Fret wear

thomasross20

Just had some 85/15s installed in my PRS. Wont be able to pick up until the weekend. 

Tech mentioned I might want to book it in for a fret dress as it's showing some wear. 

That's the violet (newer) one. I definitely notice frets 1-5 on the orange one have some indentations. 

Bloody nickel fret wire! Still, I reckon they're ok to keep going for a while yet... 

How long do you wait until you get a fret dress? Or get so p!ssed off you get SS frets installed? 

guitars4you

Not a specific answer unless you want someone to say the sooner the better - Maybe a repair guy will say get it done now as it is good for business - maybe it is so bad it needs to be done asap

If I trade in a guitar with obvious grooves in the frets I will have it dressed before offering it for sale

If there are just very minor flat spots then unless you are some perfectionist then you can let it go much longer

Without seeing it in the flesh and with out knowing if it is causing any fretting issues elsewhere then hard to pass comment - I know many will do nothing until the wear is so bad that it causes playing issues and buzzes, but to me that is to late

A light fret dress is a dam sight cheaper than SS frets

No specific answer but hope it helps

thomasross20

That's cool, wasn't really looking for any grand answer.

Just can't believe there is wear already - only had them for just over a year!

Sassafras

If it's your main guitar then fret wear isn't unusual after a year but that doesn't mean it will cause problems. Fret wear always looks worse than it really is.

richardhomer

My 22 year old Martin is strung with medium gauge bronze strings and shows only very light wear. It certainly requires no attention at present.

PRS's recommended action height is significantly higher than they can usually be adjusted to - and therefore should cope with some wear.

My guess is he's looking for work....

thomasross20

To be fair it was only a recommendation but I think I'll hold off for some time. 

ewal

I've never had any guitar's frets dressed in over 30 years playing - wear just adds to the character of the guitar. Although to be fair I'm talking about different guitars over that time.

guitarfishbay

I get a fret dress when the setup ends up being compromised by the fret wear.

guitarfishbay

ewal said:

I've never had any guitar's frets dressed in over 30 years playing - wear just adds to the character of the guitar. Although to be fair I'm talking about different guitars over that time.

I don't understand this thought process.  If there is enough fret wear to mean you need an uncomfortably high action that isn't character in the same way as a paint chip on the body.

guitars4you

thomasross20 said:

That's cool, wasn't really looking for any grand answer.

Just can't believe there is wear already - only had them for just over a year!

apart from playing the guitar a lot one of the biggest causes of fret wear is playing with dirty strings - Not saying yours is like that but take it into account

Some players again naturally 'squeeze' the note harder - maybe not much you can do about it, but again it will wear frets down quicker

I've seen guitars that are 5-10 years old that have no hint of wear - Other pro based players can need a dress after 12 months with constant 5-8 hours a day playing

Take a ultra close up pic if you want and e-mail to me and I can look at it if that helps you

ICBM

PRSs have quite soft frets, and they do wear a bit faster than some other brands.

That said, fret wear always looks worse than it actually is, and it may only take a very light fret dress to remove it entirely. I second what guitars4you said about dirty strings - and dirty frets wear faster too, since they corrode, the corrosion scrapes off easily, then the next layer down corrodes etc. Keep everything clean and they will last longer.

I'm not keen on stainless steel frets, they sound overly 'zingy' to me, similar to how a brand new set of strings does before they settle in, only permanently. You may like that though.

streethawk

thomasross20 said:

Just had some 85/15s installed in my PRS. Wont be able to pick up until the weekend. 

Tech mentioned I might want to book it in for a fret dress as it's showing some wear. 

That's the violet (newer) one. I definitely notice frets 1-5 on the orange one have some indentations. 

Bloody nickel fret wire! Still, I reckon they're ok to keep going for a while yet... 

How long do you wait until you get a fret dress? Or get so p!ssed off you get SS frets installed? 

Two schools of thought: you can't hear a problem so leave it, or - get it done now because it will get worse, faster, if you don't.

Sassafras

Has anyone tried those Evo Gold frets?

Do they last longer than ordinary nickel and are they easier to put in than stainless? By easier, I mean not so rough on fretting tools.

WezV

Sassafras said:

Has anyone tried those Evo Gold frets?

Do they last longer than ordinary nickel and are they easier to put in than stainless? By easier, I mean not so rough on fretting tools.

I have not used them myself but most of the reports I have seen say they sit pretty much between stadnard nickel and SS

thomasross20

SS frets are a bit zingy but through an amp I think that goes away..?

richardhomer

thomasross20;931811" said:

SS frets are a bit zingy but through an amp I think that goes away..?

I don't believe so - they definitely sound more 'precise' to my ears - not sure whether it's greater brightness or a sharper attack.

Paul Smith uses wire that he thinks 'sounds' good, as well as wearing in an acceptable way.

IF - and it is a 'if' your frets need dressing, that is not a reason to go for a refret. PRS frets have reasonable height, so will stand dressing with little or no change to the feel of the guitar.

Unless you are getting unacceptable levels of buzz, I doubt your guitar needs any attention at this stage.

ewal

guitarfishbay said:

ewal said:

I've never had any guitar's frets dressed in over 30 years playing - wear just adds to the character of the guitar. Although to be fair I'm talking about different guitars over that time.

I don't understand this thought process.  If there is enough fret wear to mean you need an uncomfortably high action that isn't character in the same way as a paint chip on the body.

I've never had that problem - the guitar I had for the longest (about 20 years), an Ibanez Artist) had worn frets, however I never once felt it needed the action adjusted or indeed any other sort of set-up work - it just looked after itself. It also had what appeared to be a hairline crack in the neck which didn't affect it in any way. It was indestructible that guitar and I was too busy playing it to notice!

ETA: I actually hate the fact I'm now an old bore that spends more time fettling guitars and reading pedal reviews than actually playing the damn thing and being creative!!

WezV

there is usually a  clear point when natural wear becomes a fault that needs fixing.

slightly worn frets are not usually an issue, most guitars that get played regularly have them.  

But if you have divots so deep it hinders bends, you have constant fret buzz on the most worn positions at an action you consider reasonable, or you are struggling with intonation on  numerous fret positions  then  its hard to characterise it as anything other than a fault that needs fixing

WezV

how about some pics:

these are a bit worn, but most players probably wouldn't notice too much.   they would benefit from a dress and crown, but will get by as they are.  tbh it looks like they could benefit from a dress of the ends anyway so i would recommend a dress at some point soon.

this is similar, possibly a bit better, hard to tell from internet pics, but it looks like just a little wear and discolouration in the non-worn areas making it look worse.  a good polish might make it seem 10 time better

this would definitely be in for a dress, but there is plenty of height to do it - nice easy job

this is overly worn and getting quite low so a definite candidate for a refret, certainly no more than one more dress if the owner wanted to keep the original frets for some reason - and they would be very low and hard to crown properly at that.

sometimes you see actual dents in frets, usually from  something hitting the strings against the fret.  they should always be taken care of as they can catch the string more than natural wear

ewal

That guitar I was talking about had a chip out of one of the frets - it forced me to avoid the 3rd fret on the B string which turned out to be useful creatively - either re-tune the guitar or look for a different chord voicing. Anyway I'll shut up - I'm side-tracking the thread.

thomasross20

Good pics. Will maybe get some up at some point but super busy for the moment.. Fyi I don't think it will need any work