Old friend on the bench

[ICTGoober]

The first time I saw this 1968 ES 335 was in 1979. I refretted it and fabbed up a new bone nut. Since then I've leveled the frets a number of times, refretted it again, with occasional levels. The inlays are paper thin by now. I've replaced the bridge a couple times, the tailpiece once, and 10 years ago I talked the client out of replacing the pickguard because the curled plastic was so cool and authentic. That's when I named it the Potato Chip Special. The pots and jack were replaced years ago. It's been played in countless clubs, bars, churches and even in recording sessions. It's golden vibes even made the Billboard Top 100 on the Soul Charts in the late 80's. I don't even charge the guy anymore when he brings it in for something because it's like seeing an old friend on the bench. Plays like buttah, sounds like an angel.

 

[Blille]

Wow. What a beauty.

 

[Clint 55]

Bruh, why not use stainless steel frets so you don't have put unnecessary wear on the guitar with refrets and levels?

 

[GuitarStv]

Agreed. There's no way to use anything but stainless steel while fretting a guitar.

 

[Blille]

Well, if he had done that he would not have seen it again.

 

[ICTGoober]

The knotheads pushing stainless are surely aware that they didn't exist until recently? Or did they expect me to go back in time and refret with stainless over 40 years ago? Might I suggest you post stupid crap elsewhere - not this forum, and certainly not my thread?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Don't get too rambunctious Goob, maybe one of those recent refrets could have been stainless.

You level the fretboard when you do a refret? Inlays are 1.5 - 2.5mm thick, if they are paper thin that means that his neck is a couple mm thinner...doesn't that affect his playing?

 

[Securb]

Makes me want to bang out some Sweet tunes on it and get my inner Andy Scott on.

 

[Clint 55]

The knotheads pushing stainless are surely aware that they didn't exist until recently? Or did they expect me to go back in time and refret with stainless over 40 years ago? Might I suggest you post stupid crap elsewhere - not this forum, and certainly not my thread?

GTF OFF THE FORUM GOOB. Jk. I didn't know stainless weren't available back in the day. Hopefully now you're going to use ss frets and a graph tech nut?

 

[Blille]

GTF OFF THE FORUM GOOB. Jk. I didn't know stainless weren't available back in the day. Hopefully now you're going to use ss frets and a graph tech nut?

And some sweet EMGs and a Floyd rose.

 

[Clint 55]

Imo it's more sacrilegious to use materials on a nice historic guitar that necessitate being torn out periodically.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Hey Goob, I just read your initial post again. You indicate that you refretted it and leveled the fretboard so much that "the inlays are paper thin by now". That means that you would have removed the binding nibs during the fretboard levelling. It also means that you must have had to saw the fret slots deeper so the fret tangs of the replacement frets would seat completely in the slots. While re-sawing the fret slots, those slots would have gone through the neck binding which means you also had to replace the binding.

If you had actually did those things, you would have mentioned it.

Which means you either...
Grossly exaggerated the work that you did. You fabricated the work you did (which means you lied about it). Or you totally don't understand guitar repair, specifically fret replacement (luthiery work).

And since you say you've been seeing this guitar regularly since 1979, and since ss frets have been available since the early 1990s, you actually COULD HAVE replaced the frets with stainless and there was no call for you to post this..."The knotheads pushing stainless are surely aware that they didn't exist until recently? Or did they expect me to go back in time and refret with stainless over 40 years ago? Might I suggest you post stupid crap elsewhere - not this forum, and certainly not my thread?"

(SS frets have been available for 30 years!)

As far as posting "stupid crap elsewhere", that is an excellent suggestion, Goob. You should accept your own advice.

I admit that it was an interesting story, but, you know, it really is OK to tell the truth. That might even make the story MORE interesting.

 

[jeremy]

have ss frets been available that long?!? i didnt really hear about em till maybe ten years ago

 

[ICTGoober]

have ss frets been available that long?!? i didnt really hear about em till maybe ten years ago

He's lying.
And apparently, he's never heard of a Dremel router, or removing binding, or any of the other techniques real luthiers have been using for decades. I've been doing guitar repair and building for a living since 1977. And I've gotten used to being called a liar by liars and idiots. Makes no difference to reality.

 

[jeremy]

lets keep this civil everyone

 

[GuitarStv]

have ss frets been available that long?!? i didnt really hear about em till maybe ten years ago

I thought Parker was using them on guitars way back in the '90s . . . I remember wanting to get some for a guitar in the early 2000s, so they must have been around by then at least or I wouldn't have heard of them.

 

[solspirit]

I thought Parker was using them on guitars way back in the '90s . . . I remember wanting to get some for a guitar in the early 2000s, so they must have been around by then at least or I wouldn't have heard of them.

SS frets came out in the early 90's, that's about 30 years ago

 

[beaubrummels]

That 335 is a sweet guitar. Don't really care what work was done to it; if it plays like buttah, that's all that matters.

 

[NegativeEase]

That guitar makes me feel like Im climbing the rope in gym class.

Damn-Love it.

 

[solspirit]

That guitar makes me feel like Im climbing the rope in gym class.

Hahaha. It was fun