Good evening guys,
Long story:
I recently had one of my guitars (Les Paul Tribute) refret on a shop I had heard good things about.
I asked them to refret it with Jescar Stainless Steel (Jumbo due personal preference). By factory, the guitar has a 12'' Radius and 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel frets
The guitar came back, I paid the usual "extra" fee for being stainless steel, etc...
A few weeks ago I noticed there was some space beneath the frets (right in the middle).
Given that the space was in the middle and not the edges, I knew this wasn't a case of badly seated frets, but different radius, so I measured the frets and they all measure 10'' instead of 12''. I searched for a bag they gave me containing three extra frets which also had a Jescar business card with the details. Of course, it said "10'' radius, pre-cut, Jumbo frets"...
First of all, how does one "mistakenly" install 10'' frets? Didn't he have to select the 10'' tools and leveling blocks? How do you commit a mistake (at least) three times?
I know with nickel you can use 10'' fretwire and press it down, but with stainless steel that is not the case. They charged a lot more for being stainless steel, so how the fuck did he not use the proper procedure with stainless steel?
I took the guitar back to the shop to see if they assumed the error - they didn't. I was as polite and calm as one can be, as I knew being agressive would certainly get me nowhere. Nevertheless, the owner was a bit rude and started arguing that the frets weren't the wrong radius, as I claimed.
I came prepared not only with the gauge but also with the Jescar card stating 10''. Only then he backed down. He told me he would give me a call.
A few hours later, he sends me a message saying "10'' radius isn't a standard radius. I've ordered fretwire to be cut and will let you know when it arrives for you to bring the guitar for a refret".
Now, besides using the wrong frets, the refret job seemed to also be kinda sloppy. I can see left out glue in the fretboard (altough nothing substancial) and some scratch marks from what I assume are from removing the sharp fret ends.
If you were in my position, would you risk letting this store fix their mistake (for free)?
Or would you search for a better luthier, even though you would have to pay for the refret again?
Thank you for your patience, I know this was a long one..
Long story:
I recently had one of my guitars (Les Paul Tribute) refret on a shop I had heard good things about.
I asked them to refret it with Jescar Stainless Steel (Jumbo due personal preference). By factory, the guitar has a 12'' Radius and 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel frets
The guitar came back, I paid the usual "extra" fee for being stainless steel, etc...
A few weeks ago I noticed there was some space beneath the frets (right in the middle).
Given that the space was in the middle and not the edges, I knew this wasn't a case of badly seated frets, but different radius, so I measured the frets and they all measure 10'' instead of 12''. I searched for a bag they gave me containing three extra frets which also had a Jescar business card with the details. Of course, it said "10'' radius, pre-cut, Jumbo frets"...
First of all, how does one "mistakenly" install 10'' frets? Didn't he have to select the 10'' tools and leveling blocks? How do you commit a mistake (at least) three times?
I know with nickel you can use 10'' fretwire and press it down, but with stainless steel that is not the case. They charged a lot more for being stainless steel, so how the fuck did he not use the proper procedure with stainless steel?
I took the guitar back to the shop to see if they assumed the error - they didn't. I was as polite and calm as one can be, as I knew being agressive would certainly get me nowhere. Nevertheless, the owner was a bit rude and started arguing that the frets weren't the wrong radius, as I claimed.
I came prepared not only with the gauge but also with the Jescar card stating 10''. Only then he backed down. He told me he would give me a call.
A few hours later, he sends me a message saying "10'' radius isn't a standard radius. I've ordered fretwire to be cut and will let you know when it arrives for you to bring the guitar for a refret".
Now, besides using the wrong frets, the refret job seemed to also be kinda sloppy. I can see left out glue in the fretboard (altough nothing substancial) and some scratch marks from what I assume are from removing the sharp fret ends.
If you were in my position, would you risk letting this store fix their mistake (for free)?
Or would you search for a better luthier, even though you would have to pay for the refret again?
Thank you for your patience, I know this was a long one..