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Stainless steel frets - worth the cost or not?

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Jtaylor said:
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone. sweepy said:
    Stainless Steel frets always sound "tizzy" to my ears, Jescar is a good alternative imho

    That's interesting to know, I definitely don't want it to sound tizzy. Frank Brothers usually spec Jescar frets as standard, specifically the 51108's. Jescar make frets in nickel steel and stainless steel, which have you tried (if any)?  

    I only have one guitar with SS frets but it's the nicest playing, 'slinkiest' feeling guitar I've ever owned. It came with SS frets so can't really compare to how it would feel with nickel frets, and it could of course be other factors that make it play so well.

    Out of curiosity, how much more are they gonna cost compared to the Nickel frets? 
    Stainless is an extra $150. Currently thinking to be safe I'll go with nickel as that's what I'm used to and is more cost effective. 

    51108 is the size - specifically 51 thousandths of an inch tall, and 108 thousandths of an inch wide.  That's quite large.

    I quite like 47090.  It's bigger than vintage style Fender fretwire, but not so big that I start bending notes too sharp.


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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I link them, it's like they have a 'smooth' coating. Mind you, I don't need them. I have one guitar with these days and all the rest without. 

    My only criticism is they don't seem very 'rock n roll' to me. I like a dinged up, beaten up old strat or Tele, and they don't suit the vibe to me with that sort of guitar.
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    Don’t like them personally, feel hard and sound too plinky. They just seem to dominate the playing experience whereas I like frets to get out of the way. 
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  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Love stainless tbh, I've had it on a few guitars and still have an Anderson with them, plus I had my Fender Custom Shop refretted with them too. I don't get this plinky thing, through an amp, it makes no difference, but YMMV and all that

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


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  • Boromedic said:
    Love stainless tbh, I've had it on a few guitars and still have an Anderson with them, plus I had my Fender Custom Shop refretted with them too. I don't get this plinky thing, through an amp, it makes no difference, but YMMV and all that
    Nor do I, maybe when playing unplugged, though using larger frets, regardless of the material, will also give a more metallic sound.

    Plugged in, I couldn't tell the difference, listening back to recordings done with guitars with both nickel and SS, I also couldn't tell the difference. 

    @Jtaylor You really need to try and play some SS fretted instruments so you can make an informed decision. 
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  • JtaylorJtaylor Frets: 182
    I think you may be right @Seziertisch . I have popped Frank Brothers an email to see what they think and recommend. In the meantime, finding a guitar with stainless frets to try out is a very good idea as everyone seems to have such differing opinions on them (thanks everyone for sharing btw, is really helpful to hear of everyone else's experience). 

    Does anyone on here happen to live in Nottingham and have a stainless fretted guitar I could try quickly? Alternatively, does anyone know of any production guitars that somewhere like PMT (as it is local to me) is likely to have in stock that I could pop in to try? 
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  • JtaylorJtaylor Frets: 182
    crunchman said:
    Jtaylor said:
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone. sweepy said:
    Stainless Steel frets always sound "tizzy" to my ears, Jescar is a good alternative imho

    That's interesting to know, I definitely don't want it to sound tizzy. Frank Brothers usually spec Jescar frets as standard, specifically the 51108's. Jescar make frets in nickel steel and stainless steel, which have you tried (if any)?  

    I only have one guitar with SS frets but it's the nicest playing, 'slinkiest' feeling guitar I've ever owned. It came with SS frets so can't really compare to how it would feel with nickel frets, and it could of course be other factors that make it play so well.

    Out of curiosity, how much more are they gonna cost compared to the Nickel frets? 
    Stainless is an extra $150. Currently thinking to be safe I'll go with nickel as that's what I'm used to and is more cost effective. 

    51108 is the size - specifically 51 thousandths of an inch tall, and 108 thousandths of an inch wide.  That's quite large.

    I quite like 47090.  It's bigger than vintage style Fender fretwire, but not so big that I start bending notes too sharp.


    I hadn't realised just how big the 51108 frets are. I'm used to vintage type frets so it might be too big of a jump to the 51108. I might ask Frank Brothers about the 47090, sounds like it could be a good compromise between the vintage feel I am used to and having a bit more meat on the frets. Thanks @crunchman ;
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Jtaylor said:

    Does anyone on here happen to live in Nottingham and have a stainless fretted guitar I could try quickly? 
    Is ten miles close enough? PM me
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    axisus said:
    I link them, it's like they have a 'smooth' coating. Mind you, I don't need them. I have one guitar with these days and all the rest without. 

    My only criticism is they don't seem very 'rock n roll' to me. I like a dinged up, beaten up old strat or Tele, and they don't suit the vibe to me with that sort of guitar.
    Yeah, but a dinged up, beaten up old Strat or Tele is bound to have needed a refret at some point, so why not extend that road dog's working life with stainless frets?

