Stainless steel frets - worthwhile?

[LesStrat]

:bigok:

I’m a fan.

 

[alex1fly]

Pretty resounding support... or is everyone here also selling the kool-aid?! Just kidding

What about humidity and temperature in regards to a refret, given that wood does expand and contract? Again, I'm not going to attempt to do this myself, but I'm thinking it'll happen some day.

 

[Masta' C]

The ones I like are on my Warmoth- one of their sizes. It is a jumbo but almost comes to a point at the top- feels great to play on.

That's their SS6115...Yes, a very cool and unique fretwire!

I have a neck with this wire and it's probably my favorite

 

[Mincer]

That's their SS6115...Yes, a very cool and unique fretwire!

I have a neck with this wire and it's probably my favorite

I haven't found 'outside' fretwire that is like it. I might just order the wire itself when I want my Fender re-fretted.

 

[esandes]

What are some thoughts on stainless steel frets? Are they worth the hassle and money? Those of you that have them, did you get them via re-fret or did you the buy the neck/guitar as-is? Are there some common makes/models that use them that I could find in a local shop or a Guitar Center?

I'm casually looking at options for my Tele. No ambitions to attempt a refret myself.

It seems as though they're heralded as "the best thing you can do for your guitar" but I'm always a little skeptical of such claims.

I bought a custom made G&L and I decided to go with SS frets because I heard they basically never wear out.

They are great. Not only do they last but the strings are much easier to bend.

 

[dystrust]

We recently had longcat's Strat refretted with stainless and they're pretty amazing. I'm not a big fan of 7.25" radius, but it plays so much smoother with the new frets. As an added bonus, it also seems to ring out a little better. I'm planning to have several of my guitars refretted in the (hopefully) not too distant future, and this has convinced me that stainless is the only way to go.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Personally I don’t care for them. I’ve refretted a few clients guitars with them.

What I don’t like is the feel. You know that thing you can do by rubbing the string on the fret to get that Foxy Lady thing? Doesn’t work with SS. They are too slick. There is a slight difference in tone… they have a chirpy top end. But it’s subtle.

They are a pain to install too. I’ll put them in the guitars I make if someone requests it, but I’d rather not.


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[DavidRavenMoon]

Why would you be skeptical? They don't wear at all vs trenches in ur nickel frets after 2 weeks. No brainer.

2 weeks? I have basses I built 30 years ago with nickel silver frets that I used stainless steel strings and they hardly have wear. Same with my 1972 Mustang guitar.

That would have to be very poor quality fret wire to have grooves in two weeks.


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[GuitarStv]

On electrics I seem to get 3-5 years out of most nickle silver frets . . . and that's starting out with jumbos that wear down and are redressed a couple times. On acoustics they seem to last a lot longer though, so maybe it's related to bends or something (which I do far less of on the acoustic). The biggest wear seems to happen under the unwound strings for me, particularly G.

 

[alex1fly]

On electrics I seem to get 3-5 years out of most nickle silver frets . . . and that's starting out with jumbos that wear down and are redressed a couple times. On acoustics they seem to last a lot longer though, so maybe it's related to bends or something (which I do far less of on the acoustic). The biggest wear seems to happen under the unwound strings for me, particularly G.

I never noticed fret wear until a tech pointed out that my #1 had massive fret wear after 18 years of playing. Now I'm likely overthinking it - "I need perfect frets!" instead of just being willing to polish them every now and then.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

The only guitar I've ever had to have levelled (not refretted) was my 30 yr old Ibanez S-540. I use 9's and tend to mostly play light with my left hand. Also rarely play over an hour or two a day.

Nickel frets have never been a problem. The only guitars I have with SS frets is my Korean Raven West superstrat & the two locally made Kadence axes I bought last year. Yeah, no fret wear, but they're all relatively new compared to some of my others which are all fine as well.

I do think think SS frets tend to make guitars a bit brighter sounding though (not a bad thing ...just noticebly different).