stainless steel vs nickel

[wolf5150]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I have stainless on all my guitars.

I 1st tried them when my Tom Anderson arrived.

I quickly had my Silhouette Special refretted with them.. fantastic.
I also recently put together a Warmoth and went with stainless frets again.

Unplugged you might hear a difference but live, no way.
They always feel brand new and after 500+ gigs on my Anderson they're still like new.

My advice.. go for it, you won't regret it. :friday:

 

[aleclee]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I'm not rough on frets, so I have no plans to try stainless frets

Because nobody gets stainless for the smooth feel and silky bends.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

The Dunlop SS6105 is .095" X .047", tall as the Std jumbo narrower by .009" . I always like feel of jumbo but was concerned about intonation.
6105 seems the best compromise between feel, tone and intonation.

Just one correction, the dimensions you're talking about are on the 6125 (check my post above Uopt's), the 6105SS are .090" x .055", a bit shorter and a tad thicker. Like I said, Dunlop doesn't offer the 6125 in SS but Jescar has a SS fret in that exact size. I highly recommend it!

 

[Sruffie777]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Just one correction, the dimensions you're talking about are on the 6125 (check my post above Uopt's), the 6105SS are .090" x .055", a bit shorter and a tad thicker. Like I said, Dunlop doesn't offer the 6125 in SS but Jescar has a SS fret in that exact size. I highly recommend it!

got my info from Warmoth
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/FretSizePop.aspx looks like there is conflicting information out there, before I order the neck I will found what is correct hopefully.

 

[Sruffie777]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

=====================


It's a labor of love man . When I bought her new I was an entry level 2 year novice player. 10 years with her and the difference is night and day .

Wasn't a cake walk with her the first year , I just could not get her to ring clear like a rose wood does and thought it was the guitar . Then one year more and things stated to connect , slowly but I began to see the proverbial light .

She still plays super too , I like the rosewood fretboard's give when I push down on it . Ebony is cool too like my electric's fretboard , just started to get used to the feel of a maple . Just did another gig with her too .

Kind of worrying about the fret job it needs . I have considered PLECKing it at around $200.00 http://www.westwoodmusic.com/service-and-repairs/plek.html

Easy man :

Hurricane Ramon

Your guitar sounds like it's your best friend.:approve: I'm probaly going have my new guitar build pleked also, seems like solid science to me.

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Your guitar sounds like it's your best friend.:approve: I'm probaly going have my new guitar build pleked also, seems like solid science to me.

Yeah man , this guitar has become admired by my buddies too . Tonight I had a hard time getting it out of the hands they like it so much .

One hocked his Alvarez , it wasn't anything special looking but , loud for a mahogany dreadnaught body , had a two piece spruce top and as I said it was nothing to look at , but it sounded fantastic . It had Yari's signature inside . I tried to buy it from him many times and he goes and hocks it and looses it , pisses me off , but I love him anyway , heck , he's the one who's sufferin .

The other buddy lost the tips of his left ring and middle finger from a fan belt . He quit for 10 years till I showed up with a really piece of $hit acoustic nylon Chinese - it sucked - But it got us both going that January 1999 .

We both ( through my persistence ) have acquired many guitars since .

When I got it :

I was nuts because I could not make a sweet note out any chords for the first year , I read all kinds of stuff about breaking in a new guitar and so forth . One thing I kept hearing and reading form time to time was to keep the guitar in front of a speaker cabinet with music playing 24/7 the first year I did it heh heh heh .

Did a gig with it and my duet partner , he has a D18 like

this only really old , pre WW2 and is sweet but not as loud as my Washburn .

Yeah she's been babied a lot but I get what I want from her . after the years put in with her and learning how to set up a acoustic guitar because of her I have learned a lot and help many friends with the acquired knowledge . I have considered maybe doing it to make a $ or too since I have been doing a lot for friends free on their guitar's set ups .

After hearing what a complete re fretting could run me ( Some quoted $ 300.00+ ) I could get all the necessary tools and do mine and be able to do others too . Being the Washburn is a guitar with binding the cost is higher .

That link I furnished was the one with the $300.00 price and the PLECK job which they now charge $275.00 would be discounted to $175.00 if they did the fret job .

With prices like this ( no complaining here ) the incentive to do it myself is a very highly charged motivator heh heh heh .

Peace man :

HR

 

[aleclee]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

There's a reason why cheap fretwork is cheap. It gets a lot more expensive if it requires an experienced tech to fix the "cheap" work. If the guitar matters, get the best fretwork you can afford. Whatever you do, don't learn fretwork on an instrument you consider an old friend!

