Call Ed Roman. By the way, Tom Anderson Guitars uses SS frets on their electrics, and they sound great. To my knowledge, stainless steel frets have no noticeable effect upon string longevity. It is a good material because it conforms to fingerboards well and resists skin acids, oils, and tarnish well. Stainless Steel Frets vs. Nickel Silver Frets. Developed by bass experts in the office and tested by bass professionals in the field, Roundcore Bass Boomers are an exciting addition to the string family at GHS. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Musical Instruments Best Sellers. Stainless steel by far makes the best fret material for acoustics, electrics and basses. It lasts 5 times longer than alloy and is without question the smoothest fret material to play. It does not change the sound of your guitar. Stainless steel frets are well known for their corrosion resistance and extra long-lasting alloy. This fret wire is the standard, going back decades. Perhaps the coated sets would delay wear slightly, but I can't see at D'Addario's web site that the plain strings are coated. My three high strings sometimes break thus the need for roque to replace them instead of opening a new 6 pack. On the other hand, when paired with stainless Its an assumption that they almost never wear, which is somewhat true. 1 Don't like the prospect of NEVER seeing fretwork once SS frets are installed. When paired with nickel strings, the stainless steel frets take very little damage and wear from the friction due to the alloy being much stronger than the string alloy. GHS M3050 4-Strings. So will Stainless steel strings damage stainless frets? If so that would explain it, most luthiers are scared of SS frets (as mentioned earlier) and -. For one there is an increased string wear since the frets are so hard. So Dec 1, 2018 #10. First, make sure youre using the right strings. Nickel Silver (Hardness: HV5/200)This fret wire is actually a copper alloy with nickel added for the harness. The new Gold Tone Adamantium frets are available only by special order on Rick Turner Guitars, JET Guitars, Quicksilver Guitars, Abstract Guitars, J Frog Guitars, Mosrite USA Made guitars, Scorpion Guitars, LSR Guitars, Veillette Guitars, Centurion Guitars, Bolin Guitars. Les Paul Guitars are equipped with two humbucker pickups, which In fact, many players who have made the switch to stainless frets claim theyll never go back to nickel silver! I have just purchased Stewart MacDonald's String Action Gauge. Besides just having different fret material, there are also variables such as: condition of worn frets vs. new freshly crowned/polished frets; skill of the luthier performing the service, etc. Ive worn through sets of nickel frets in 34 years when I was playing out often. Dec 16, 2021. Introducing nickel into the mix can tame a little of the strings brightness for a more vintage sound. Bends feel smoother and easier because the frets stay smoother. The eye sees the distance from the string to the fingerboard surface, but the string stops at the top of the fret. They feel much smoother. If you use hard steel strings (D'Addario NYXL anyone?) In general stainless steel is harder than the metal frets are made of, but there are also varying degrees of hardness in stainless steel. SS frets don't require different strings, imo. They don't wear as quickly as nickel alloy frets, and that lend a bit more *ping* to the tone, but that's about it. Dan Erlewine's favorite size fretwire! Also, the sound of stainless steel frets have been describes as brighter and harder - something to be aware of. They used to use Dimarzio's and now they finally offer a model with Seymour Duncan pickups the best electric guitar pickups available on the open market. In the buried half is the tang, 6 Best Guitar Strings for 12 String Guitars (Electric/Acoustic) [2022] October 13, 2021 March 11, 2022 Simon Morgan 18 min read Medium/higher, 64-foot pack (1 lb) Item # 0152-SLB In stock, ready to ship! Our stainless steel, with its greater hardness and tighter grain structure has much higher wear resistance for greater fret life. Stainless steel frets are way too hard and so is the resulting sound it produces. Subsequently, I measured the string action of my bass G string above the 17th fret. So I raised all the strings about a half turn on the saddle screws, and BINGO. The obvious solution: stainless steel frets with stainless steel strings!! nickel frets will definitely show the wear. Some will be harder than others. Benefits: ease of installation and adjustment (filing, sanding, and grinding). The cheapest combination you can buy. They are the most durable frets, but the hardness can cause the strings to wear out faster. As frets wear and compress, flat spots and divots appear. Some players wear down frets faster than others by pressing the strings harder or by sheer volume of practice time. Stainless Steel. In fact, Parker actually upgraded their pickups to compensate for the stainless steel frets. GHS Round Core Bass Boomers. Every instrument should come with them standard these days. The action on my mandolin is .110. Great sturdy device, made out of stainless steel it appears. 