Refretting my corvette....

D

Drexil

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I'm thinking of putting some frets into my '99 Corvette Proline 5 string fretless, and I'm wondering if you guys have any insights or advice regarding this.

The bass was made as a fretless, and as such has no fret lines, just a gorgeous ebony board. Obviously this makes it less than ideal for fretting, but I kinda feel like its my last option! The bass, though wonderful, doesnt really suit my needs as a fretless, and really isnt getting the play time it deserves. I've been trying to sell it for about 6 months now, but finding a buyer for something like this is pretty tough in South Africa, especially if you want a reasonable price for it.

So yeah, one of the top local tech's has given me a rought estimate of R1500 (about $200) for the refret job, and I'm tempted.

Any thoughts?
 
I would at the very least ask to see refret jobs he has done in the past and what kind of guarantee he offers on the accuracy of the work. Also, does he have access to the brass fret wire or will it be nickel silver? ~M~
 
Sounds scary, do you trust your tech that much?

I think you can order a custom shop neck from Warwick. Then have your tech bolt it on. I would feel much better with that!

If your interested in trading I have a .... its in my sig.
 
sadly warwick cannot make necks for the public :( they will only replace broken necks, and even then the broken neck needs to be returned.
 
Gonzo0100 said:
Sounds scary, do you trust your tech that much?

I think you can order a custom shop neck from Warwick. Then have your tech bolt it on. I would feel much better with that!

If your interested in trading I have a .... its in my sig.
Click to expand...

I do indeed trust my tech....he's just one of those amazingly gifted dudes.

The new neck idea is interesting, and your trade idea sounds wonderful, but again, the big problem is that I'm in South Africa, and the costs and delays of shipping things like Warwicks in and out of the country doesnt seem worth it!
 
Personnaly, I think it would be a crime to mess up a unlined ebony fretboard, especially is it is tiger stripped (and not plain black ebony). But it's your gear...

If he messe up, will Warwick replace the neck? :)
 
Drexil,
If you trust him and this is what you want, I'd say go for it. It does seem as though you're doing this with your eyes open going in, just please remind your tech that, from the best of my understanding, the slots for the frets are factory radiused to match the radius of the board so that there is no dead space that has to be filled with glue under the fret wire. It makes a HUGE difference in vibration transfer and sustain. *If I'm wrong on this, do it anyway. :D * ~M~
 
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