 

[formula73]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I have one guitar with SS frets and, like Frank's buddy, it wasn't a matter of tone; it was testing the waters to see if it was necessary for me, or not. I have enough geets that fretwear isn't much of a problem (unless I buy them that way) but what IS a problem is my acid sweat. I eat strings and turn frets green when they're not played constantly. Wipe them down-whatever, it still happens. I can happily say my Culprit's frets are just as shiny and slick as the day they were installed. There's so much going on with the guitar that I can't really say how much tone difference is due to the frets but I know I love the way they feel.

Can't say I'm too happy about the extra cost involved in a ss vs nickel silver refret. Ouch. I love it but haven't done it, since.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html
http://www.fender.com/news/index.php?display_article=424
http://www.usacustomguitars.com/neckoptions.html

All of these refer to the 6105 as .090 x .055. 6125 is a relatively new size and is not found in many places. Dunlop AFAIK doesn't have it in SS, Jescar does however.
Jescar's number is 47095 (SS for Stainless Steel).

That said, since you're going with Warmoth if Warmoth refers to 6105 as .095" X .045" then just send them an email to validate it.

In either case, we're not talking about that much of a difference really.

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

There's a reason why cheap fretwork is cheap. It gets a lot more expensive if it requires an experienced tech to fix the "cheap" work. If the guitar matters, get the best fretwork you can afford. Whatever you do, don't learn fretwork on an instrument you consider an old friend!

======================

Thanks Alec your point was well made and seriously taken .

I have several other guitars here to [ Experiment ] on first .

I mentioned I have a year or more of " meat " ( second fret from nut ) on these most worn frets still :

You can see I have worn the fretboard pretty much evenly over the entire neck . As I learned to play I remembered hearing from great guitarists who said practice playing over the entire fretboard top to bottom so as I practiced I would inspect my fret wear and see where I was at and then adjust my playing to another part of the neck to even the amount of time/wear to be relatively the same across the whole fretboard in 10 plus years .

That first year with her I was getting frustrated and then remembered the same on cross harp position playing ( a ten year study ) and how frustrating that was . Then after becoming a proficient journey man on it ( harp ) and then years later passed with tons of gigs and sessions and learned it inside and out I kicked it's butt .

After a while longer I realized even the frustration I looked back on in those long hours , the tedious repetition ( ¿ you dig where I'm coming from right ? ) I came to realize that getting [ there ] was in fact half the fun in reality .

This is what's propelled me through these past 12 years , the feelings of :

[ Discovery ] + [ Surprise ] + [ Satisfaction ] + [ Affirmation ]

,,,,,,,,,,,, are addictive drugs heh heh heh .

I am taking all this in and really enjoying it too . The respect of another level from my fellow musician peers is also a side effect that I found very good to feel too late in my life as an " old guy " now it's happening again on guitar .

Once you cover the miles I have , surprises don't come along by the bushel .

Yes I am treating my guitar like a faithful partner and won't hurt her heh heh calm your self man

The best to you :

Hurricane Ramon

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Excerpt :

I have one guitar with SS frets and ...
Can't say I'm too happy about the extra cost involved in a ss vs nickel silver refret. Ouch. I love it but haven't done it, since.

================================

¿ What it set you back $ , was it a full on fret job & where was it done ?

Thanx :

Hurricane Ramon

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html
http://www.fender.com/news/index.php?display_article=424
http://www.usacustomguitars.com/neckoptions.html

All of these refer to the 6105 as .090 x .055. 6125 is a relatively new size and is not found in many places. Dunlop AFAIK doesn't have it in SS, Jescar does however.
Jescar's number is 47095 (SS for Stainless Steel).

That said, since you're going with Warmoth if Warmoth refers to 6105 as .095" X .045" then just send them an email to validate it.

In either case, we're not talking about that much of a difference really.

=================================================


Great links KeeperOS , thanx .

HR

 

[IanBallard]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I kind of a agree with Eddie VH on the issue. If it's a bogus, crap-sounding guitar, it doesn't matter what frets are on it. BTW, I've played a few different models of the Fender Wolfgangs, including the "Les Paul" version and they are amazing, balanced guitars. Yes, those guitars and the few other steel-fretted I've played definitely have a lot of presence, but they also have more harmonics and detail. I like harmonics and detail. They are smoother for bending too. I like bending.

So there. Internet hear-say at its finest!

