Going rate for a full refret and setup

jonnygreentrees

Been quoted £300 for a full refret and setup on my Jazzmaster but I've no idea if this is a fair price or not? Anyone got any experience?

gusman2x

Think i paid around £180-200. Matt Ryan in Milnrow (Northwest). Fantastic job too. That was about 3 years ago.

p90fool

I paid £250 for a beautiful stainless refret by Rob Williams three or four years ago and it was a bargain.

I'm pretty sure his current price is £300 though, but even that is a good deal considering mine still looks like it was done yesterday and will doubtless outlive me. 

earwighoney

jonnygreentrees said:

Been quoted £300 for a full refret and setup on my Jazzmaster but I've no idea if this is a fair price or not? Anyone got any experience?

Depends really on your location, the reputation of the tech in question, a few other things as well eg maple/ebony boards have a surcharge as do frets like Evo Gold & Stainless Steel.

There are a few things worth trying to save a quid here and there for, but a refret isn't one thing I'd recommend looking for the cheapest, I'd look for the tech who I'd trust the most.

guitars4you

Generally you'll find £200/250 for a good refret inc materials

A set-up - will depend on what needs doing - I've seen guitars that barely need touching and others that are a mess - £40-80 will cover a lot of work  + then add extra cost for any materials

earwighoney

p90fool said:

I paid £250 for a beautiful stainless refret by Rob Williams three or four years ago and it was a bargain.

I'm pretty sure his current price is £300 though, but even that is a good deal considering mine still looks like it was done yesterday and will doubtless outlive me. 

IMO, testament to getting the best quality service the one time.

High quality fretwork makes a world of difference.

guitargeek62

I paid ~£300 for a refret with Jescar EVO wire by someone here in SE London last November. I don't want to name & shame but the attention to detail wasn't the best so I can't recommend them and wouldn't go back there even the work is very playable. If that's your neck of the woods though then let me know and I'll share the details and pics.

*edit* An unbound BRW fingerboard in my case.

*double-edit* I'm not sure why I didn't go to Feline in the end either!

WezV

Is it a bound neck or lacquered maple board, as both those things can affect the cost 

crunchman

It does depend where you live, but the good people here in London were around £300 last time I looked.

After building a guitar at Crimson last year, I've bought all the tools to do it myself.  So far I've refretted a boot sale Squier for practice.  I want to do a couple more practice runs on cheap ones before I do my nice guitars though.

earwighoney

guitars4you said:

Generally you'll find £200/250 for a good refret inc materials

A set-up - will depend on what needs doing - I've seen guitars that barely need touching and others that are a mess - £40-80 will cover a lot of work  + then add extra cost for any materials

A good set up will improve any guitar with some miles on the clock, and even for someone who's not too bad at maintaining a guitar, it's always good to have a professional approach your guitar with fresh eyes.

merlin

@FelineGuitars is about the best... 

fretfinder

Jon @FelineGuitars how much do you guys charge for a refret and setup? 

I assume the setup would actually be a part of the refret and making the guitar play well afterwards? 

Unless parts need fixing or replacing obviously.

Voxman

fretfinder said:

Jon @FelineGuitars how much do you guys charge for a refret and setup? 

I assume the setup would actually be a part of the refret and making the guitar play well afterwards? 

Unless parts need fixing or replacing obviously.

I was just about to suggest checking with Feline, who do top notch work. 

monquixote

Fret work is worth paying for.

I got a really amazing refret on my Strat and then took it for a fret dress to someone cheaper some time later and they basically just filed all the frets down to nothing.

Never been happy with it since, but too stingy to pay to get it done again

sweepy

i do my own refrets etc but having played a few Felines and nattered over a cuppa, i'd take my Jem into Jonathan in  a heartbeat forJescar silliness

FelineGuitars

https://felineguitars.com/pages/price-guide

Refrets start at about £300 plus parts 

- parts to include fretwire (£15), new nut blank if required, strings if not supplied

A typical re-fret is between 5-6 hours on the bench (currently at £55/hr)
Removal of existing frets and replacement with a fret-wire of your choice. 
Includes: Fret Dress and set up as you'd expect

For stainless & EVO we say expect an extra hour's labour and a £30 surcharge for wear and tear on tools

We time all our work - so charged out as accurately and fairly as we can

Fretwork is something we are passionate over and whilst expensive it either makes or breaks a guitar, so worth getting done well.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Never had refret done on a guitar I've owned, but I have been considering it on my early-80s Strat as the originals are practically worn down to the board.

