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I think its probably about time I got the frets changed on my Jazzmaster as they're still the original ones from 62 and basically non existent at this point. I'm not worried about value as this will be a guitar I never sell, but I'm undecided on the size of frets to go for. I know I don't want massive jumbo frets, but something a bit larger than the vintage size would be tempting.

Obviously this is a personal preference thing, but whats the OSG thoughts on re-fretting vintage Jazzmasters? Would putting larger frets on it spoil the vintage feel?

Also having someone refret my guitar is new to me and to be honest a bit of a nerve wracking thing, I love this neck and don't want it spoiled.

To me small frets are *novel* and sort of interesting, but overall an impediment. I wouldn't afraid to go jumbo; they can be leveled down low later if you play the thing enough

Yeah. I have been putting this off myself.

Get out the calipers and measure some frets you like.

For my own guitar I’ll probably take it to Mike Lull or someone else with a PLEK, so some neck anomalies can be compensated for by a robot doing the fret level. I also explicitly don’t want someone planing the veneer board.

I've had my '62 and a '65 Jaguar re-fretted with Jescar wire. It was with a vintage style fretwire that was the same width but a wee bit taller than the original spec. I can't remember the exact designation.
I've also had a Stratocaster and a Duo-Sonic done with Dunlop 6105 fretwire. In all cases the guitar played and sounded massively better.

Don't be afraid. Just get a good luthier and have a chat with him about what you want and what he should and shouldn't do.

I've got big frets on my '61...Dunlop 6150, like the ones on my LP Custom...the guitar plays itself

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I only fret and re-fret with Jescar Medium Stainless Steel fret wire. I used to chase medium jumbo trying to get more life out the standard fret materials but with stainless steel's superior wear characteristics I switched to regular 'Medium' wire. Last time you'll need to refret.

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How much can a motherfucker expect to pay for a PLEK regret deal? Them shits expensive?

Have a Musikraft neck with 6150s and a Wildwood JM w 6105s. The 05s are a bit taller than the 50s, but both are great.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I think in retrospect the idea of not going for practicality over originality is rather silly in a guitar I never plan on selling, so I think I'll defiantly size up on the frets.

Plan. Again, you can easily make large frets smaller if that’s ever needed; the reverse is less simple.

(I get that jumbos have a bigger footprint, but at a certain point Fender used wide/flat so it wouldn’t be totally ‘un-vintage’ in that respect.)

At this point I have refretted all my vintage guitars (3 Jazzmasters, a Jaguar, a Mustang and a Mustang bass). They all play amazing. FWIW I used Fender medium/standard frets in most of them and I really like them. Not too tall, not too low, not too wide, not to arrow. I refretted my Mustang with vintage sized frets and while it plays amazing I definitely feel more comfortable with a bigger fret. Fender used this size on some 65/66 guitars.

Mechanical Birds wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:29 pm

How much can a motherfucker expect to pay for a PLEK regret deal? Them shits expensive?

I think I paid $180 for a local PLEK job, and I think that was slightly discounted because he was trying to drum up business for his new machine. It made sense to me because I had some pretty serious wear on just the higher up frets, and so it wasn't going to be a simple job anyway. Honestly, it wasn't a bad price, but I ultimately didn't love the guitar and sold it, so it was a bit of waste.

just go 6105 and you won’t be disappointed

zhivago wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:06 pm

I've got big frets on my '61...Dunlop 6150, like the ones on my LP Custom...the guitar plays itself

Wanting to try this but worried about it losing that darker JM tone. Did you have any issues Like that?

Nelsclinesucks wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 03, 2019 4:44 am

zhivago wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:06 pm

I've got big frets on my '61...Dunlop 6150, like the ones on my LP Custom...the guitar plays itself

Wanting to try this but worried about it losing that darker JM tone. Did you have any issues Like that?

Not at all...I just plug in and play away