Stainless steel frets - worth the cost or not?

Philly_Q

Seziertisch said:

Back when SS first were a thing, there were a lot of “experts” strongly against them - they completely ruin the sound of your instrument, they are bad for strings etc.

Now that people have had a chance to use them, the only disadvantage for the end user is a slight change in sound when played unplugged which may or may not be picked up by the pick ups

That reminds me, years ago Ernie Ball used to make stainless steel strings - probably they still do - and I used them for a while.  I think they were supposed to sound brighter and last longer.

I found that the stainless wraps on the wound strings were causing visible fretwear, which I normally don't get because frankly I don't play enough.

I think I'd rather have frets which wear the strings out than strings which wear the frets out.  Strings are still relatively cheap.

Grumpyrocker

Mellish said:

"Tizzy" slang for a sixpence? New one on me. People used to call a sixpence (6d) a "Tanner"  

Coincidentally I've just read a bit of a Patrick O'Brian book where a character mentions a "Tizzy" and that it is sixpence.

guitarfishbay

Philly_Q said:

Seziertisch said:

Back when SS first were a thing, there were a lot of “experts” strongly against them - they completely ruin the sound of your instrument, they are bad for strings etc.

Now that people have had a chance to use them, the only disadvantage for the end user is a slight change in sound when played unplugged which may or may not be picked up by the pick ups

That reminds me, years ago Ernie Ball used to make stainless steel strings - probably they still do - and I used them for a while.  I think they were supposed to sound brighter and last longer.

I found that the stainless wraps on the wound strings were causing visible fretwear, which I normally don't get because frankly I don't play enough.

I think I'd rather have frets which wear the strings out than strings which wear the frets out.  Strings are still relatively cheap.

I’ve not tried them on guitar but on bass there’s a pretty noticeable difference between nickel and stainless steel strings. For some tones steel just works better. I’ve not really had the same desire to brighten up a guitar though, fresh nickel is bright enough

Mellish

I suppose it depends what part of the UK but never heard a sixpence called that. "You've got me *in* a tizzy" yes, that I've heard said  

Handsome_Chris

I've just been succesfully auditioned to be a guitarist in a hair rock band.  My stage name shall be Tizzy Frets.

DefaultM

FelineGuitars said:

DefaultM said:

FelineGuitars said:

DefaultM said:

I would take any tech's negative opinion on stainless steel frets with a pinch of salt. Install them and he puts more wear on his tools and then has a customer who isn't bringing that guitar back for a level ever again.
 I was getting mine done every 6 months, and then I haven't had to for years. That's a lot of lost money for the tech.
So you get them saying things like "ah well you know... I'll do it, but it might change the tone of your guitar and it wont be the same again... It's up to you".

I think that is a pretty dim view to take on guitar techs.

Yeah it is, cos unfortunately most of them are crap. That's why whenever someone asks for a tech recommendation a lot of people say to post to you. They'd rather risk their guitar in the hands of a courier for you to do it, than take it to a local guy and risk him trying to sort it.

OK - I'll take that as a compliment.

Maybe not everyone works the same way as we do.

It was a compliment. I've not been to you but I bought a strat from someone with one of your Dunlop 6000 refrets and it was very nice.
I go to Shane Haigh and I've never had a single issue. A far cry from the other guitar techs of Wakefield who struggle to even install straplocks.

Tannin

mrkb said:

crunchman said:

I had a chat with Charlie Chandler a while back about frets.  He is of the opinion that SS does change the tone slightly.  He ought to know better than most.

Well the density and elastic modulus of steel and stainless steel are virtually identical, so I can’t see how people can feel any difference at the sort of pressure used fretting a string. 

It might be that the softer frets (which will have a lower yield point) wear to a flatter top surface quickly so the arc of string vibration clears the fret quickly, but the basic material differences can’t be changing the speed of sound through the material or the frets resonant frequency.

Thank you for good sense at last! Three pages in but we finally got there. Stainless steel is a bit harder than most other steels though, perhaps that is a factor. Hardness of fingerboard timber makes a significant difference (at least in acoustic guitars, dunno about electrics) so there seems to be some reason to think it might matter with frets as well.