Bad fret job. Need advice :)
Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:27 pm
Hello,
I'm a long time Ric fan, but a fairly new owner. I've always loved these guitars, but could never justify buying one for many reasons - my playing ability being one of them I finally sold my other guitars and decided to buy one, but didn't play that much because of life and work.
I started playing more and taking lessons last year and noticed a lot of of buzz. At first I thought it was just my skills, but had the guitar checked out by several luthiers. All of them said it had a bad fret (the 3rd fret was set too far into the neck).
I had this addressed at a very reputable shop and was told that it had "a low 3rd fret" and that they would "replane, refret and refinish the instrument".
When I got it back, the fret issue was addressed, but the fretboard looked terrible where they pulled the frets. It didn't seem to have been properly refinished.
I sent them pictures and they refuse to address it saying that it is just "tiny air bubbles or marks in the finish around the base of the frets, this is not uncommon and does not affect the playability of the instrument".
Do any of you have any advice or suggestions. I'm very dissappointed because I think it looks terrible and I expected the job to have been done right. It is cosmetic, but I feel that the marks devalue my guitar and should not be there.
It is hard to get good pictures of the problem because of the glossy finish on the fretboard, but I'm putting a few below for you all to check out.
Thanks!
- Tim
I'm a long time Ric fan, but a fairly new owner. I've always loved these guitars, but could never justify buying one for many reasons - my playing ability being one of them I finally sold my other guitars and decided to buy one, but didn't play that much because of life and work.
I started playing more and taking lessons last year and noticed a lot of of buzz. At first I thought it was just my skills, but had the guitar checked out by several luthiers. All of them said it had a bad fret (the 3rd fret was set too far into the neck).
I had this addressed at a very reputable shop and was told that it had "a low 3rd fret" and that they would "replane, refret and refinish the instrument".
When I got it back, the fret issue was addressed, but the fretboard looked terrible where they pulled the frets. It didn't seem to have been properly refinished.
I sent them pictures and they refuse to address it saying that it is just "tiny air bubbles or marks in the finish around the base of the frets, this is not uncommon and does not affect the playability of the instrument".
Do any of you have any advice or suggestions. I'm very dissappointed because I think it looks terrible and I expected the job to have been done right. It is cosmetic, but I feel that the marks devalue my guitar and should not be there.
It is hard to get good pictures of the problem because of the glossy finish on the fretboard, but I'm putting a few below for you all to check out.
Thanks!
- Tim