Going rate for a full refret and setup

WezV

Apparently the average hourly rate for a UK plumber is £40-60, going up to £80 in london

Makes the Feline prices seem pretty reasonable to me

SquireJapan

At the risk of taking the conversation sideways slightly ... I've had refrets done at a few places, all of which were very well researched prior.

Each time it's been 100% worth every penny. Start with a guitar with very tired frets (I had a couple of guitar with literal grooves warn into the frets ... I think I have a photo somewhere), what I got back was the best playing guitars I've ever touched.

Now of course it matters who you choose for such things (hence my research comment above), but given how critical good fretwork is to how a guitar feels/plays (and how the action can be set) it's been some of the best money I've spent.

What's my point ... I think I'm trying to make the point that a good refret is very much worth it, provided you're starting with a solid instrument and doing it for the right reasons. Certainly do your research though!

Philly_Q

WezV said:

Apparently the average hourly rate for a UK plumber is £40-60, going up to £80 in london

Makes the Feline prices seem pretty reasonable to me

And the hourly rate for a solicitor or accountant will be three figures, even for quite junior staff.

None of my guitars are ever likely to need a refret, I don't play them enough, but it's a job that needs doing properly if it's going to be done at all.  Seems like false economy not to find the best person you can.

Bidley

WezV said:

Apparently the average hourly rate for a UK plumber is £40-60, going up to £80 in london

Makes the Feline prices seem pretty reasonable to me

Considerably cheaper than my local garage!

Lestratcaster

Feline's fretwork is probably some of the best I've ever played. Been lucky enough to play a few builds whilst in the workshop and they feel so smooth and silky. Had a fret-dress on my beloved affinity Strat last year and it plays beautifully, before there'd be divots and unevenness around the 14th fret which caused notes to choke.

DrJazzTap

I paid about £250 iirc for a refret and set up on a Gibson SG from SICO setups in the southwest.

DavidRees

Jon's work is of the highest quality and is exceptionally good value for money. He, and his co worker whose name I forget, have worked on all my guitars over the years and I have always been very happy with the results ...

Matchoo93

FelineGuitars 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

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.

Still more than me and I work in the NHS haha 

musteatbrain

Worth paying more if you know you are getting a good job done. I’ve had 6 lots of new or refrets done. 3 at Feline, 3 elsewhere.

The cheaper ones were done elsewhere.
Those guitars are also now elsewhere too.

Moleman

Most I’ve ever paid was £400 but that was in London by a (I believe) now retired person who did a fantastic job resurrecting an old Yamaha SA2000 where the frets had massive wear plus a lot of wear to the bound ebony fretboard. Basically the refret and epoxy refill of the ruts in the fretboard turned a virtually unplayable guitar into the best playing guitar I own. Job included changing out both machine heads and pickups as well.

danny_777

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

I'm a mid-level lawyer and associates at my level are generally charged out at £400-600 an hour (depending on the firm). I don't get that, of course, but barristers of my level (who do) will be £175-300 ph. £55 for an experienced luthier at the top of his game is very reasonable indeed.

danny_777

FelineGuitars 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

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.

Perhaps it would be worth your time shooting a timelapse of a refret - to show just people like this just how much work goes into a refret.

FelineGuitars

Matchoo93 said:

FelineGuitars 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

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.

Still more than me and I work in the NHS haha 

Maybe after doing this for nearly 30 years I have earned my way to that high salary

richman6100

The fretwork (and overall build quality) of my recently purchased Feline Lion is exemplary. I've not experienced  better. If and when I need any of my guitars re-fretting, I will definitely use Jonathan. You get what you pay for and I his prices are more than fair in my opinion.

richardhomer

Seriously, griping about an expert’s hourly rate? Just look at what a main dealer charges to service a car!

I paid £60 to have a repair done to my toilet (which took half an hour) that I could have done myself - but couldn’t bothered to.

There’s no way I’d entrust any of my guitars to anyone whose work I wasn’t confident would be entirely beyond reproach. I’d expect to have to pay for the level of skill and care I’m looking for.

John_A

Had my beloved Tokai refretted at Feline and it was expensive compared to some, cant remember exactly how much, but the end result was perfect.

£55 per hour for a craftsman based in London is very cheap.  You’d pay 3x that for an IT consultant or a top hairdresser