2 Have no idea how to properly work with SS frets and don't have the right tools. It is a good material because it conforms to fingerboards well and resists skin acids, oils, and tarnish well. Stainless steel by far makes the best fret material for acoustics, electrics and basses. They do feel a bit more slick and many say they can feel the difference in hardness when you press a nickel string against a Stainless Fret. Frets are like tires, you are going to have to replace them. Bone nuts are available at additional charge to cut and fit it out of a blank. As you may have gathered, stainless steel frets are made out of stainless steel, which is a harder material than nickel fretwire and according to JESCAR (see below), has a higher grain structure. I first heard about stainless steel frets watching a video of Eddie Van Halen pitching one of his signature guitars. The harder the string the more wear on your frets. I stopped using d'addario after I had very good experience with MF and Roque strings. Some luthiers will not work with stainless fret-wire since it is very hard on the tools! Stainless is HV5-300. My main guitar when I was in high school ('94 Washburn Dime 333) had cheapy soft nickel frets. The Legend B string delivers the goods with a heavy thump, better-than-expected note definition, and reasonable tautness. Recently, DR Strings developed a new method for polishing the stainless-steel outer wrap, making them feel smoother than before. Nickel silver alloy is the most common metal used for fret wire for banjos, guitars and mandolins. Stainless steel frets are well known for their corrosion resistance and extra long-lasting alloy. Its an assumption that they almost never wear, which is somewhat true. When paired with nickel strings, the stainless steel frets take very little damage and wear from the friction due to the alloy being much stronger than the string alloy. Evidence of needing a level can often depend on a variety of factors, but divots on the tops of the frets can be a sure-fire indicator. 3 or more: $120.35. Another commonly used alloy, although less popular, is stainless steel. $12.79. Les Pauls are typically strung with heavier gauge strings, which help to produce a fuller, richer sound. 90 percent of the guitars and dulcimers that you see in use, have nickel silver frets. When I got my guitar back with SS frets, the action felt pretty similar to what I had before. Each fret is manufactured in the same way there is the buried half, and the exposed half. In the buried half is the tang, 6 Best Guitar Strings for 12 String Guitars (Electric/Acoustic) [2022] October 13, 2021 March 11, 2022 Simon Morgan 18 min read It's possible that you've been cursed with naturally acidic body chemistry. Stainless Steel Frets . Flatwound strings are often made out of stainless steel which helps add brightness to their otherwise smoother tone. For one there is an increased string wear since the frets are so hard. These GHS strings are out second favorite fretless bass strings as they provide a supple feel all across the strings. Discover the best Acoustic & Classical Guitar Frets in Best Sellers. Each fret is manufactured in the same way there is the buried half, and the exposed half. They are available in short-and long-scale sets. Stainless steel wire has been introduced for some popular fret sizes, and it is very durable and crisp-sounding. However, its hardness requires special installation tools and may transfer the wear to the strings instead of the fret. Expect to pay more for a re-fret with stainless wire, simply because it is harder to work with. Very high wire makes the action look higher than it really is. Feb 27, 2009 384 NH, USA. Answer (1 of 4): There is somewhat of a trade-off with going for stainless steel frets. 3 or more: $10.87. Musician's friend $2/pack of 9's and a mix of Roque strings from MF. Every instrument should come with them standard these days. Another commonly used alloy, although less popular, is stainless steel. Stainless steel fretwire is probably very hard to work with and that's probably why it's not used a lot. I say play the strings that sound best on your instrument. Traditionally, 0000 steel wool and Gorgomyte are two common treatments to remove oxidation and polish frets. The Cutlass RS features a contoured alder body and roasted maple neck, 22 stainless steel frets, rosewood fingerboard, sculpted neck joint, 25.5 scale length, and a 10 radius. My guess is that your Blue Steels are harder than average Nickel-Steel strings and will wear Nickel frets faster because of this. The most common type is the 18% nickel, which I use most often for my guitars. Donovan Strat-Talker. Steel frets would probably kill a set of strings in no time, especially wound strings. Frets are like tires, you are going to have to replace them. Concordantly, NiAg frets are considerably softer than stainless steel frets, so they will not resist wear as well. 