Stainless frets and radius change.

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HysterHyster Frets: 208
I sold a guitar locally the other day, while chatting to the nice chap that bought it, I had blast on a guitar he had sitting on a stand.

It was a Japanese telecaster, I know how they usually feel but this was instantly different, it felt much nicer further up the neck.

The guy had paid a couple of hundred quid to have the fretboard radius altered and large stainless steel frets fitted.

I'm eyeing my Japanese Strat now and wondering if it is worth the investment? It is close to the kind of cash to buy whole new neck and I'd still have the original neck?

My JapStrat is lovely but does buzz and fret out a little under bending at the dusty end, what would The Fretboard do?
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Comments

  • LewLew Frets: 1657
    edited November 2014
    The cost of the work might be close to the cost of a replacement neck but have you included the expense of having the neck sent to you, getting a nut fitted, having a set-up and the likely fretwork on the new neck needed? I've not had an aftermarket neck that hasn't needed a little attention to the frets.

    And considered that the sound of your guitar may (or may not) change a bit with a replacement.

    If it were me I'd probably just get the work done.
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  • Learn to accept that's how Fender's are and raise the action a bit....
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  • HysterHyster Frets: 208
    Learn to accept that's how Fender's are and raise the action a bit....
    I kind of had,... then his tele gave me the horn :-(
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  • EvilmagsEvilmags Frets: 5158
    Clarky had his strat altered and seemed to prefer it. Sounds like you'd be better off getting a Japanese Charvel.
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    edited November 2014
    What I really meant by my earlier post was that there are certain characteristics that I associate with Fender guitars. They make me approach playing one differently from how I approach my PRS or 335. I 'value' the difference - I don't want my Strat to feel more like my other guitars.

    There are a few questions I think you need to ask yourself before coming to a decision:

    Before you played the Tele, were you dissatisfied with the playability of your Strat?

    Would the playability be improved by dropping a string gauge?

    Is the guitar a 'keeper'? Spending £200 on a guitar you might not keep (particularly when it is a relatively inexpensive one) doesn't make sense.

    Was the feel of the Tele attributable solely to the fingerboard radius, or were there other aspects of the neck which you found appealing?

    Hopefully having honestly answered each of these, the decision should be easier to make.
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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    Sell yours and get a Tele with a flatter radius neck?
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I had an ebony fretboard and SS frets put on my Ibanez JS100, wow, it was transformed! I love SS frets.
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  • I had Feline do this for my AVRI 52 Telecaster. Went from a 7.25 radius and vintage frets to a 10" radius and huge Dunlop 6100 frets. It wasn't cheep, but feline did an awesome job and it was worth every penny, but then I am fussy about neck feel.

    Really depends on how particular you are and if you can get a new neck to your spec off the shelf. For me it was well worth it as the tele went from furniture to a musical instrument that actually gets played, and I was keen to retain the original fender neck (& logo). To get a neck made to this spec would have had to be a custom build and so was much dearer than the reprofiling.
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  • I'd get the work done but wouldn't go flatter than a 10" radius as to me Fenders with a Gibsonesque radius feel wrong. I've never got why people sing the praises of the vintage 7.25 radius so much (it was designed when people played chords a lot, didn't bend strings so much, used heavier strings and higher actions) compared with a much more player-friendly 9.5" or 10" radius - but each to their own of course.  :)
    250+ positive trading feedbacks: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57830/
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