Fretwork frequency?

[Danster]

So I've had my electric guitar less than 1.5 years. During that time I have played probably an average of 1-2 hours a day. Some of the frets are getting fairly worn. Is that normal? How often do you guys have to get your frets filed (or ground, or dressed, or whatever you call it)?

Cheers,
Dan

[EricV]

Hi there,

I can´t really narrow it down to a time period, but I can tell you it´s normal that there´s obvious fretwear on your guitar.
My first electric guitar was a really cheap one, and some frets were worn out after only 3-5 months... low quality frets, I guess.

My Vandenbergs have had several "fret-jobs", and the frets on the "stripped one" will need to be replaced pretty soon... One more fretjob on that one and it´ll sound like a fretless guitar :)

Eric

[metallibeast]

How can you actually tell if the frets are worn? Is there any method to check it? I suspect some of my frets are worn but I dun really know how to check it...:(

-Beast

[EricV]

Well, you can sometimes see it ( visible dents in the fret wire ), but most likely you´ll hear it.
I.e., on the "stripped" Vandy, if I fret the E on the 17th fret of the B-string, and pull up, it ain´t smooth... there´s some little noise happening, some kind of a "pling"... that´s because the fret is worn there.
Also, it can cause the notes to be cut short, like you hit a note, and the fretwire is worn, it might sound like a deadnote.
Also, when playing chords, and some the strings buzz although you´re fretting accurately, the fret might be worn. You can try to compensate by slightly changing the string-action ( height of string above frets ), but that is only a temporary solution.
On my first guitar, it drove me crazy... the fretwire of the second fret was absolutely worn out, and when I played an A major, it sounded like crap... buzzing, dead notes etc.
My guitar teacher at that time adjusted the string action a bit, which helped a bit, but soon, the fret was way too worn out, so a fretjob would have been necessary.
Hope this helps
Eric

[metallibeast]

Oh ok...my frets are worn than...at first I thought it was the action...changed it than after a while the damn buzz came back again...hmmm....time to get a fret job than...:(

Juz wondering roughly how much does it cost? and how long will it take...generally that is?

I think I probably need to get new frets...what frets are the best to get? Dun really know much about frets....

Thanks for the help!!!!

-Beast

[EricV]

Hi there,

I can´t tell you much about how much it costs, better ask the luthier / repairman. It shouldn´t take too long, but it depends on how much work he has piled up.
The luthier who does the fretjobs for me is really quick doing them, doing a great job too, but he usually does have a workshop full of guitars waiting for repair.
So you might have to leave the guitar at the store / workshop for a while.
The repair man / luthier will tell you how much it will cost and how long it´ll take. Shouldn´t be too expensive though.

I had the frets replaced in my guitars cuz they were wore down after several fret jobs... that was the reason. A fretjob will eliminate buzzing and dents, but you can only do it a few times before the fret´s too low.
About new frets: it depends on what you´re playing style is like, and what you prefer.

I do lots of legato-stuff, and that´s why I had the luthier install Dunlop 6100 fretwire. Those last a while, and they´re really high.
That makes bending and some legato-stuff easier, but it might give you intonation problems if you press down too much on the strings.
Try this: Go to a guitar store, try a few guitars, check out which one has the frets you feel most comfortable with. Try to find like 2 or 3 guitars with frets like that. Usually, on the internet, you can then check the manufacturers website to see what kind of fretwire ( or at least: small, medium, jumbo ) are installed on those guitars.
This will help you to pick the right fretwire.
Eric

[Danster]

Originally posted by metallibeast
time to get a fret job
Juz wondering roughly how much does it cost?

Well, I went by a local guitar store today, and they told me it would be $85 for a fret job. That was a little tough to swallow since I only paid $140 for my guitar. So I bought a used guitar for $50 which had a good neck and good frets, with the intention of putting the neck on my own guitar. After I got the dang thing home, I started having second thoughts about taking the neck off. Its a pretty guitar. Its a Yamaha RGX610M with a mother of pearl-like body and a maple neck. I got it so cheap because it has no bridge (takes a Floyd Rose type), and it has no pickup (it has a spot for only one humbucker, and that's it as far as pickups are concerned). So now I have two questions. First, are those Floyd Rose units pretty much interchangeable, i.e., will any Floyd Rose (or FR licensed) bridge will work on any make of guitar? Second, does anyone know anything about the RGX610M? There is an amazing dearth of info on the Internet about this guitar. Mainly I'm interested in it's worth. If it's worth anything, I'm definitely not taking the neck off.