UPDATE: What’s your opinion on this refret job?

[Tom_h]

Hey guys I’ve just had my 1984 jap start refretted. I was so nervous about having it done as I’ve had the guitar for about 20 years and it’s been my number 1 guitar but it just needed doing.
However I’m not sure if I’m happy with it. I basically know nothing about guitars other than how to play them and I’m not a diy kind of person and have zero knowledge of how to refret guitars.

I think some of these frets look messy? I’m not sure if that’s because they actually are messy or I’m just being a perfectionist and wanting the frets to all look the same.
Like. Said I have zero knowledge about this stuff so I’m not sure if by taking it back and requesting it to be sorted I’m asking the impossible or if it is actually a poor job that’s been done?
Here are a few pics and a short video
Any help would be awesome!

[ChrisX]

I don’t want you to be upset, because there’s nothing you can do to “undo” any of what was done, but IMO it doesn’t look like a top job.

My question is if the fret tangs were visible prior to the refret? Usually the tangs are cut shorter than the frets so they are not visible, and then the slot is filled with wood filler.

Also, it appears that the whole edge of the board was leveled which removed the finish. Its hard to see if that is the case, but in a sloppy fret job, if the frets are cut wider than the board and are hanging over the edge, they might use a sanding block to shorten them, which also would remove finish from the corner of the board. This might make it marginally narrower and expose the wood beneath the laquer. It could also weaken the finish and cause it to start flaking off.

The fret ends also don’t look rounded. It appears that very little work was done in shaping the ends, instead they did most of the work with the sanding block.

Its hard to say with any certainty without seeing the guitar beforehand, but I would give this job a 4/10 based on what I’m seeing. It looks like a functional refret that didn’t attempt to maintain the aesthetics of the guitar.

[aliendough]

I wouldn’t be happy with that job to be honest. It could have been done a lot better.

If you’re in the uk I can recommend Feline Guitars who always do sterling work.

[mikemana]

The tangs would have been visible before the refret . As far as i know Maple board Fenders have always been that way. I have a 85 MIJ that is my main guit So the neck would be the same, my girlfriend at the time gave it to me in 1985 so know the frets are original. 4/10 might be a little harsh; lots of maple boards are torn to hell during refrets and repair guys just claim it cant be helped . But i would be all kinds of upset if my guitar came back looking like that.
Shaping the fret ends should be done with a modified triangle file so the finish on the guitar is not harmed. And really a proper job should be rounded ends not just the edge taken off

[Christian]

To me it looks like when dressing the fret ends he ran the file parallel to the fretboard and severely damaged the edge of the fretboard and then did a bad touch up.
It´s hard to tell without before / after comparison. Has there always been that bevel on the edge of the fretboard?

[ChrisX]

To me it looks like when dressing the fret ends he ran the file parallel to the fretboard and severely damag

I agree. Looking more closely, the “bevel” is not constant across the board. I looks like he didn’t even take the neck off the guitar because at the body the bevel is different. Ive never seen anyone remove that much wood in order to handle the fret ends.

I’m curious who did this work. Asking for a refund is hardly going to return the fretboard to its original dimensions.

I don’t trust luthiers and have learned to do all the work myself. Only thing I haven’t done is a complete refret.

[AGTG]

What he did to the edges of the neck is inexcusable. Don’t get too upset, but it appears he’s basically destroyed the neck due to that alone.

Also, the frets are obviously very inconsistently cut. One of them (the one all the way to the right at the 29 second mark of the video) will likely cut you badly it’s sticking out so much.

Different size fretwire have different length tangs, and it’s obvious these tangs did not go as deep as the original. Whether or not that could have been avoided I am unsure.

To be honest, I would point these things out to the guy and ask him to buy you a replacement neck. You can get one from Musikraft with stainless frets which will last a lifetime for around $300-$350. They will build to your exact specifications, too.

[Tom_h]

i took the guitar to a much better establishment yesterday and they told me he did the worst job they have seen in a long time. Apparently they get work of his to fix up all the time. Im so mad i could cry. had this guitar 20 years and its my number one. Took it in for a set up but he recommended a refret and this is how it was left. heartbroken

[Tom_h]

Hey guys i managed to get my money back off the guy and I’m taking the guitar to a professional this week to have it fixed as good as it can be. He has said the lacquer will be removed from the fret board so the neck can be ‘trued up’ in a jig, then the frets can be seated properly. Apparently the frets are not even level!!!
They are going to refinish the fretboard afterwards.
Fingers crossed this time, soooooo nervous!
Thanks for all your input

[Sguitar]

Good luck! Can’t wait to see the fix.

[Tom_h]

UPDATE (for anyone who is interested)

So i got my strat back from the second shop and I’m absolutely delighted with it!
Even though there is no way of putting the wood back on the fretboard which the last guy sanded off the end result is incredible!
Im so relived as this was a guitar that used to belong to my old teacher and it has huge sentimental value to me. Its also my #1 guitar.
The people in the shop were horrified by the original work that had been done. They even said they found a piece of snapped off 1m drill bit under the 14th fret that was just left in there?? There were many other things they found with this guitar and 2 other i took to them that the same guy had done work on previously. Apparently even basic steps and procedures were not even done correctly if at all!!!

Anyway here are a few pics of the end result

All the frets are same shape and size now and it plays like a dream.

[VictoriaVaughn]

That’s really great Tom. Good luck for the future

[Gtrjunior]

Glad you were able to get it fixed.
At least now you know where to bring your instruments.
Lesson learned.

[RockStarJazzCat]

So glad there was a happy ending to this story!