Fretwire

Nomad · January 2017

Nickel silver fretwire (2.7 x 1.1mm, tang thickness not given) is pretty cheap at Small Wonder, £2.20per metre. Has anybody used it? Is it okay?

If not, what's a good source?

Roland · January 2017

@GSPBASSES suggested using Jescar fret wire because it's harder than nickel silver, but not as hard as stainless steel. The cost of a refret, or even fret levelling, outweighs the original cost of the wire.

WezV · January 2017

Jescar is a brand name for a company who produce a variety of fret wire, but their nickel silver wire is noticeably harder than some other brands of nickel silver wire, their EVO is even harder than that... and they also do SS too.

Ossyrocks · January 2017

I'm impressed with Jescar SS wire. It feels superb.

Rob

Roland · January 2017

@WezV Thanks. I should have said Jescar EVO

Nomad · January 2017

Thanks all. So, is the Jescar nickel silver okay for wear, or is it still too soft? What's the EVO like to work?

FelineGuitars · January 2017

Nomad said:

Thanks all. So, is the Jescar nickel silver okay for wear, or is it still too soft? What's the EVO like to work?

EVO and Stainless are actually quite hard to cut - the material seems to shear rather than cut like Nickel Silver.
The Jescar Nickel Silver does seem harder than many other brands and will stand up to a lot of playing

I choose to use the Nickel Silver for the most part but do EVO or Stainless upon request

Nomad · January 2017

Alrighty - Jescar Nickel Silver it is.

WezV · January 2017

Nomad said:

Thanks all. So, is the Jescar nickel silver okay for wear, or is it still too soft? What's the EVO like to work?

It's worth thinking about what you mean by "too soft".

most guitars in the world have NS frets. A lot of them use a softer variety than the Jescar one so you will already be ahead of the game. There is some really soft NS fretwire out there so I would avoid going for budget eBay sellers. Decent fretwire is low cost anyway.

not sure what small wonder sell, but the inlay supplies are good.

Nomad · January 2017

WezV said:

Nomad said:

Thanks all. So, is the Jescar nickel silver okay for wear, or is it still too soft? What's the EVO like to work?

It's worth thinking about what you mean by "too soft".

most guitars in the world have NS frets. A lot of them use a softer variety than the Jescar one so you will already be ahead of the game. There is some really soft NS fretwire out there so I would avoid going for budget eBay sellers. Decent fretwire is low cost anyway.

not sure what small wonder sell, but the inlay supplies are good.

I guess 'too soft' means something like 'tending to wear prematurely'. I noticed recently that the frets on my Vintage V100 Lemon Drop are looking a bit worn in places (probably where my favourite sustainy vibratos happen), which, after a bit less than three years, is more wear than I'd be happy with. My old Gibson Marauder took longer than that to look worn, and I played the arse off that in comparison.

Agreed that it's not expensive in the grand scheme of things (about a tenner for a guitar's worth of the Jescar). Not only is it a small part of the overall spend, it's tiny when the time is factored in.

Yeah, I liked the MOP dots from Small Wonder that I used in the lap steel build.

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