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Posts: 2056
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
Fret job overdue
Here is the neck of my conde. I've had the guitar since it was new-maybe 20 years or so. I've played it a lot and it still sounds good, stays in tune, etc. I've got to believe if ever a guitar needed a fret job, this is it, but wonder what's going to improve. Every groove in the neck was put there by me, so it still feels good, plays good etc. Can someone explain to me why I should put it in the shop?
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well, that depends on the school of fretting you are from.
some are of the opinion that the purest tone comes from highly crowned frets that make minimal contact with the string. theoretically this allows for the least interference with the strings vibration, it also improves intonation and playability. If you have worn frets playability will suffer because the string will travel farther from its resting position to reach the fret, fingerboard action relativity etc.
wider flatter frets have been argued to increase sustain and maximize tone, owing to the greater contact of string to a mass in need of your flamenco vibrations. the whole thing is reall a toss up, but the one sure thing that will improve with new frets is playability, you will have less distance to travel from string to fret. =)
it'll be a significant difference. in fact its one of the few things you can controll on a flamenco guitar. I mean, other than strings, bone height and humidity (well, to some degree humidity) its one of the only things that don't involve major surgery. WELL WORTH THE EXPENSE. It is something that will have to be done eventually, and it might as well be done now before it starts to really get in the way and really make your playing uncomfortable. I've done a bunch of refrets and crown and polishes to a bunch of guitars, each one has made substantial improvement in playability and intonation. you will not regret having yours done!
You not only need a fret job. You need to be more concientious about trimming your left hand fingernails to avoid wearing the fingerboard. Fret jobs are not very expensive compared to shaving or replacing a fingerboard.
I apologize if that sounded like a slam. I understand that people's fingers are shaped differently which can result in this kind of wear. I have one guitar that I played professionally for several years (6-8 hours a day) that shows no wear at all on the fingerboard and the frets like new but I have big fat round fingers.
A fret job is normally not a big deal assuming your neck is straight but with the wear on the fingerboard it may cause a change in the "feel" of the neck.
I have never owned a guitar long enough to wear out the frets. I always liked new guitars and usually sold them after a year or so of playing (one advantage of being a maker). I can't play anymore due to arthritis but if I could I'd still have a new guitar every year. I've kept only two for long term mostly because I like the way they look. They're both Brazilian negras with cedar tops.
I think it looks like time for a refret, you may be so used to the guitar now and maybe are overlooking some issues like intonation, as this is one of the problems with fret wear like this, big open chords up high etc. All this will improve and it will feel like 20 years ago, time to buy a new suit.. its always a worry to change these things but IMO worth it. like changing a tyre ..! wonder how much people charge there?
No problem John, I appreciate your feedback, and I know there are guys who can play a guitar a lot and it's still looks new. Also thanks Stephen. What you point out makes a lot of sense. I'm so used to it, I'm probably overlooking the faults in it from the fret wear. I don't know what it's gonna cost, but I'm gonna find out. I'll pass the info along once I find the guy.
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