It's a lacquered maple board - it's been mentioned a couple of times earlier in the thread, but what sort of surcharge does that tend to add to the cost?

Matchoo93

FelineGuitars said:

https://felineguitars.com/pages/price-guide

Refrets start at about £300 plus parts 

- parts to include fretwire (£15), new nut blank if required, strings if not supplied

A typical re-fret is between 5-6 hours on the bench (currently at £55/hr)
Removal of existing frets and replacement with a fret-wire of your choice. 
Includes: Fret Dress and set up as you'd expect

For stainless & EVO we say expect an extra hour's labour and a £30 surcharge for wear and tear on tools

We time all our work - so charged out as accurately and fairly as we can

Fretwork is something we are passionate over and whilst expensive it either makes or breaks a guitar, so worth getting done well.

£55/hr?! 

God I'm in the wrong line of work haha

FelineGuitars

Matchoo93 said:

FelineGuitars said:

https://felineguitars.com/pages/price-guide

Refrets start at about £300 plus parts 

- parts to include fretwire (£15), new nut blank if required, strings if not supplied

A typical re-fret is between 5-6 hours on the bench (currently at £55/hr)
Removal of existing frets and replacement with a fret-wire of your choice. 
Includes: Fret Dress and set up as you'd expect

For stainless & EVO we say expect an extra hour's labour and a £30 surcharge for wear and tear on tools

We time all our work - so charged out as accurately and fairly as we can

Fretwork is something we are passionate over and whilst expensive it either makes or breaks a guitar, so worth getting done well.

£55/hr?! 

God I'm in the wrong line of work haha

Or have to rent commercial premises in London, pay overheads, business rates, pay staff 

I actually earn about £18k p/a although I do have access to nice guitars.

crunchman

Matchoo93 said:

FelineGuitars said:

https://felineguitars.com/pages/price-guide

Refrets start at about £300 plus parts 

- parts to include fretwire (£15), new nut blank if required, strings if not supplied

A typical re-fret is between 5-6 hours on the bench (currently at £55/hr)
Removal of existing frets and replacement with a fret-wire of your choice. 
Includes: Fret Dress and set up as you'd expect

For stainless & EVO we say expect an extra hour's labour and a £30 surcharge for wear and tear on tools

We time all our work - so charged out as accurately and fairly as we can

Fretwork is something we are passionate over and whilst expensive it either makes or breaks a guitar, so worth getting done well.

£55/hr?! 

God I'm in the wrong line of work haha

If you are working in your garden shed then yes.

I believe Feline employs staff, so take off 13.8% for employers NI contributions.   He also has to pay them holiday, say 25 days out of roughly 250 working days in a year, so take aanother 10% off to cover that.  You might want to budget for a few days sick pay as well.

Then add in rent of the workshop, business rates, electricity and heating costs, cost of PPE (dust masks etc), wear and tear on tools, payroll admin, website hosting, public liability insurance, and probably 20 other little things that I'm not listing, and there probably isn't a lot left over.

He's not getting rich off of this.

sunshinewelly

crunchman said:

Matchoo93 said:

FelineGuitars said:

https://felineguitars.com/pages/price-guide

Refrets start at about £300 plus parts 

- parts to include fretwire (£15), new nut blank if required, strings if not supplied

A typical re-fret is between 5-6 hours on the bench (currently at £55/hr)
Removal of existing frets and replacement with a fret-wire of your choice. 
Includes: Fret Dress and set up as you'd expect

For stainless & EVO we say expect an extra hour's labour and a £30 surcharge for wear and tear on tools

We time all our work - so charged out as accurately and fairly as we can

Fretwork is something we are passionate over and whilst expensive it either makes or breaks a guitar, so worth getting done well.

£55/hr?! 

God I'm in the wrong line of work haha

If you are working in your garden shed then yes.

I believe Feline employs staff, so take off 13.8% for employers NI contributions.   He also has to pay them holiday, say 25 days out of roughly 250 working days in a year, so take aanother 10% off to cover that.  You might want to budget for a few days sick pay as well.

Then add in rent of the workshop, business rates, electricity and heating costs, cost of PPE (dust masks etc), wear and tear on tools, payroll admin, website hosting, public liability insurance, and probably 20 other little things that I'm not listing, and there probably isn't a lot left over.

He's not getting rich off of this.

agreed - seems very reasonable to me as well.