My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
- Thread starter Archer250
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treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
Stainless Steel is beyond amazing! Absolutely love them!
Stainless Steel is beyond amazing! Absolutely love them!
Rand-O-Monium
New member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
Heard/read "really good" things.
Maybe one day...
Heard/read "really good" things.
Maybe one day...
treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
I HIGHLY recommend "one day" becomes a very soon reality...SS Frets are amazing! (especially on a Roasted Maple neck!)
I HIGHLY recommend "one day" becomes a very soon reality...SS Frets are amazing! (especially on a Roasted Maple neck!)
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
How much brighter are they than nickel/silver?
How much does a good luthier charge to refret in SS?
How much brighter are they than nickel/silver?
How much does a good luthier charge to refret in SS?
Archer250
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
About twice the cost of nickel/silver where I live.
About twice the cost of nickel/silver where I live.
treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
While I would say SS frets are brighter than Nickel/Silver, its not to the point that over the edge, just a slight difference IMO.
There is a good tech south of Atlanta who charges $200-$250 to refret with SS but only if the neck is unbound.
While I would say SS frets are brighter than Nickel/Silver, its not to the point that over the edge, just a slight difference IMO.
There is a good tech south of Atlanta who charges $200-$250 to refret with SS but only if the neck is unbound.
Archer250
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
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I'd say they're crispier rather than brighter.
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treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
Crispier is a good work–I used the same pickups and wood with the difference being Roasted Maple and Stainless Steel Frets...so the brightness might be a combo of the SS and Roasted Maple.
Crispier is a good work–I used the same pickups and wood with the difference being Roasted Maple and Stainless Steel Frets...so the brightness might be a combo of the SS and Roasted Maple.
treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
and pick material
I love copper, steel, wood & tusq picks
and pick material
I love copper, steel, wood & tusq picks
Zerberus
Baron Von Shred
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
Depends on where you are. I take 250€ for a standard refret incl new nut (if necessary) and a full setup, 500 for stainless steel because they just eat through fretting tools like crazy, +50 for binding +50 for maple or other fretboards with a hard finish that will require touching up.
Still don´t have anything in my own arsenal with stanless frets, but when one of mine comes up for a full refret I´ll probably at least consider it. The less you play the instrument, the longer it will take for the extra investment in stainless steel to have a return.
Considering that most people that aren`t professional musicians (or don´t play 5+ hours /day)get about 10 years or more out of a set of Nickel-silver frets, and they can usually be leveled and recrowned numerous times, extending the longevity by another 10+ years each time, longevity should not be the main concern for most people.
And that´s why they aren´t nearly as prevalent in the real world as some forums would have you think, simply becasue 3/4 or more of guitar owners would have no tangible benefit from it but it would drive production costs up significantly.
Depends on where you are. I take 250€ for a standard refret incl new nut (if necessary) and a full setup, 500 for stainless steel because they just eat through fretting tools like crazy, +50 for binding +50 for maple or other fretboards with a hard finish that will require touching up.
Still don´t have anything in my own arsenal with stanless frets, but when one of mine comes up for a full refret I´ll probably at least consider it. The less you play the instrument, the longer it will take for the extra investment in stainless steel to have a return.
Considering that most people that aren`t professional musicians (or don´t play 5+ hours /day)get about 10 years or more out of a set of Nickel-silver frets, and they can usually be leveled and recrowned numerous times, extending the longevity by another 10+ years each time, longevity should not be the main concern for most people.
And that´s why they aren´t nearly as prevalent in the real world as some forums would have you think, simply becasue 3/4 or more of guitar owners would have no tangible benefit from it but it would drive production costs up significantly.
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TRex
New member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
I might would put SS on a lifer after the nickel sivers got REALLY worn and have been redone one too many times, or if I go pro and have the extra $$$ (like that's going to happen [emoji14])
I really don't see myself even using the same guitar for long enough for SS to really be the better deal.
I also spread wear across a few guitars, so playing a few hours a week I could probably go a decade and a half without even a crown and polish.
My Epi has nickel silver and is still rocking perfectly fine after what nearly 7 years. She gets played every day and she has no visible wear.
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I might would put SS on a lifer after the nickel sivers got REALLY worn and have been redone one too many times, or if I go pro and have the extra $$$ (like that's going to happen [emoji14])
I really don't see myself even using the same guitar for long enough for SS to really be the better deal.
I also spread wear across a few guitars, so playing a few hours a week I could probably go a decade and a half without even a crown and polish.
My Epi has nickel silver and is still rocking perfectly fine after what nearly 7 years. She gets played every day and she has no visible wear.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Zerberus
Baron Von Shred
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
^^ Case in point, I´ve recrowned the frets on my custom dinky exactly one time, about 5 years ago. This is the dinky in my avatar that I got in 1996, spent 2 years on tour with me, and still gets played at least 2x /week, usually 4x or more. And when I say played, I mean thrashed around and abused for at least 2 or 3 hours without significant breaks.
There´s still enough meat for at least one more recrown to still have super-jumbo frets, at least 2-3 if I can live with "normal" jumbos, and at least 5 if I can deal with medium jumbo.
That´s the guitar in my arsenal that´s most likely to get SS at this point in time, and I expect it to be at least another 10-15 years until that could realistically happen. :beerchug:
^^ Case in point, I´ve recrowned the frets on my custom dinky exactly one time, about 5 years ago. This is the dinky in my avatar that I got in 1996, spent 2 years on tour with me, and still gets played at least 2x /week, usually 4x or more. And when I say played, I mean thrashed around and abused for at least 2 or 3 hours without significant breaks.
There´s still enough meat for at least one more recrown to still have super-jumbo frets, at least 2-3 if I can live with "normal" jumbos, and at least 5 if I can deal with medium jumbo.
That´s the guitar in my arsenal that´s most likely to get SS at this point in time, and I expect it to be at least another 10-15 years until that could realistically happen. :beerchug:
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kramersteen
PowerMetalRaph
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
My first build was nickel. The second and third were ss and the forth is that evo gold. :headbang: I honestly couldn't care less they all do the job. :headbang: If i had just a few guitars i would go the evo.....its supremo.
My first build was nickel. The second and third were ss and the forth is that evo gold. :headbang: I honestly couldn't care less they all do the job. :headbang: If i had just a few guitars i would go the evo.....its supremo.
Brandenburg
New member
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
my next guitar will have gold frets
my next guitar will have gold frets
aleclee
Major General GAS
Re: My first time owning a stainless-fretted guitar
To me, it's not so much avoiding fret work so much as it is having an everlasting setup. I might need to adjust a truss rod here and there but I don't need to worry about fret wear affecting my setup. I'm not sure if I've ever done a setup on any of my SS guitars after getting it dialed in. That's just not the case with nickel silver.
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