    @Jtaylor looking forward to seeing this Franks Brothers guitar, whether you go stainless or not.
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  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Jtaylor said:
    I think you may be right @Seziertisch . I have popped Frank Brothers an email to see what they think and recommend. In the meantime, finding a guitar with stainless frets to try out is a very good idea as everyone seems to have such differing opinions on them (thanks everyone for sharing btw, is really helpful to hear of everyone else's experience). 

    Does anyone on here happen to live in Nottingham and have a stainless fretted guitar I could try quickly? Alternatively, does anyone know of any production guitars that somewhere like PMT (as it is local to me) is likely to have in stock that I could pop in to try? 
    I'm in Leicestershire if Roland isn't around, pm me if needed

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


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  • Jtaylor said:
    I think you may be right @Seziertisch . I have popped Frank Brothers an email to see what they think and recommend. In the meantime, finding a guitar with stainless frets to try out is a very good idea as everyone seems to have such differing opinions on them (thanks everyone for sharing btw, is really helpful to hear of everyone else's experience). 

    Does anyone on here happen to live in Nottingham and have a stainless fretted guitar I could try quickly? Alternatively, does anyone know of any production guitars that somewhere like PMT (as it is local to me) is likely to have in stock that I could pop in to try? 
    Ideally, try and play a more traditional/vintage voiced instrument with SS frets as opposed to something more modern, seeing as the Frank Brother's instruments seem to be more traditional in their aspirations.

    Playing a modern shred guitar with SS frets will will not give you an insight into what SS frets would sound like on, say, a vintage-style Telecaster.
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  • Roland said:
    @GSPBASSES gave me advice on Fretwire a couple of years ago. He recommended using Jescar EVO Gold, which will last as long as stainless, ie you are unlikely to want to replace it over the life of the instrument. It has two advantages over stainless: it’s easier to work with, so cheaper to fit. It also avoids the plinky sound which you can get when hammering on notes against stainless steel frets. The downside for some people is that it has a faint gold colour.
    I like the sound of the good color 
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  • DodgeDodge Frets: 1430
    I love stainless frets.  Yes, there's a slight tonal difference (and it's not necessarily a negative) - it's clear when played acoustically, not so obvious when amplified.  There's a feel difference too - feels like new strings after a nice fret polish.

    Any refret I ever have on a guitar from now on will be stainless.
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  • JtaylorJtaylor Frets: 182
    10 miles away is absolutely fine, have popped you a message @Roland , thanks! 

    @Philly_Q so am I! Will try to remember to post a NGD post when it arrives next year. 

    Thanks @Boromedic , will pop you a message if Roland isn’t about etc. 

    Completely agree @Seziertisch ;

    Thats good to know, thanks @Dodge ;
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  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Jtaylor said:
    10 miles away is absolutely fine, have popped you a message @Roland , thanks! 

    @Philly_Q so am I! Will try to remember to post a NGD post when it arrives next year. 

    Thanks @Boromedic , will pop you a message if Roland isn’t about etc. 

    Completely agree @Seziertisch ;

    Thats good to know, thanks @Dodge ;
    No worries at all.

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
    edited November 2021
    One thing to note is that some players are harder on frets than others.  I've never had any problem with fret-wear, even with guitars I've owned a long time and played loads.  So the main advantage of ss is wasted on me.  I do have some guitars with stainless frets and there's a difference in feel but it's subtle and not a big deal for me. 

    I had a Suhr refretted with bigger wire. The tech didn't want to work with ss which meant having stainless frets taken out, and non-stainless put in.  I've always slightly wished I'd insisted on stainless, not because it makes much difference in playability or sound but just to preserve the original character of the guitar.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    Fender frets, for me literally wear away like cheese, my Les Paul is better. Stainless just means I can enjoy life and not worry

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


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  • OffsetOffset Frets: 11305
    I'd look at it this way:

    • Would I re-fret a guitar with SS if it needed a re-fret?  Yes.
    • Would I re-fret a guitar with SS if it didn't need a re-fret - merely for the sake having SS frets?  No.
    • Would I specify SS as an option on a new guitar?  Definitely.
    • Would SS be a factor which led me to choose one brand/model of guitar over another?  Possibly.
    In short, SS frets are very nice to have but they're not a deal-breaker.
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  • LoobsLoobs Frets: 3831
    The guitar I had with SS frets had a weird zing to the notes that I didn't like, but it's hard to say if that's because of the SS frets. 
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    edited December 2021
    dindude said:
    Don’t like them personally, feel hard and sound too plinky. They just seem to dominate the playing experience whereas I like frets to get out of the way. 

    I know what you mean, D and although noticeable on my old Suhr Alt T in the way you describe, they didn't really bother me but on other guitars I've tried, they did.

    As to being worth it, if you like them, of course and it's worth the investment for longer-lasting frets.

     
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