Guitars with jumbo frets

  • Thread starter Thread starter DLT
  • Start date Start date
D

DLT

Guest
Do you find tall jumbo frets are buzzier when picked than the slimmer counterparts?
 
Re: Guitars with jumbo frets

fret buzz has nothing to do with fret size and everything to do with fret dress and set up...

True, but it's harder for the average joe to do a good setup and take care of the frets when there's more to them. I know it sounds strange, but I've found it to be true.
 
Re: Guitars with jumbo frets

Dang, that is kinda rude!

Thanks B_Bent. Yes...I agree it was rude. I was starting this thread just to get some conversation going. One never knows what or where a question will lead to in a thread.

Bean is correct in his finding. Jumbo frets (.055 tall X .110 wide) do take a lot more effort to get the level correct. Also jumbo frets on a 10" neck radius, strings are more apt to buzz when bent or cranked hard than a flatter radius neck like a 15".

I may not be a luthier, but have been around many luthiers in my lifetime and have 40 years of playing experience behind my belt. I know a neck with more arch has buzzier frets when strings are cranked and picked hard, unless you have a very very nice leveled neck, but those are far and few in between.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitars with jumbo frets

I just did an acoustic with EVO jumbo frets.....I've done others but always used mediums.
jumbos are more difficult to work with....
It takes longer to crown them properly....you can't get the crown as small with a file.
My frets are perfectly level with a rocker and yet I have a couple frets on the D string that slightly buzzes when I hit it hard.
It's harder to get the crowns super smooth with the bigger crown area....it's not hard..you just have to spend more time on them smoothing them out.
The string is going to touch more metal so any imperfection in the crown may show up more often than a medium. That means if you get wear it will show up more often also.
The more metal your touching the better chance of having a fret problem.
 
Re: Guitars with jumbo frets

Buzz is more related to action than fretwire size. A Gibson "fretless wonder" LPC will buzz if you set it up to do so. If you have a tendency to bash the strings like Malcolm Young, you need a higher action to alleviate buzz. If you're a speed demon, you need more gain and less pick attack to get more fluid lines, and you'll have less buzz.
 
Back
Top