Philtone refret anyone?

There may be others as good but I'll bet there's no one better. Phil has refretted two guitars of mine, my '52 RI Tele and my vintage '67 Hagstrom Viking I. The latter was part of a full restoration and the refretting was very challenging because the binding on the guitar was so old and fragile. Both guitars came out drop-dead perfect. Phil is truly a master craftsman.

As far as perfection goes, a pic's worth a thousand words so here's a post-refret pic of the Hag. The new frets are tall-narrow Dunlops (the stock Brazillian board ain't too shabby either),

 

Phil has refretted and set up a number of my guitars, and his work is stellar. He has a knack for setting a guitar up to fit the player (instead of a one-size-fits-all sort of approach.) He's got the PLEK machine, but more importantly, he has the experience to know what to tell the machine to do in order to produce the kind of results you want.

He's generally pretty busy, but the best usually are, aren't they?

PC

 

Here you have the best amp tech in Baltimore-Washington region providing you with a great reference for the best local guitar tech so take Pete's opinion seriously!

 

Phil is the man. His work always exceeds my expectations.

 

Phil's set up a number of guitars for me - vintage to boutique - all perfectly. He is in the process of re-fretting my '70 LP Deluxe. Phil's going to try to keep all of the nubs and that's a lot of extra and delicate work. He called that part of the process, " an art project." He's a witty guy with great skills. I'll reply again in a bit when the guitar's back home.

HI PETE!!!! Hope all is well. :RoCkIn


If Pete's happy with Phil's re-fret, it's a given that I will be ( not that I didn't expect to be before his post ).


Thanks,
Dave

 

Oooo....ME!!....ME!! First off, Phil's a pro's pro. Guarantee he's pickier than you are. He truly won't let it out of his shop until it meets HIS standards, whether you're as particular or not. Next, his skills are top drawer, AND he has that Plek machine to finish it to the max. Finally, he's a great guy who loves what he does. So, yeah, I'd strongly recommend Phil. BTW, he did a refret with SS on a Strat for me and another on a Flying V that were, as expected, simply perfect.

 

Phil does all the work on my guitars. I have not had a refret yet, but he has dressed frets on several of my instruments and left me in utter amazement. He was once refretting an acoustic with SS (by request of the owner) when I showed up and asked if I minded if he finished the fret he started. The care and level of attention was amazing. He commented that most frets did not take him as long at this one, but he continued to work on it until it passed his high standard. It was instructive to watch the care and skill he put into this fret then no less impressive to see him maintain that level when he turned his attention to my guitar. There is no doubt that my guitars will be refretted by Phil when the time comes. He is worth the drive from CT!

 

Yikes! Now I feel better about my hour+ drive from Fairfax, VA!

 

Phil did a partial refret on one of my Gibsons he was plek'ing (to compensate for the notorious Gibson peaks and valleys) and the work was superb. I don't even think I can point out the ones that have been replaced. And that guitar plays great now.

 

True on both counts.

And I would add, take Jon's opinion seriously too. I'm glad I did because that's how I found out about both Phil and Pete.

:AOK

 

Phil did a great job for me, but be warned; he sometimes gets very behind.
I have had a few friends get very upset.

HJ

 

He did a masterful refret for me. He also, without charging me, also wet-sanded out some dings in the back of the neck to improve playability. Great guy--I wouldn't hesitate to send him work. He's worth the wait, but just be prepared to wait if he is backed up.

 

I'll second what's been said here...Phil is a great craftsman and person.

 

He's had a guitar of mine for almost two years. "Very behind" is something of an understatement.

 

Two Years! No Way!

 

Phil has worked on my guitars and there is NO one better. He is the man. Seriously.

 

This does not strike me as believable. It runs contrary to 5+ years of personal experience and positive feedback from literally a hundred or so folks I know who have worked with Phil. Are you certain you're referring to the same person (seriously)?

 

Absolutely. He's had it since February of 2006.

I'm not bashing him - we've been in periodic contact, and he's making it 'right'. I'm also certain the work will be as stellar as promised.

But the fact remains that he's had it nearly two years, and 'promise dates' keep coming and going. So I would advise that potential customers take that into consideration.