To Fret or not to Fret

[Rockabilly69]

Hey you guys I think it's tiime to refret my SP00016TR. I'm losing the sustain and the dents in the frets are starting to get pretty deep. The frets have already been dressed once and are already thin. So for those of you that have been through this what do I look for in a quiality job, and what's the going rate for this type of repair? Also the first 5 or 6 frets are the worst, should I just have those frets changed out?:crazy

Rockabilly69 (dan weldon):

[JrGtr42]

I'd find a good tech and talk to them.
It's possible that it may still be able to be recrowned (obviously without seeing the gutiar in question, it's impossible to tell)
It is possible to have just the first few replaced, though if the rest had been recrowned somewhere along the way, there won;t be much left, and soon enough you'll be in the same boat.
Around here, (Massachusetts) most techs charge around $25 a fret to replace indiuvidually, I've seen prices from $200 on up for a full job.
All depends on the tech and his(her?) experience and reputation.

What I look for is a tech that has done it before, preferably one that I've seen the results. I have a tech here that worked through a shop that I worked at, saw plenty of his work, so when I needed a fret job, I had no problem letting him do it.

[bluespckr]

Where abouts are you located? Perhaps someone here (or even on the sister LPF) can give you a few suggestions. I live in southern New Hampshire, and recently had some work done by a guy I discovered down in Lowell, Massachusetts, of all places. He's an authorized service guy for Martin, Taylor, Gibson and a bunch of others. Small hole in the wall (or mill, actually) place, but the guy knows his stuff and is reasonable.

What JrGtr42 says is true, though, but it's hard to say the extent of what you need without seeing it up close.

[JrGtr42]

Hey, Bluespckr, have you heard of Pat DiBurro? Used to be in Haverhill, MA, now Exeter NH.
He's one of the better repair guys (he may even qualify as luthier) that I've seen.

[Rockabilly69]

I'm in Utah, so I'm going to bring this guitar to Intermountain Guitar And Banjo who are more than capable. They love Martin guitars and have years of experience in the repairs of both modern and vintage models. I've decided I want a complete refret as I don't want to be in the same boat further up the road. Besides it will be good to have that neck dialed in just for me. I'll keep you guys posted to the progress. While it's in there I'm going to have them look at the bottom of my sound hole that's torn up due to heavy picking. This guitar gets gigged about 80 hours a month and it's 8 years old, it's about time it got some serious love. I recorded with it last night (it was capoed past the really problem areas), and even with the worn frets, it sounded awesome. It sounds like a 40 year old guitar! I tried to record the same song ("Mystifies Me" by Ron Wood as I'm working on an obscure cover record) with my EC000-28 and it was no contest, the SP000-16 blew it away. The Eric Clapton has nice piano like lows and clear trebles, but the critical midrange that makes the guitar sit in a mix hasn't developed yet. It's almost like there's a mask over it that it time will be lifted as the guitar drys out. I should have just tried to find an other SP000-16 to backup my current one. I think these guitars will be collectable as they come to age. When the recording is done I'll post it so you guys can hear what I'm talking about.

Rockabilly69 (danweldon)

[JrGtr42]

Cool, Rock...
Sounds like that guitar is going to be in good hands.
Also sounds like it's had some hard lovin'...but keep in mind there's nothing wrong with a bit of wear down below the strings - look at Willie Nelson!

[bluespckr]

Hey, Bluespckr, have you heard of Pat DiBurro? Used to be in Haverhill, MA, now Exeter NH.
He's one of the better repair guys (he may even qualify as luthier) that I've seen.

I used to work for Seacoast Newspapers (1997-99), which was located across the Exter town line in Stratham, N.H. -- but that was before I did a lot of acoustic work. However, when I was looking to have my Martin DC-16GTE adjusted, and I checked for authorized Martin service guys, DiBurro Guitars in Exeter came up, as did the little shop in Lowell, Mass. Lowell is about 20 minutes away, and Exeter is about an hour, so ...

But I will keep your recommendation in mind and give him a try should I need any other work done. Thanks for the heads up.

[Rockabilly69]

Jgtr42,

I love Willie Nelson's guitar but my soundhole is splintering where the pick comes down. I wouldn't worry so much but the rosette will be next to fall so I need to have them build up that area with a little superglue mixture. My last
Gibson acoustic, one of the dreaded Mark Series from the seventies, that surprisingly sounded good, had a hole right where Willies is. I retired the guitar
about five years ago and gave it to my son. I used to sing him to bed with that guitar, and now he has a 6 year old son he does the same with. I don't want to retire my 000-16 yet!