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Re-fret for an early '70s Rickenbacker


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A friend of mine owns an early '70s 4000s Rickenbacker which apart from being the best Ric I have ever played, and being worth more than a few bob, is of significant sentimental value to her. She was recently advised at a local guitar shop that it needed a re-fret, and was quoted I think £400.

 

Now I wouldn't trust that particular shop with a vintage guitar, but before I suggest elsewhere I thought I would ask here on the pros and cons of even doing the work. As you can see, the frets are indeed very worn - should they be replaced?

 

IMG-20240219-WA0002.thumb.jpeg.323686ae6bd972da7d1ba6829e432a37.jpeg

 

20240223_172151.thumb.jpg.58ad5b900cce9b38f9905668062072e3.jpg

 

20240223_171436.thumb.jpg.2996ed366bc21a1f4087e4e34cee8da9.jpg

 

Noiseworks in Coventry, who do all the Bass Direct setup have a re-fret price listed around £200, and I think I would trust them more than the other place.

 

 

Edited by Richard R
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  • Richard R changed the title to Re-fret for an early '70s Rickenbacker
12 minutes ago, ped said:

Only if it no longer plays well. I’ve had basses with frets like that which have played perfectly so I didn't touch them. 

 

While that is absolutely true, try to take a closer look at the fret at the very top of this picture under the D strings:

16 hours ago, Richard R said:

 

20240223_172151.thumb.jpg.58ad5b900cce9b38f9905668062072e3.jpg

 

 

That's a pretty serious gorge into the fret, not just regular, relatively light and uniform, fret wear as seemingly displayed on the other frets of the pictures, and I would think that would cause issues.

 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
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2 minutes ago, ped said:

Only if it no longer plays well. I’ve had basses with frets like that which have played perfectly so I didn't touch them. 

 

1 hour ago, gary mac said:

I wouldn’t refret a Ric for £200. For that job £400 is much more realistic.

 

Get someone reliable to assess the bass.  I can highly recommend @Manton Customs,  Robin advised me that the frets on my G&L SB-1 still had life in them however I chose to go ahead. Stainless frets fitted at a very sensible price and now a joy to play again.  I would not hesitate to have Robin carry out work on my kit.

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Just a few things to consider

 

The fingerboard has a lacquered finish which, I believe, is applied at the factory after the frets are fitted.

You can see the finish on the sides of the frets in your pictures.

This obviously adds to the difficulty of removing the old frets without making a mess of the fingerboard.

 

Rickenbacker doesn't sell fret wire so you'll need to decide what's going to be used.

Stewmac sells what is supposed to be the nearest equivalent.

 

Whoever does the work will need to be familiar with vintage Rickenbacker's, specifically the Truss Rod adjustment.

 

This will have dual Truss Rods which shouldn't be used to adjust the neck relief.

The neck needs to be manually bent into position and the Truss Rods then nipped up to hold it in position.

 

£400 doesn't sound totally ridiculous if the work is done by someone who has experience of working on these.

 

Having said all of this; most of the frets that I can see, appear to have some life left in them and could probably be revived.

The one with the big dent under the D string might still be salvageable.

 

The key is to find a knowledgeable luthier to advise on what is possible.

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Thanks everyone- and @Madein1962 for the Ric-specifics.

 

Given that the bass isn't getting a lot of use at the moment,  and it still plays very nicely,  I think the best plan is leave things as they are, but to get at least a couple of luthiers to look at it and scope them out regarding their expertise. If they can do the work properly then get them to provide an estimate for future reference. 

 

 

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