Fender 71 Musicmaster re-fret, adjustments
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 1:43 am
A couple of weeks ago I decided that I had to have my Musicmaster re-fretted. The frets were pretty much flat already and the playability just wasn't that great. I came across Reloved Guitars ( www.facebook.com/relovedguitars ) . It's run by Sam, a lovely guy based in Devon, UK, but actually he works a couple of days of the week in London, so he picked the guitar from me. Really nice.
So, basically the main service was a complete re-fret, with some other adjustments and setup. You can see by the pictures below, taken by himself. It is a really nice service because e describes and discusses with you the whole process, and he also makes a real time video of everything he did with the guitar. I recommend you to check if you're interested.
Guitar before the service:
"You might be able to see that the bass E is teetering on the edge of the fingerboard while there's more space on the high E side - and that's with some clever positioning using the saddles. It appears the bridge is 2-3mm out of position and I'm curious if this has somehow developed over 50 years (I can't think of a logical explanation) or was it like this from new?"
"The frets are already pretty flat and clearly pitted beyond repair."
The previous owner did some nasty stuff with it. Added an extra pickup and a switch. That kind of looks ok in the surface but underneath it's a mess.
Job done, just waiting for strings
Here's Sam giving it a test drive. The guitar now plays 100 times better, and I am extremely happy with the job.
For the curious ones here's the real time videos:
[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
So, basically the main service was a complete re-fret, with some other adjustments and setup. You can see by the pictures below, taken by himself. It is a really nice service because e describes and discusses with you the whole process, and he also makes a real time video of everything he did with the guitar. I recommend you to check if you're interested.
Guitar before the service:
"You might be able to see that the bass E is teetering on the edge of the fingerboard while there's more space on the high E side - and that's with some clever positioning using the saddles. It appears the bridge is 2-3mm out of position and I'm curious if this has somehow developed over 50 years (I can't think of a logical explanation) or was it like this from new?"
"The frets are already pretty flat and clearly pitted beyond repair."
The previous owner did some nasty stuff with it. Added an extra pickup and a switch. That kind of looks ok in the surface but underneath it's a mess.
Job done, just waiting for strings
Here's Sam giving it a test drive. The guitar now plays 100 times better, and I am extremely happy with the job.
For the curious ones here's the real time videos:
[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]