-
Hi
I brought my Gibson L4 CES into a German guitar shop/ Plek station for a refret. When it came back, I was a bit shocked about the result, as a lot of clear coat came off. I expected maybe little clear coat flaking but not that much.
What is your opinion, is this normal for a Gibson refret or at least acceptable or am I right that it is messy?
FYI: The treble side looks similar.
-
06-20-2025 02:54 AM
-
That’s unacceptable!
-
Terrible fret job, take it back and demand redress.
-
Fortunately, your L4 has a nitro finish that can be repaired almost invisible because the new nitro will blend into the old layers. But what were they thinking??.
-
Plek?
-
It looks like when cutting the tangs, the repair person did not leave enough space on both ends. So when they pressed the frets into the slots, the tangs damaged the binding. It's also possible they didn't clean the fret slots properly. Very unprofessional.
-
Thanks for your responses so far! Sounds like I did not react overdramatic ?
I mean the guitar plays wonderfully now after being plek’d and sounds great… But that looks aweful - especially if you consider that’s an ‘86 Hutchins L4 in otherwise great condition!
So I need to decide if I expect repair and have it done properly (but I can’t really trust the guitar tech anymore) or if I would just agree on not paying the invoice… I mean it’s a well known German used guitar shop…
-
Where'd you get this done? Everyone should know to avoid them as a public service.
Fret replacement is Guitar Tech 101. Custom fitting fret tangs to avoid cutting binding, replacing binding, trimming overhang, level/round/polish ends... all givens.
I give this job 3 YIKES!
A German repair shop, you say? I rate them a solid NEIN!
-
That looks terrible. I would NOT let the same shop try to repair it if that's their idea of good work.
-
Not good, IMHO. Someone with skill should fix it.
-
I can't believe that a luthier would hand back that guitar asking for payment and not saying "Sorry, I f'd up".
-
Was this the first refret on the guitar? Was the board binding perfect before it was done, or were those cracks along the tang ends there beforehand? If the guitar was pefect before the refret, this is pathetic. If even some of this was present before, your luthier should have pointed it out to you and discussed it before starting work.
I agree with Tal_175 about the tangs. If this was the first fret job and the binding was fine before, the frets have damaged the board binding because the tangs are simply too long to fit properly between the bindings. I don't know of a way to completely cover or erase that binding damage. I suppose the cracks and divots could be filled with a paste of same color binding dust mixed into CA, then sanded down to blend smoothly. But I doubt that it would be completely invisible.
AFAIK, it's impossible to cut back the tang ends in place without further damaging the binding - either the frets or the binding (or both) might well need to be removed. And unless the tangs are narrowed, they'll damage the binding even more if a bit of wood shrinkage causes more fret sprout. Just taking down the fret ends would make the bord edges smooth to the touch, but the tangs would still be visible. And if there's any further wood shrinkage over time, you'd feel the sharp ends as well as see them. The other problem that comes from this is separation of the binding from the board, as the neck wood shrinks back a little and the frets are pushing out against the inside of the binding.
If your guitar was in excellent shape with perfect board binding before the fret job, I have to reluctantly suggest that the "right" way to fix this is probably to remove those frets and start over. The only way to restore the binding to perfection is to rebind it. But if those cracks at the fret ends were there before and resulted from past fret sprout or refretting, you can't hold your luthier responsible for that. Properly reducing the fret ends will make it feel right whle playing, but the only way to retore original appearance is to rebind.
Interestingly, I've heard as many horror stories as compliments about Plek. It's interesting that you got a great Plek but a terrible fret job, since operating the Plek machine requires a lot of skill and experience.
-
Sad looking job for sure,
FWIW, the Pleck work seems pretty good and you say it plays well, It's the re-fret job that sucks .
I would let that shop know that the guitar now needs repair binding work and that eventually they'll either need to cover that cost by deducting it from the original total work estimate or come up with some sort of fix. As others have mentioned I would not give them another go at this though, so get some estimates from other luthiers and go from there. The added benefit is other luthiers could help confirm, in writing , that this is sub par work and facilitate a resolution to your advantage.
Good luck
BTW here's a Stewmac vid that adresses bound necks refrets , not wizardry after all!
S
-
Thanks for your helpful responses!
I got an answer from the repairman: He said he refretted numerous Gibsons and such thing never happened before. He said the clear coat was extremely thick and brittle and that the flaking was unavoidable as fret wire had to be installed with a little pressure. He denied that it was his technique or his fault.
Hmm... Not really satisfactory and not really convincing...
I mean, if you look at the 12th fret, is it really normal to have the fret end go into the binding and not lay on top of it? At least it looks like it penetrates the binding.
-
Nope. No excuses.
I did better work as an apprentice. Seriously.
I was told:
An apprentice makes mistakes.
A journeyman learns how to cover them up.
A master doesn't make mistakes.
Read that any way you want.
-
Your luthier should have at least told you there was an issue with the clear coat and the reason for the cracking in the binding when you collected the guitar. He/she appears to be a dishonest person.
-
Update: The technician agreed that he should have informed me, at least before returning the guitar... But he is still convinced that it was not his fault - that it was due to the condition of the clear coat.
They are offering me to have another guitar serviced with Plek and fret dressing, but are refusing to just reduce these 200€ off the invoice...
-
It looks like the fret ends have been hammered over the binding.
-
does the shop have the same name as a charlie parker tune?
Originally Posted by jonasb
-
So what is the store involved?
-
Confirmed: Unprofessional establishment and to be avoided in any and every capacity.
Honestly, you can get it redone by someone good, someone who has the craft to make it look and function as you and the guitar deserves. Do it, if for nothing else except peace of mind.
You'll absorb the extra cost over time, but ugly work will be a cause for consternation every time you pick up your guitar.
Speaking as a professional, if it looks good, it shows quality craft and it's a good indication that the work was done right and will last longer.
-
That's really bad, I'm not sure how you can blame that on the clear coat itself - you can understand someone making a mistake on one of the frets, but the fact its on numerous suggests that a lack of care was taken.
-
Out them so nobody else gets hosed.
-
Get the 'luthier' (?) to post here with their defense before you out him/her.
-
Wow, that's terrible! I can understand some minor chipping with things like this, although I have to say that has not happened to any guitar I have had refretted. It's the cracking of the binding at every fret end which tells me that the tang was not cut properly before the fret was hammered in, which in turn is probably what cracked the clearcoat. The first fret where it happened should've been his clue to stop and reassess the situation. Instead, as noted above, he just plowed ahead.
It seems to me that this is 100% the fault of the luthier and they should make it good. I don't know what German consumer protection laws might apply in this case, but there might be something.
Reply With Quote
A very special NGD: a custom build that brought my ideas to life.
Today, 06:11 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos