Would this fret concern you?

[God of Thunder]

A lot of you saw my NGD thread! I love this baby, but I was examining the frets today and saw some wear that I was a bit shocked about on a 4-year old guitar! Maybe it's me being overly picky, but for $3600 - maybe it's to be expected! I'm semi-scared about a refret on this guy, and am wondering if I should look at another one (there is a Heritage Cherry (2018) that is $100 cheaper), or if this is me making a big deal out of nothing....!! Thoughts!

 

[Roxy13]

Freddy G has reported here in the luthier area that one of his clients can go through a set of stainless steel frets every 2 years! Now that's a guy who is hard on frets. Your wear is quite minor considering

 

[Guy Named Sue]

I know a guy that can wear through new frets within a year. Some people have a light touch and some.... Not so much

What you've got can still be levelled if needed

 

[RufusTelestrat]

That could buff out so to speak. By buff I mean a gentle level

 

[God of Thunder]

Does a refret hurt resale if I ever had to? Or would you keep her instead of saving $100 on a 2 year newer Cherry?

 

[Gold Tone]

That is very common wear pattern on fret for 1st to about 4th fret

you play a lot of cowboy chords...good!!

the strings wear out little divots like that in the 1st few frets because the string fulcrum is very close (nut) so when you fret a chord in the lower register the string hits the fret in almost exactly the same place every time. When you fret a chord or a note much higher register (say 7th or 9th fret) the string is far less likely to hit the fret in exactly the same spot every time

very much the same as trying to bend a string at the 1st or 2nd fret vs the 5th or 7th fret...the string is anchored in position MUCH more at the lowest frets

what you are showing is normal wear on a guitar played by a true musician who plays and practices a lot.

it’s a sign of your hard work

 

[DavGrape]

Here's two years on my Telecaster, they were still OK, but I put in stainless steel.
Could only feel the dents on bends, which doesn't happen much in that area.

 

[jvin248]

.

That's not bad wear but it can bug you a bit when playing.

A $100 level, crown, polish is all you need. Find someone who has a fret leveling jig that tensions the neck like strings when they do the work and you'll get the best playing guitar ever.

.

 

[jwinger]

Not bad. Frets wear...not a lot you can do about it! When it gets too bad get them levelled. When there's no height left in them get them replaced. Just part of owning a guitar

I wore though a set to the point of a partial replacent (first 5 I think we did) in 5 years of with one guitar I played near constantly once.

 

[jwinger]

Does a refret hurt resale if I ever had to? Or would you keep her instead of saving $100 on a 2 year newer Cherry?

No not in the slightest. It's like tyres on a car

 

[workerunit]

It needs a fret level and polish, or a good plek job, either way I would not fret about it.