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets. This spells not only high playability but also durability. The tension of the strings now kept my fingers off the fret tops better, and it made a great low setup into a fabulously great med. We charge $385.00 for 6 string guitars for a normal stainless steel refret that includes a standard size Graphtech or similar poly nut** if needed. Aug 2, 2009 #9 Yes, and I've noticed very few guitars come stock with stainles frets too bad. It is entirely made up with flatwound stainless steel that is extremely effective for fretless bass. It has Highly durable stainless steel frets and Bound Panga Panga fretboard with Abalone off-set dot. For most players, it is durable and lasts a long time. Harley Benton Modern C Bolt-On neck. For most players, it is durable and lasts a long time. Get it as soon as Tue, Apr 12. Second, take care of your pickups. Some people say SS wears strings faster, but that has not been my experience in many years of having SS frets on some guitars. Dub, the 'titanium' electric guitar strings are actually misleading. Answer (1 of 4): There is somewhat of a trade-off with going for stainless steel frets. With a stainless steel wrap, theyll be among the brightest bass strings you can buy, with a pronounced low end and a fair degree of brightness. They nicely polished steel ribbon wire that youll love to work with. Lots of positives for SS, especially the pretty indefinite durability, a good thing in your case if you find you like them. Disadvantages of Stainless Steel Frets. Medium/medium, 2-foot piece Item # 0148-S In stock, ready to ship! Despite its name, it has no silver in it. Stainless steel fret wire can be a bit more expensive. The mandolin is about 3 Middle pickup: Roswell S74-C BK Alnico-5 (Single Coil/Passive) Neck pickup: Roswell HAF-N Alnico-5 (Humbucker/Passive) Wilkinson Tremolo bridge. Fretwire hardness is often measured in relation to the Vickers hardness scale. It is my understanding that strings polish stainless frets. Stainless steel frets have nearly no impact on tone and are tough as nails. $32.95. low setup. Many have touted stainless steel frets as one of the best developments to guitars and other stringed instruments in recent years. The frets showed corrosion and had to be cleaned every string change even though I have always been meticulous about playing with clean hands. the Evo frets are rated (vickers scale HV5) around 250. Do stainless steel strings damage nickel frets? I use stainless steel wound strings on my Ryder, and see only little wear on those frets, trivial compared to on the plain steel A and E. Since those strings are not expensive, breakage would not be a worry. Stainless steel frets have nearly no impact on tone and are tough as nails. 1. Regarding this, do stainless steel frets affect tone? Every instrument should come with them standard these days. 5-way Switch. I say play the strings that sound best on your instrument. So nickel fretwire generally has a hardness rating of 175, whilst stainless steel fretwire has a rating of 300. Combines extra width with extra crown height. The Tusq nut and saddle we use is almost ceramic. 00. Best Seller in Acoustic Guitar Strings. My G&L had 6105 frets on it. But as I played it, the frets did feel like 'railroad ties', when sliding up the neck. This being said, I have played a Gibson Les Paul with medium-jumbo frets for 10+ years with nickel coated strings, and only had a "mild" fret leveling done once. Stainless Steel is arguably the best material for frets, thanks to its outstanding hardness and tonal quality. We decided we preferred the sound of nickel-silver. No. Where stainless wins out to me is in the realm of durability. 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs. No. Nickel silver alloy is the most common metal used for fret wire for banjos, guitars and mandolins. BrentSimons likes this. Like REALLY smooth. Consider the fret profile also - narrow frets wear out sooner. In addition, string bending is much smoother without the friction or grinding felt with traditional fret material. Although some players enjoy the bright sound they offer, stainless steel strings are going to wear your frets down so much faster than nickel strings do. For the love of god, please dont leave your capo on your guitar when you are not using it. It stops shy and sounds great because of it. Our stainless steel, with its greater hardness and tighter grain structure has much higher wear resistance for greater fret life. Do stainless steel strings damage nickel frets? The frets now seemed a lot slicker. In addition, string bending is much smoother without the friction or grinding felt with traditional fret material. This can affect intonation and cause uneven frets, resulting in sub-optimal string action or annoying fret rattles and buzzes. 2. WSC staggered locking die-cast tuners. The spec sheet that came with the gauge stipulates .075 as a medium-high setting at this spot. You can read more about that here. C. chumbucket The wound strings have a micro - enamel coating, and the plain strings have a titanium locking wrap to secure the ball end. 2 Sheets Guitar Fretboard Note Decals Scale Sticker Neck Fingerboard Frets Sticker for Beginner For 6 Strings Acoustic Electric Guitar & 9 Packs Guitar Picks. They are not as corrosive and will not tarnish from moisture the way nickel frets will. As for stone and ceramic nuts: ceramic, yes; stone, no. Stainless steel frets have nearly no impact on tone and are tough as nails. EART E-335 6 String Semi-Hollow-Body Electric Guitar, Stainless Steel Frets, Sunburst, Full,Playing Jazz. High strength and durable stainless steel fret wires, 22 frets, the most popular size for fender or gibson electric guitar, acoustic guitar or bass guitar. I put a set of stainless steel strings on a nickel fret neck and am showing some pits in the frets. If so, your options may be quite limited. Stainless steel frets will last for years; Compensated nut maintains superior intonation; Review. Compared with nickel frets, stainless steel is a lot, lot harder. So will Stainless steel strings damage stainless frets?