Seriously, I'm in the market for a new neck and I think q-sawn maple/ebony/TusqXL and SS frets would create the tinnitus-inducing tones I like!

 

[aleclee]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

¿ What it set you back $ , was it a full on fret job & where was it done ?

I'm not f73 but Phil Jacoby is doing my SS refret. They start at $360 ($60 more than nickel/silver) and include a PLEK setup.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I have a few made with stainless and a LOT refretted with stainless. I won't refret with anything else now.

I do not hear any difference. I've heard the same guitars with the old nickel and the new stainless and I don't hear a change.

If there is any change at all, it is so subtle as to be negligable. I'm a picky mfer with very sensitive ears, lots of things irritate me that other people just can't hear, but that isn't one of them.

I think the whole rap about brightness comes from the fact that, when people refret they generally go with large wire. Larger wire DOES SOUND BRIGHT, whether it's nickel or stainless. So if you refret with large stainless wire, you blame it on the stainless because thats what you read on the bull****net so it must be true right? Also, most guitars don't glue in frets or fill gaps or crimp the tang so it's tight in the slot from the factory. A good tech WILL do those things on a refret, all of which can give the impression of a brighter sound.

Stainless doesn't wear but it is a ***** on tools and it is a ***** on the hands of the person working on or installing it, so it will be more expensive and not 'just cuz'.

It also has to be polished to a mirror or it feels very gritty, in a way nickel doesn't. All the rap about "stainless feels so smooth" is because you HAVE TO POLISH THE HELL OUT OF IT, or it feels like sandpaper on the strings. If you polish nickel to that degree, it feels smooth to. However, nickel wont feel as gritty if it is scratched up.

Gold wire, by the way, is as hard or harder than stainless.

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I'm not f73 but Phil Jacoby is doing my SS refret. They start at $360 ($60 more than nickel/silver) and include a PLEK setup.

========================

Looks like they are about the same cost on either side of the Atlantic .

Thanx :

HR

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Excerpts :

I have a few made with stainless and a LOT refretted with stainless. I won't refret with anything else now.

I do not hear any difference. I've heard the same guitars with the old nickel and the new stainless and I don't hear a change.

If there is any change at all, it is so subtle as to be negligable. I'm a picky mfer with very sensitive ears,
Gold wire, by the way, is as hard or harder than stainless.

===================================

Not to chip or diss ya man :

How so on the gold ?

This doesn't make sense .

I have gold nuggets ( little ones ) they are very easy to bend & misshape .

Easy man :

Hurricane Ramon

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Gold is just their color, they are not actually made of gold, on the first link I offered in my previous post it states:

The "gold" wire referred to below as EVO wire is Jescar's proprietary nickel-free hypoallergenic alloy originally devised to make eyeglass frames for folks with nickel allergies. It contains no gold either, of course, and makes wonderful fretwire...

He even goes on to say that he actually thinks it wears better than SS and is even easier to install too!

 

[Hurricane]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

Gold is just their color, they are not actually made of gold, on the first link I offered in my previous post it states:


He even goes on to say that he actually thinks it wears better than SS and is even easier to install too!

====================

Thanx for clearing that up .

HR

 

[BloodRose]

Re: stainless steel vs nickel

I have a few made with stainless and a LOT refretted with stainless. I won't refret with anything else now.

I do not hear any difference. I've heard the same guitars with the old nickel and the new stainless and I don't hear a change.

If there is any change at all, it is so subtle as to be negligable. I'm a picky mfer with very sensitive ears, lots of things irritate me that other people just can't hear, but that isn't one of them.

I think the whole rap about brightness comes from the fact that, when people refret they generally go with large wire. Larger wire DOES SOUND BRIGHT, whether it's nickel or stainless. So if you refret with large stainless wire, you blame it on the stainless because thats what you read on the bull****net so it must be true right? Also, most guitars don't glue in frets or fill gaps or crimp the tang so it's tight in the slot from the factory. A good tech WILL do those things on a refret, all of which can give the impression of a brighter sound.

Stainless doesn't wear but it is a ***** on tools and it is a ***** on the hands of the person working on or installing it, so it will be more expensive and not 'just cuz'.

It also has to be polished to a mirror or it feels very gritty, in a way nickel doesn't. All the rap about "stainless feels so smooth" is because you HAVE TO POLISH THE HELL OUT OF IT, or it feels like sandpaper on the strings. If you polish nickel to that degree, it feels smooth to. However, nickel wont feel as gritty if it is scratched up.

Gold wire, by the way, is as hard or harder than stainless.

Good info! thanks!!