How effective is a good fret dressing

Quencho092

New member
i was wondering how effective a good fret dress is. Anybody had one? I hear it feels real smooth and nice once its done, and the frets are perfectly even.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

That's the point of them AFAIK. When frets get worn, dented, high, etc, fix them. It makes things sound pretty again.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

Quencho092 said:
but how much fret does it eat away.

Usually, you dress the frets down to the point of it's worst divets...2nd fret G.

If you're worried about taking off too much fret height, you might be surprised that you prefer the feel of a guitar that's had a fretdress.

Over a year ago, I did it on my favorite strat, thinking it would mess with it's feel. IT DID. Now, the guitar feels more like a Custom Shop than an Am Std.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

Wow I thought my Tele was just weird with the major dent on the 2nd fret under the G. It's normal, eh?
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

'bout 75 even here in Texas, but alot of guitar related labor is cheaper down here.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

Another alternative is to replace the most heavily pitted frets and dress all the frets accordingly.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

JohnJohn said:
That may be more expensive.
Many shops charge on a by fret basis for partial jobs,plus then the charge ofthe dress.

That's true, but you would still have plenty of fret left over if you didn't grind the top of each fret down to the level of the lowest pit. This allows for further dressing in the future before you have to refret the entire board.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

well, would it be smart to get a light fret dressing done on a new fender, just to round off the frets as they seem rectangular in shape rather than well curved. I'm sure that theres room for improvement fretwise, but i just wanted to know if it would be adviseable. And how quickly do the frets wear if one plays every day, say 2 hours
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

This is one reason why I like tall frets. My Hamer came stock with medium jumbos, and I find them too short to begin with. If I have a tech level them, they're going to be even shorter. Instead, I'm going to have it refretted with 6100 fretwire. Tall frets will last you much longer than shorter ones, because you can level them and still play comfortably due to the extra height they had to begin with.

Ryan
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

Probably mandatory for a new LP. I don't get it, after shelling out 1600 for a Classic. But, after the fret dress and pro setup, it played like butter.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

how big are stock fender american strat frets compared to jumbos? How much is fretwire?
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

I have a luthier who has used solder to rebuild the frets on my 63 P bass when they get low spots in them. Yes, I said solder! It works quite well, is very hard, and he's done it for several guitarists and bassists locally with good results. The job lasts for about ten years and doesn't affect tone. I've heard other luthiers scoff at this, but it has worked out well for me.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

...anyone else notice the massive post count on him ^ ?
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

Yeah, that's a little odd for registering earlier in the month. Especially cuz I haven't seen him around until now.

I was just going to answer the question about fret-wear. The simple answer: it depends.

Factors in fret wear:
How heavy is your touch?
The type of strings used
Truss rod set-up
Type of fretwire used
Bridge height (if you're having to bring the strings down from high off the board, you'll likely have a heavier hand)
Even hand acid/oil composition
Playing environment

Essentially, every factor that can affect string life will also affect fret wear. Guys with experience in dressings will be able to tell you a general timeframe to expect.
 
Re: How effective is a good fret dressing

I do fret work and I would have to say it is one of the better investments one could do to a guitar. Deffinetly if the guitar is leveled first then re-crowned and re-dressed. As far as the material taken off, If it a recrowning nothing is taken off of the height of the fret. The fret is re-rounded and polished. As far as the leveling, it depends how far it is out of wack.
 
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