How Much Fret Wear Is Too Much on a Used Guitar?

Here's the short version, because it's the thing most people get wrong: fret wear on a used guitar is almost never a dealbreaker. It's a bargaining chip. I've had hundreds of used instruments across the bench, and the ones with a little honest wear are usually the ones that played so well somebody actually kept them in their hands. What matters isn't whether the frets show wear — it's how much, and whether the fix is a $100 dress or a $350 refret. Once you can tell those two apart, worn frets stop being scary and start being leverage.

So let's walk through exactly what I look at when a used guitar lands on the bench, and how you can do the same thing in a shop or someone's living room with nothing but your eyes, your ears, and good light.

What fret wear actually looks like

A new fret has a rounded top — the "crown." The string only touches it at a tiny point, which is what gives you clean notes and easy bends. As you play, the string slowly hammers and drags that crown down. First it flattens. Then a shallow groove forms right where the string sits. Eventually that groove becomes a pit, or a divot, and the fret is worn low enough that notes start buzzing out or choking when you bend.

The whole game is figuring out which of those four stages you're looking at. Stages one and two — a rounded or slightly flat crown — are cosmetic. Ignore them. Stage three, a flat top with a visible groove, means the guitar is due for a fret level (also called a dress). Stage four, a deep divot with the fret worn thin, means it's headed for a refret.

Where to actually look

You don't need to inspect all 22 frets equally. Wear isn't spread evenly — it clusters exactly where you'd expect a person to play the most. The first three frets take a beating from open chords. Frets five through nine get the worst of it, because that's where most of us live for lead lines and bends, and bending is what really carves grooves into a fret. And it shows up under the G and B strings first, since those are the ones you bend hardest.

Tilt the neck under a light and look at the fret tops with the string pushed aside. You're hunting for two things: flat spots where the crown should be round, and little notches or pits where the strings sit. Run a fingernail along the top of a fret — you can often feel a groove you can't quite see.

The playing test beats the eyeball test

Photos and light will tell you a lot, but your ears settle it. Plug in, or just play acoustically, and fret every note up each string, one at a time, all the way up the neck. You're listening for three things: buzzing, notes that come out dead or choked, and — the big one — a note that goes sharp and then chokes out when you bend it. That last one is the classic worn-fret tell. If a bend at the 7th fret fizzles and dies, the fret under it has a groove deep enough that the string can't ride cleanly.

One honest caveat, because I don't want you condemning a good guitar: buzzing down at the first few frets is often the nut, not the frets. And a neck that needs a truss-rod tweak can mimic fret problems entirely. So before you blame the frets, make sure the neck is roughly straight and the setup is sane. Fret wear is real, but it gets blamed for a lot of crimes it didn't commit.

Level or refret? The rule of thumb I use

This is where the money is, so here's the working rule. If roughly two-thirds of the original fret height is still there, a level and recrown will bring it back to life. A fresh medium-jumbo fret is somewhere around 0.043 to 0.048 inches tall; a level removes a little material to flatten the high spots, then reshapes the crown. You can only do that so many times before there's not enough metal left. Once frets are down around 0.025 inches — barely a sliver — or the divots are deeper than a level could safely take out, you're into refret territory, meaning the frets come out and new ones go in.

Those numbers are a guide, not gospel. Some players are perfectly happy on low, worn-in frets; others want tall frets and hate anything short. Fret size matters too — a tall jumbo fret has more meat to give than a vintage-spec low-and-narrow one. But the two-thirds rule will keep you out of trouble in a parking-lot inspection.

It's also worth knowing whether the frets have already been leveled. A guitar that's had two or three dresses over its life is running low on runway and will need a refret sooner than the calendar suggests. If a seller mentions "recent fret dress," that's usually a plus — but it also means the meter's running.

Turning wear into a price

Here's how I'd actually price it in your head. Light or moderate wear that plays clean? Pay full fair price and enjoy it — that guitar is fine. Grooved frets that need a level? A fret level and recrown is a routine job, roughly in the $75 to $150 range at most shops, so knock something in that neighborhood off the price. Frets that are genuinely done and need a refret? A standard refret typically runs a few hundred dollars — call it $250 to $450, more if the fretboard is bound, lacquered, or you want stainless — so that's a bigger negotiation, and on a cheap import it can cost more than the guitar is worth. (Shop rates vary by region and year, so treat those as ballpark and confirm with your local tech.)

That last point is the one to internalize: a refret on a $1,500 guitar is an easy yes. A refret on a $250 import usually isn't. The wear is the same; the math is completely different.

One bright spot when you're shopping: if a used guitar has stainless steel frets, relax. Stainless lasts something like three to four times as long as traditional nickel-silver, so a used guitar with stainless frets has almost certainly got plenty of life left, even if it's been gigged hard. You'll find them on a fair number of modern instruments — worth checking the listing or asking.

The bottom line

Fret wear is not a reason to walk away from a used guitar. It's information. Read the crowns, focus on frets one through nine, trust your ears on the bends, and price the fix — a level or a refret — into your offer. Do that and a little honest fret wear becomes exactly what it should be: a discount on a guitar somebody loved before you. If you want to see what clean, honestly-described used instruments look like, browse our guitars in stock — every one gets a real once-over on the bench before it goes up.

FAQ

Is fret wear a dealbreaker when buying a used guitar?

Almost never. Light to moderate wear is normal and often a sign the guitar plays well. What matters is whether it needs a simple fret level or a full refret, and whether that cost is priced into the deal.

Can worn frets be fixed without a full refret?

Usually, yes. If roughly two-thirds of the original fret height remains, a level and recrown will restore clean, buzz-free playing. A refret is only necessary when the frets are worn too low or too deeply grooved to level safely.

How much should fret wear knock off the asking price?

Roughly the cost of the fix. Budget in the neighborhood of $75 to $150 for a fret level, or a few hundred for a refret. On an inexpensive guitar, a needed refret can cost more than the instrument is worth — factor that in before you buy.

Do stainless steel frets wear out?

Eventually, but far slower — roughly three to four times slower than nickel-silver. A used guitar with stainless frets almost always has plenty of life left, even after heavy playing.