Refret Job For A '76 4001

rob · Post by **rob** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:41 am

After just selling a guitar on Ebay, I now know I have enough cash to splurge on a refret on my '76 4001. I have a shop to do it, which is very close to home for me. Even though I have never been there, I have heard praises from quite a few people saying they are very reputable. I even talked over the phone with a friendly gentleman who gave me an estimate and explained on what would be totally done to it. My 4001 needed some minor help ever since I bought it a little bit over 5 years ago. It was still useable, but I knew someday I would have to have a professional take care of it before anything got worse.

So, here I am with this bass to get a refret and professional setup. The person I talked with on the phone said that a lot of Rickenbacker basses from this era had fret crowns that were flat-topped rather than rounded. I don't know about this. Would that be so? What would be a good recommondation for a fretsize on a mid-70's 4001? I would probably go for a standard size fret. Not too jumbo, not thin at all.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 10:04 am

Robert wrote:

"..a lot of Rickenbacker basses from this era had fret crowns that were flat-topped rather than rounded. I don't know about this. Would that be so?..."

I tend to agree with you on this Robert; it is my belief that the frets did have a flat crown at this point in the timeline...I will check my own '79 4001 and get back with you later tonight.

It may be a good idea to post your question up on the Vibrola Technical Forum, maybe Dale Fortune will chime in with some info....

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:02 pm

Welcome to your new sight John. Yes the frets were of the softer material, so that when they were set in the finger board and sanded level, they tended to be flat on top with no crown. After the C.V. was applied, the fret tops were dressed and polished in the finishing dept. leaving them low profile and very smooth, hence flat wounds worked well as round wounds tended to buzz somewhat.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:11 pm

Thanks Dale, I will most surely appreciate your input here when you can. Robert, to add to what Dale has said, I have examined five different Rickenbackers from 1963 to 1979---both basses and guitars, and all had similar original fretwire with flat crowning. Sounds like the norm to me.

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:26 pm

"Welcome to your new sight John"

Did John get new glasses or something?

My '73 4001 also has the wide, flat frets. I always thought these could cause inaccurate intonation due to their not being narrow enough to "pinpoint" the "witness point" for precise intonation.

jojo99 · Post by **jojo99** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:55 pm

Yeah...my '79 4001 also has flat fret tops, and I think I'm experiencing the intonation problems Jeffrey speaks of. A luthier I spoke to poo-poo'd that notion, and said it was probably the four-year-old Thomastik flats on it that were the culprit...but they aren't worn at all (and probably are made of harder metal than the frets)...there's `no typical flat spots on the windings like a roundwound gets. Some guys keep flats on for many years and don't seem to develop intonation issues. I can probably squeak by with a fret dressing, but I wonder if harder frets would change the tone much?
I guess I should add I'm a sucker for that last-note-in-a-phrase vibrato that John Paul Jones is master of...prolly not the best thing for the frets, even with flats.

scott_s · Post by **scott_s** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:42 pm

Unless vintage accuracy is a prime consideration, my advice is for well-crowned frets. It *does* make a difference in intonation -- especially with wide frets.

rob · Post by **rob** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:44 pm

I wonder if I can still get matching fretwire with the "flat top". Even so, I might choose a more common round top crown.

scott_s · Post by **scott_s** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:26 pm

Rob, the flatness comes from the leveling process. No fretwire that I know of is flat to begin with. :^)

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:51 pm

If you want some 60's/70's original Rick fret wire, I have some from 1974 that was factory issue. But by today standards and spec's it's not the best stuff to use. It has a high brass content that makes it soft by standards. This was the accepted quality from the 30's up to the late 70's. Some fret wire was solid brass while the better and harder stuff had more nickel and alloys in them.

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:01 am

+1 on the hardness of newer frets. I had my 68 refretted in 1993 and I've played literally hundreds of gigs with it and the frets still show almost no wear. I'd say I got my money's worth.

rob · Post by **rob** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:01 pm

Thanks for the offer Dale. I'm sure the shop near me has fretwire to choose from, and I'll go from there. I can't wait to see/feel/hear what my 4001 should've been when it was new.....or at least as close to when it was new.

rob · Post by **rob** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:35 pm

Well, the 4001 went into the shop today. First time I've been there. It's one of those "basement shop" setups. So, I went into the shop in this guy's basement and showed it to the guy. He told me that I could actually get away with the frets that are on it right now, even with the fact they are starting to get to be on the questionable side.

The fretboard is starting to seperate from the neck starting from the nut to the first fret. So, he said this would be an easy fix with some glue. I guess that means it looks worse than it really is.

So, all I am doing is getting that seperation glued up nicely and a setup that of course includes the neck being straightened and the bridge tweeked up a bit.

jps · Post by **jps** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:16 pm

Does this repairman know how to deal with the truss rods? Fingerboard separation means more than just a glue-up job.

rob · Post by **rob** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:32 pm

I sure hope he knows how to deal with the truss rods. I didn't ask since I don't like insulting a professional's inteligence.