Advice on frets on my compstang

[glitchathon]

So my competition Mustang ('72) has some pretty worn out frets. There is little to work with in regards to fret leveling. I took it to a luthier here who is highly regarded and he did a great job on my acoustic, and also did about all he could do on my Mustang.

Current state of the Mustang: comfortable action. neck very straight (he seemed to get it working best with only a tiny bit of relief). buzzing mostly a problem on the lower frets on the low E string. However, my Strat also has buzzing but does not get amplified by the amp. My Mustang gets a bit of buzzing sound into the amp, possibly due to the microphonic pickups?

I asked him what we can do about the buzz, and he said a fret level may not be worth the effort since there is not much left to work with. He feels a refret should be in the near future, but that I should play it for a bit to see how much it bothers me.

A refret is quite expensive. Would it be worth taking it to a couple other luthiers for their opinion or should I just bite the bullet? If I get a refret, I'd probably get stainless steel frets so this money should be well worth spending in the long run.

[Dice]

If it were mine I would invest in the refret. In the long run, that is the smart move. Also, it is worth doing on your particular guitar (as in the value of the guitar is worth refretting).

[Haze]

Put stainless steel frets on it and you never never never never ever have to worry about it again.

[robert(original)]

refrets are expensive, im one of the cheaper guys and i still charge 10 bucks for rosewood and 15 for maple(thats per fret)
i say, play it until its absolutely fucked, i bet you could get about year or more out of it at the very least, and the mean time just tuck like 1 dollar into a jar, and once you have reached over 250, take it in to get a re-fret.
keep in mind tho. stainless does get worn down, not nearly as fast, but if you got a normal run of the mill fret you will most likely not need another refret for at least 40 years.
unless you are rodvonbon and the rock oozes from your hands like crack candy.

[stewart]

i think my duo sonic is going to need some fret work done pretty soon. it was doing weird things at rehearsal the other night (i.e. the 11th fret seemed to completely die but started working again later on- i was perplexed to say the least).

the annoying thing is i love the feel of the worn frets, so if there's any way i can get out of having a full refret done i will (apart from the fact i can't afford it). i'm worried the feel of the guitar will get fucked up. do not want to hate my favourite guitar

[glitchathon]

i guess i need to bite the bullet. sucks that a refret costs as much as a new neck! but i guess this guitar is worth it as was mentioned. I will start inquiring about this with the luthier.

[robroe]

ill play devils advocate here. i say don't do it. i say take the neck off and retire it.


many different necks can fit on your 72 mustang.

mustang
duo sonic
musicmaster
jaguar
jag stang
vista jagmaster



you are bound to find something under 200 bucks if you search all of those models of shortscale guitar for a new neck. the jag stang neck is like the holy arc around here....its too bad that they attached it to the jag stang body...its just not a timeless design...or ugly depending on who you ask. but the neck on that gutiar has no comparison.

if i was in a similar situation with a fully functional guitar body ready to go and needed a 24" neck my search would start and end with a jag stang neck.

[glitchathon]

robroe, I will keep that in mind. Though if I do get a new neck, I would more likely get a Warmoth or USACG with stainless steel. seems to be better value and I can get it spec'd to how I want it.

I admit I am more interested in refretting because it is a beautifully worn neck that matches the guitar so well.

[hotrodperlmutter]

if this were a poll, i would vote refret. the guitar's definitely worth it.