Fret Job?

[nwduffer]

I have a cool little 73 Strat that has had the frets played and dressed and played and dressed down to the point of no return. First time for a real fret job for me, and I don't think I will try to do a Tool Time job on it myself.

There are no real shops in my town, but one about an hour away that has been recommended, and I've been told that it will probably be about $250 for the job.

Just wondering if this is about the right price, and/or if there is any place that would be worth sending it to if I'm going to fork out the cash to have it done.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Boots]

You might want to check into buying a new/used fender neck. You can buy them through Fender resellers or straight from Fender. Sometimes you can run across a vintage neck on ebay.

I'm not sure if you would have to adjust much for intonation by adding a new neck.

 

[Hard2Hear]

No, I wouldn't mess with another neck. 1973...thats probably a 3 screw neck anyways, and they're hard to find and you won't get one for $250, ANd then your #s won't match. But 200-250 is good ballpark for a fret job on that guitar. Make sure you look at the options of fret wire to use. Some people like the small stuff and some (like me) like the bigguns. A re-fret is not a really obtrusive job on a Strat, and they should be including setup in the price.
H2H

 

[Tom Hicks]

Big wire has less buzz if you like to bend a lot across the radius of the neck.
Tom

 

[Stan Williams]

In my shop the price runs $225 for unfinished fingerboards,rosewood,ebony,and $275 for maple fingerboards with finish. All my refrets include complete setup as should any refret or file and crown job. Don't forget,jumbo frets can sometimes be filed and crown several times and still have enough height to play well.