fair price for fret dress/crown?

[woodman]

i've been playing my USAGC neck fairly hard for a year and a half now, and i'm getting flat spots and a divot here and there. the fretwork was good right out of the box, so the frets have never been touched (except by strings).

i called my trusty tech of many years for a quote on a dress/crown and he said $130. yow! he used to do it for $85 a few years ago. anybody know of any reason the price has jumped so much?

[HOBBSTER01]

$85.00 here.

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by woodman

i called my trusty tech of many years for a quote on a dress/crown and he said $130. yow! he used to do it for $85 a few years ago. anybody know of any reason the price has jumped so much?

I would assume that like most of us, his Grocery bill has increased by about 30% in the last few years...his Electric Bill has doubled (mine has)...and he's just tryin to stay even ?

[refin]

Prices do go up.
I pretty much quit fretwork,don't have the time--but occasionally I do some.A fret level and dress took about 1/2 to 3/4 the time to do a total refret.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by mellecaster

I would assume that like most of us, his Grocery bill has increased by about 30% in the last few years...his Electric Bill has doubled (mine has)...and he's just tryin to stay even ?

but unfortunately, so have mine ... if he'd gone up to $100, i wouldn't have blinked an eye. but more than a 50% hike in price is a bit much. maybe (like refin) he's tired of fret work and has decided to price himself out of the market. that's the only thing i can figure, having known him personally as a jamming buddy and using him for all my work over the last 25 years, i know he's not a crook or a greed-head.

[Jammin'John1]

$100 here in NY.

JJ

[TelecasterSRRI]

$130 for my guy in Denver.

[clayfeat]

I paid $125 last year.

[Chet Johnson]

$85.00 a few years ago.

Say, how much did a gallon of gas cost a few years ago?

[woodman]

ya mean when oil was $40 a barrel? sorry, i don't see a parallel here.

[pchilson]

A couple months back I took my AXL Badwater in to the guy I use. He did a bone nut and a fret level and crown all for the grand sum of $60.

Its not rocket science but some want you to think so.

Blast away...

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by pchilson

A couple months back I took my AXL Badwater in to the guy I use. He did a bone nut and a fret level and crown all for the grand sum of $60.

Its not rocket science but some want you to think so.

Blast away...

I sure do !!...........Makes me feel more Loved

[getbent]

Woody, it runs about 150.00 in the bay area. I only have it done professionally on guitars that 'earn it'... the guy I have do it has a touch that I do not have... I think I earned about 6500.00 last year playing music (well, really I get paid to haul my gear, I'll play for free.) I have one guitar just about ready for a crown and redress and it has been about 3 years for it... pretty good deal for me I guess.

Now, the same guy will refret a maple tele neck for 175.00... I have decided that it is part of the cost of doing business. I may just have him refret the one guitar as the frets are the skinny/low classic frets and I'm not sure they can go much lower... for 25.00 new would be cool.

Good luck amigo, I'm sure you'll find a good solution.

[TelecasterSRRI]

Originally Posted by TelecasterSRRI

$130 for my guy in Denver.

I take it back, I have a "new guy" equally good work, does the job out of his basement to keep costs down--$85 including fret level/crown/dress, full setup, any necessary nut work. Got the guitar back and it plays like a dream. I guess it pays to shop around.

[Tele-Champ]

Originally Posted by HOBBSTER01

$85.00 here.

$96 quoted to me a couple weeks ago...

[Jakester93]

Along the lines of this topic...
How often is it normal to get a fret job? I'm thinking I need one.. the frets are starting to get worn down, I can see it. Some fret buzz in places, and one or two frets will bend out. its annoying.
I've had the guitar since 2006.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Jakester93

How often is it normal to get a fret job?

it all depends on how much you play the guitar in question. if you pretty much play one axe exclusively (much like myself), it'll be sooner than if you play several guitars in rotation. for me, it's been almost a year and a half ... i average about four gigs and two rehearsals a month, plus several hours a week recording guitar tracks, plus practicing variable amounts on my own.

check your frets closely and look for flat spots and little notches (divots) around the positions you play a lot (for me, the wear spots are worst around first, second, fourth and fifth frets — i play a lot in E and A!).

[fordfanjpn]

In Japan I paid $250 for a fret dress and $500 for a refret. I'd be ecstatic to get a fret dress for only $130. FWIW, I just crowned and polished the frets on a RW Tele neck that I bought on evilbay, and now I can see why it ain't cheap.

Bill

[spauldingrules]

Wouldn't it be better to just ebay it and get a new one for $157 from Warmoth?

[strat800]

Originally Posted by fordfanjpn

In Japan I paid $250 for a fret dress and $500 for a refret. I'd be ecstatic to get a fret dress for only $130. FWIW, I just crowned and polished the frets on a RW Tele neck that I bought on evilbay, and now I can see why it ain't cheap.

Bill

I live in Tokyo Japan and i'm pretty sure that there are many quality repair shops that will do way less than that!
Usually less than $100.