Refret Cost

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Bardagh

Bardagh

Well-known member
Curious if anyone has paid to have a refret done in the past year or so and what they paid? I have two guitars I’m thinking about having it done on, both 22 fret with no binding. One is set neck and the other bolt on, but the bolt on is a unique neck that I really love the feel of so I’m not interested in just swapping in another neck.

I know from searching forums and such that in the past people claim to have paid $200-300 for refrets with nickel silver and upwards of $400 for SS, but a lot of what I have found are posts from several years back.

I only know of one shop within reasonable driving distance (Southeast Guitar Repair in Buford, GA) that is certified to do repair work for various brands like Gibson and Martin and offers full repair and building services. They do good work but I have found their prices high on other things in the past, so when I get a quote from them for a refret I want some idea of what prices are like out there in the general market.
 
1st one was in the 80's. I think it was $150. I think that same guy is around $500 now, but he's been doing it this long. ..That was for Nickel Frets. SS might be more.
Lots of swingin' dicks out there claiming they are the man..
 
midnightlaundry said:
1st one was in the 80's. I think it was $150. I think that same guy is around $500 now, but he's been doing it this long. ..That was for Nickel Frets. SS might be more.
Lots of swingin' dicks out there claiming they are the man..
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Damn $500, where is this at?
 
I think you can get a SS refret and plek job for around that at sweetwater.

I have 2 guitars that still have nickel frets and as much as I would like to get them, on one of them it doesn't make sense economically. It's like putting expensive rims on a Ford Pinto.

Before getting my chubtone Explorer I thought of just getting an epiphone explorer from sweetwater then getting them to plek and fret it with SS frets. I still think that's not the absolute worst thought I've ever had on a gear purchase but a friend told me that "you can do all of that but at the end of the day you still have an epiphone that won't get back anywhere near what you put into it".

In your case where the neck has some special sauce to it for your taste, I would send it to sweetwater and get SS frets and plek. I mean if you go, you should go all out.
 
ClintN667 said:
I think you can get a SS refret and plek job for around that at sweetwater.

I have 2 guitars that still have nickel frets and as much as I would like to get them, on one of them it doesn't make sense economically. It's like putting expensive rims on a Ford Pinto.

Before getting my chubtone Explorer I thought of just getting an epiphone explorer from sweetwater then getting them to plek and fret it with SS frets. I still think that's not the absolute worst thought I've ever had on a gear purchase but a friend told me that "you can do all of that but at the end of the day you still have an epiphone that won't get back anywhere near what you put into it".

In your case where the neck has some special sauce to it for your taste, I would send it to sweetwater and get SS frets and plek. I mean if you go, you should go all out.
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Sweetwater does that ?? I had no idea ......
 
I've only done it once about 12 years ago; SS refret on my Hamer Californian done by the New Orleans Guitar Company for around $300-$350

I'd guess these days it's quite a bit more expensive but idk
 
I pay ~$800 to have it done at ESP for stainless on a bound neck-thru.
 
There is a high falutin’ “boutique” guitar shop in about an hour south of me that has a plek machine although on their website they don’t mention anything about repair work, just using it for setups. With shipping prices being what they are right now, sending a guitar to Sweetwater and back would add a whole lot of cost.
 
Bardagh said:
Nickel silver or SS frets and what location?
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Nickel. SS was more, not sure of what it would cost, i didn't ask for specifics. This was an easy one for them, no neck bending, etc. I liked the PLEK. Also had it done on my PRS CU24 when it was time for crown\polish.

edit- -missed the location - this was in Springfield, MO.
 
This is why new Gibson LP’s are a no go for me. I find their frets too small and don’t exactly feel like I want to spend $4-500 to make a $3000 guitar play well. This and the cost of shipping has really changed how I look at Guitar purchases.
 
I had an estimate from Mass St Music in Lawrence KS for a SS re-fret plus PLEK set-up for $600.00.

They have the only PLEK machine in the surrounding KC Metro area and they do excellent work. But this was for an old guitar that I used during my ‘road’ days and honestly do not play enough any more to justify the cost. I dunno - I may change my mind and have the old dog brought back to it’s former glory!
 
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Actually the shop I was thinking of with the plek (Righteous Guitars in Alpharetta, GA) does do full service repair work in house. So I have two different places I can hit up for prices.
 
I had a guy based in Dayton, Ohio put jumbo SS frets on my #1 LP during the mask wearing days. Also installed a JB into the bridge, and swapped the electronics to 50's style. Guitar was 10 years old, frets were done, and the pots were getting wonky.

Total cost was about $350 and he did an incredible job. I have a hard time dealing with regular LP frets now.
 
fek said:
I had a guy based in Dayton, Ohio put jumbo SS frets on my #1 LP during the mask wearing days. Also installed a JB into the bridge, and swapped the electronics to 50's style. Guitar was 10 years old, frets were done, and the pots were getting wonky.

Total cost was about $350 and he did an incredible job. I have a hard time dealing with regular LP frets now.
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That sounds like a deal. No way am I gonna get all that for that price. One of these guitars is a Gibson but both have medium jumbo frets, or at least they were medium jumbo once upon a time. They’ve both gotten a lot lower to the fretboard although the Gibson is not quite as bad yet.
 
I charge $285 for a Refret with a setup. +$60 for Stainless Steel. +$100 for bound boards. +$175 for Multiscale. You'll also need a new nut. $75 for bone, $45 for Graphtech. If you have a Floyd, I'll just shim it, $0. I usually do ball end frets as a default. Good luck on your search.

IMHO, You should spring for stainless if you can, worth the investment for the longevity. Changes the sound a bit, maybe a bit brighter? But that means I can go longer in between string changes.
 
Good God that is just ridiculous
 

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