and have all the tools in the Binford catalog... When I looked into how a proper re-fret is performed, I gladly forked out $250 to have an experienced professional do it.

Sorry to hear you don't have a good luthier in your area.

Oh yeah. I know that this kind of work requires a lot of skill and practice and that I'd mess it up badly the first few times I tried it, like my forays into nut work. I would gladly have forked out $250 too. That is a reasonable cost. I grudgingly forked out $375 + $40 to an 'experienced professional' and got ... something that required further work by someone else. I'm sorry too.

I have some family in the Dallas area (Rockwall/Heath). Next time I need luthier work, I'll take it over there

[mirwa]

Locality makes a difference, overheads, shop rent, lots of factors.

I can only say what I charge, this is of the top of my head associated with refrets.

Standard refret with setup $310
Evo fret / Bronze fret surcharge $50
Stainless steel fret surcharge $100

Bound boards - no surcharge
Floyd setups at completion - no surcharge
Maple board Colour Matched respray surcharge $75

Additional costs that can occur
New bone nut if required surcharged $60
Restore / New inlays 50-350
Restore / replace Gibson Nubs $245 surcharge
New fretboard $200-350 Ebony/rosewood/maple etc
Carbon fibre spline mod surcharge $250

Steve