** Fretboard "Cowboy Chord Damage" Need Value for Credit **

[garywright]

It’s like cowboy chord scallops

a B-Bender ( an E-Bender plus a G-Bender ) 👍

 

[boogieongtr]

Boogieongtr, can you please post some more pics of that 57 GT? Would be lovely to see that lovely top,

Here ya go:

 

[seafood]

really great looking Les Paul!!!!!!!

 

[sweiger]

Very, very nice!! Congrats.

 

[CptZar]

Txs for posting. Gorgeous GT! Congratulations!!!

 

[charliechitlins]

Durham's Rock Hard

 

[ADP]

Absolutely beautiful guitar, and nicely done getting some money back in the deal! It's all the more enjoyable with that extra bonus. Enjoy it in great health!

 

[jimmi]

I leave the patina on the board. To get those out you would have to plane the crap out of it, thining the inlays and still probably needed to ad filler…none of which is as preferable IMHO to just leaving it as is.

 

[guitplayer]

This 58 is same. Creamy. Capo

 

[sws1]

My Jr had lots of divots and I can't say I ever really noticed it when playing. Or at least not enough to bother me.

 

[zacknorton]

I can see the divots in the original dealer photos. They might have been a little disingenuous with those pics... trying to minimize the divots, but they are there.

take the $500 and play the hell outta that guitar! zero worries and it's an easy fix if you "HAD" to have it repaired. I've seen Dan Erlewine make far worse divots disappear. 👍 👍 👍

 

[marshall1987]

Congratulations .... sweet Les Paul. Just like an authentic Lou Malnati's Pizzeria Chicago-style deep-dish pizza!

 

[Flogger]

Always trim your nails.

 

[WillyW]

Play this 10,000 times a day for 40 years….

 

[charliechitlins]

I've refretted a lot of guitars, but none where the board was worn enough to encroach on the fret slots.
I'd speak to a GOOD luthier about the ramifications of this.

 

[boogieongtr]

Here's the tentative plan. I have some very close matching Brazilian. I think I will pull the first fret and remove the nut then I'll inlay a small piece of Bz. I'll make the cuts below the 2nd and 4th strings to hide as much of the line. I'll do the same repair for the second fret divot.

 

[CptZar]

 

[Standard Magic]

That's very disingenuous of the dealer, I would have wanted my money back if I paid a price akin to typical/normal fretboard damage for that type of guitar. But if I got a great deal it would be different.

 

[charliechitlins]

Here's the tentative plan. I have some very close matching Brazilian. I think I will pull the first fret and remove the nut then I'll inlay a small piece of Bz. I'll make the cuts below the 2nd and 4th strings to hide as much of the line. I'll do the same repair for the second fret divot.

YIKES!
Sounds dangerous to me.
If you're not thinking at all about resale, there's always the "It's YOUR guitar" argument.
If vintage value is a consideration, there's the difference between "original with lots of honest play wear" and "bits of the original fretboard have been replaced".
Are you talking about longitudinal lines that the strings would "hide"?
But only if you're looking straight down?
I would say, if I absolutely HAD to remove and replace wood, I'd cut out the whole board up to the 2nd fret and leave .022" (or whatever it is) to install the 2nd fret and cut a slot for the 1st.
I think if you're going to mess with the fretboard on the first 2 frets, there's nothing to be gained by removing less.
I guess the binding would be difficult.
I think the best fix would be filling the divots with rosewood dust and glue.
What I would really do, is mark a date on my calendar a year from now, leave the guitar alone, and see if I still felt like fixing it in a year.
My opinion is, of course, actually worth a tiny bit less than what you paid for it.

 

[Wally]

Tap across the first fret with a piece of bone or a little hammer. Do you hear a difference on the treble side than on the bass side where the wear is not so severe? If not, I would level and dress the frets and do a good set-up. The L&D will take the frets down enough so that the high E will clear that first fret, I think. If not, then build a new nut. Unless that first fret yields a bad sound with the tapping, I would not do partial surgery on that board. Ymmv.
Those divots should NOT take part in fretting the guitar. Whoever played that guitar for all of those years played every note out of tune due to excessive and improper fretting technique. I trained in the Erlewine methods in what was once his shop under Brian Galloup, who worked with Dan for years before taking over the shop when Dan went to Stew Mac. I learned to fill divots there. However, I don’t worry about the divots unless the owner wants them to be dealt with. They are not part of the equation, imho. They do not hinder proper playing,imho/ime.