re- fret

[rocket]

I have been asked to re-fret a Hofner electric bass,. It has a fret about 10 mil away from the nut, does anybody know what the purpose of that is?
Also the string slots in the nut are worn nearly right down to the face of the board, does it have to be replaced or can i build them up with epoxy.
Thank for any help you can give!!!

[kiwigeo]

A fret 10mm away from the nut...sounds like something called a zero fret. Zero frets are interesting things..some people swear by them. Me.....I havent give much thought to the things.

Re the nut. If youre a cheap arse tightwad you might try building the slots up with bone dust and CA glue and then re cutting the slots but if youre a wealthy luthier like myself you'd break the bank by making up a brand new nut.

[J.F. Custom]

Certainly sounds like a zero fret, in fact there is not much else it could be except a complete arse-up by someone Hofners did use zero frets on some models.

You should find that the strings actually rest/break over this fret. It should be a little higher than the rest of the frets, giving the strings clearance thereafter. The nut may not in fact have 'worn right down to the board'. In zero fret instruments, the fret acts as the nut does usually in providing a breaking edge for your chosen scale length. It does not however completely replace the nut - this is still needed for string spacing. Therefore the nut needs to be lower than the 'zero fret' for the string to break over it. It may simply be filed down to a height suitable for this.

It sounds possible that all is actually as it should be. Check it over with this knowledge and see what you think. You could also post a pic for us. What drove the customers request for a fret job? Oh, and if the nut does need work - don't try to rebuild it. The work and headache involved will FAR outweigh any cost incurred in purchasing and setting up a new one. It's also good experience.

Cheers,

Jeremy.

[kiwigeo]

Yeah Jeremy's right about the nut. If the bass has a zero fret then slots will be low as the zero nut is effectively your nut. I also second Jeremy's suggestion that you quizz the customer as to his reasons for requesting a re-fret. Are the frets obviously worn or is there a buzz? Id check out neck relief and then action before going any further.

[graham mcdonald]

Sounds like a zero fret. Jeremy's advice is spot-on, except that the zero fret doesn't have to be higher then the rest of them. The extra height of the zero fret is one of those bits of mythology that seems to be generally accepted without much thought going into it, I think. Once you build a fretboard with a zero fret it changes the way you think about them. At the same time I have seen some European instruments with a higher zero fret and all that does is make it harder to do any work on the rest of the frets. It is just another fret and should be in the same plane as the others. Of course, whether or not the bass needs a re-fret is another topic

cheers

[kiwigeo]

Rocket if this is your first re-fret job then I'd recommend you get your hands on the "fretwork" book from Stewmac.......

[rocket]

Thankyou all fo the info,,, if i can manage it i'll post a pic for you to see.
The customer picked up the instrument cheap, somebody had already pulled the frets out,except the zero fret.

[kiwigeo]

Sounds like someone was trying to do a Jaco Pastorius job on the instrument. Jaco ripped out the frets on his Fender jazz and then gave the fretboard a coat of marine epoxy.

[vandenboom]

Rocket if this is your first re-fret job then I'd recommend you get your hands on the "fretwork" book from Stewmac.......

Rod - now that we know we live near each other - I have this book. You are welcome to borrow it. I found it very helpful.