6150s or 6105s for a Les Paul refret?

stratman3142

I'm thinking about getting my Gibson Les Paul Standard refretted with higher frets. It's 2014 model, so the frets aren't super low. I can almost live them, but they're not quite as comfortable to play as my other guitars. I can feel the drag from the fretboard when bending, plus the feeling of the string trying to escape under my finger.

I'm torn between 6150 (wide) or 6105 (narrow) frets. I think my new Telecaster Professional 2017 has frets that are close to 6105, which I really like on that guitar. I'm pretty certain the frets on my PRS S2 are close to 6150 frets. Both are great for bending but I have a (possibly subjective) feeling that the 6150s are better for legato (although I believe Satriani uses 6105s).

Aesthetically (completely illogical I know ) it seems that wider frets 'go' with a Les Paul. But I believe Robben Ford and Larry Carlton use 6105s on their guitars and there's a suggestion that the intonation is slightly better.

I'm a bit confused by some of the data. Some charts show 6150 and 6105 frets as being the same height and others show the 6105s as being higher.

Any thoughts to help me make a decision would be welcome.

Brize

6105s are higher than 6150s. I personally hate 6105s and have re-fretted every guitar I've ever had with them on. That said, a lot of people love them.

IMHO, the best wire for a Les Paul re-fret is Jescar FW47104. As the designation suggests, the wire is .047 high by .104 wide. By comparison, 6150 wire is slightly smaller at .042 x .102, while 6105 is .055 x .090.

I also much prefer Jescar wire over Dunlop wire - it's much more resilient to wear. (I'm referring to nickel, not stainless steel.)

guitars4you

6150's for me on an LP based guitar - I've had a few Strat's with them but generally spec 6105's on Fenders - there is not a definitive answer - I think you'll prefer either to those frets on your 2014 LP as generally they are to flat on the top

Ossyrocks

Brize said:

6105s are higher than 6150s. I personally hate 6105s and have re-fretted every guitar I've ever had with them on. That said, a lot of people love them.

IMHO, the best wire for a Les Paul re-fret is Jescar FW47104. As the designation suggests, the wire is .047 high by .104 wide. By comparison, 6150 wire is slightly smaller at .042 x .102, while 6105 is .055 x .090.

I also much prefer Jescar wire over Dunlop wire - it's much more resilient to wear. (I'm referring to nickel, not stainless steel.)

+1 for Jescar 47104. Ged Green did my Les Paul with this a few months ago, fabulous.

I also went for Stainless Steel, which to me is also a great improvement in feel.

Rob

sweepy

If you can feel drag from the fretboard, check first to see how open grained your fretboard is and also if your frets are properly crowned, both can mske a fretboard feel unfriendy

stratman3142

Thanks for the response. I was under the (probably) mistaken idea that 6105 and 6150 frets were the same height (0.047") based on the data at the link below:

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/FretSizePop.aspx

After reading the reponses above, I did a bit more research and found info at a few more links (below) which give different data, which is more consistent with the info posted above.

http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html

http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/fret-sizes-and-materials

http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/fret-sizes/

I measured the fret heights on my guitars with some vernier callipers. I'm not 100% certain of the exact measurements (and my ability to read a vernier scale with my aging eyesight), so I'm going to get a digital depth gauge just to double check the following figures.

My new Tele (which has my favourite fret height) measures at 0.051", whereas my Les Paul is at 0.042".

I'm now thinking that my choice is either 6105, 6100 (0.055") or the slightly lower Jescar FW47104 (0.047") for my Les Paul.

Weirdly my PRS seems to have the about same fret height as my Les Paul, but it feels like there's less drag off the fretboard when bending, but the (rosewood) grain looks pretty much the same visually. It's still the same (possibly worse) after I recently treated the fretboards with Dunlop Fingerboard Deep Conditioner.