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What does it cost (Ballpark) to have a guitar refretted?

$ 140

$140 is not an accurate price! It will depend on guitar type (bolt neck, set neck, etc) what kind of fretboard wood, or does it have binding? Is it a vintage insturment or not, what type of frets you want, etc? I do guitar work for a living so I do have credentials! Usually they start at about (from a qualified luthier) the $175 mark all the way up to $300-$400 depending. Feel free to PM me for an estimate or more insight on this issue!

Yeah, I've seen 'em anywhere from about $200 to $500 depending on the guitar and other work required to get the job done. If the fretboard gets reshaped, inlays, binding, etc. it'll start to push the cost up.

My vintage Les Paul was around $300. My 73' Strat was close to $500.

Too often, cheap fretwork = hack job
It's a really bad place to economize.

$ 140 for my vintage 1967 Gibson SG with bindings on the neck. Medium jumbo frets, dress if needed, new strings and intonation. Just had it done three months ago. I could take it back for fine adjustment within two weeks if I wasn't happy with it. Either labor is cheap in my area or you guys are asking for too much or you've been had; or the guy just happened to like me.


Originally Posted by Amateur$ 140 for my vintage 1967 Gibson SG with bindings on the neck. Medium jumbo frets, dress if needed, new strings and intonation. Just had it done three months ago. I could take it back for fine adjustment within two weeks if I wasn't happy with it. Either labor is cheap in my area or you guys are asking for too much or you've been had; or the guy just happened to like me.

Fret dress quot;if neededquot;?!?!?

On a refret?!?

I've never seen a guitar that didn't need at least minimal shaping amp; crowning after new frets were installed in all the years I've playing and tinkering with repairs. And that includes emergency road repairs where we're flipping through the Yellowpages at a hotel or diner trying to find someone who can repair a guitar NOW.

I'm glad it worked out for you and you're happy with it, but words like that would make me turn in the other direction.


Originally Posted by Amateur$ 140 for my vintage 1967 Gibson SG with bindings on the neck. Medium jumbo frets, dress if needed, new strings and intonation. Just had it done three months ago. I could take it back for fine adjustment within two weeks if I wasn't happy with it. Either labor is cheap in my area or you guys are asking for too much or you've been had; or the guy just happened to like me.

I think he had a hard-on for you personally! LOL!!!! On a vintage guitar, my time is more valueable than that!


Originally Posted by alecleeToo often, cheap fretwork = hack job
It's a really bad place to economize.

How true that is!!!!! Great point!

What I was saying is that after the refret, they will be dress if necessary. There would be some frets need to be dressed, but not all of them. I work on guitars myself, although not for a living, and I actually refretted my Strat. I was just too lazy to fool around with the bindings so I let the guy did it. I have known him for years and he knows what he is doing. I have also met people who tried to charge people an arm and a leg for a refret but don't even do half as good a job as he does, Even my refret job may give those people a run for their money. The fact is I did paid for that much, and I just voiced it. Not doubting you guys charge for more because you're in the East Coast, But not $500.

If its a great job and the price is good! Good for you bro!

Yeah, guys like these are few and far in between because he doesn't even advertise, his business is all by word of mouth. He actually owns a custom shop and that is his main business, not guitar repair. The only reason he did it for me is because I've known him for years.

Cost me about 300 plus 50 for a new nut on my les paul. Guy did a great job, but that was almost half of what I paid for the guitar


Originally Posted by Amateur$ 140WHERE??? I take that for a dressing......

Fret dress quot;if neededquot;?!?!?

ROFLMAO.... so, how much rock does this guy smoke /how many hours has he been doing this??? No professional Luthier I´ver met would eev consider such an inherently false statement.....

If 15 years I have NEVER seen a refret that didn´t need to be dressed, that´s an integral part of the process.

If it works for you, great, but just after hearing thet statement I´d never go to that guy, as it denotes a general misunderstanding of the trade and /or purposeful corner cutting.....

The only dressing I ever did cost me 20 pounds. In Amsterdam, it's between 80 and 120 euros usually. That's for a non bound neck. No idea about refretting.

I'll dress OR undress for a lot less than $140.

Fret dress in L.A., $75 to $125.

Refret $250 to $300, more if the nut has to be replaced.

Fret dresses are ALWAYS necessary on a refret.


Originally Posted by ZerberusWHERE??? I take that for a dressing......
ROFLMAO.... so, how much rock does this guy smoke /how many hours has he been doing this??? No professional Luthier I´ver met would eev consider such an inherently false statement.....

If 15 years I have NEVER seen a refret that didn´t need to be dressed, that´s an integral part of the process.

If it works for you, great, but just after hearing thet statement I´d never go to that guy, as it denotes a general misunderstanding of the trade and /or purposeful corner cutting.....

Detroit Michigan.
He meant he would dress any frets that required it, not that he would charge extra for it and he knew that some frets needed to be dressed no matter what but not every fret had to be dressed; even some brand new guitar frets need to be dressed after we bought them. I understand exactly what he was saying and I did not have any problem with that. May be you guys misread what I was trying to tell. If you had to dress every fret, the neck must had some big problem.
Don't get offended if somebody undercuts you. This is a free market. We get what we pay for, but some can get more for less. It is a fact of life. Trying to cut somebody down may be good for our egoes but it does not make us any better in the absolute scale.


Originally Posted by AmateurThis is a free market. We get what we pay for, but some can get more for less.

I think this is a distinct case of that.

The guy I took mine to typically does acoustic and vintage, and mostly vintage acoustics. He like working on my electrics for a change of pace and because when I drop by to see how it's going I bring coffee.

I know that if I ever dropped by to have the guitar set up he'd backburner everything else he was working on and when I asked what it would run me he would tip the mug towards me and nod.