Stainless Steel Frets

[clearlight]

Any one try these?
I tend to wear down frets a lot and am considering making a custon guitar or modifying a close production model......
I hear they have a little extra high end "ping" and  am concerned this might mistrigger the midi gear etc.....

any thoughts?

any other thoughts on custom guitars and such would be appreciated as well

[kneagle]

I haven't noticed any extra "ping", nor have I noticed any problems mistriggering. I have 2 13-pin guitars - one with SS frets and one without, and they seem about the same.

ken

[musicman65]

No issues with my SS frets on my Warmoth neck on a custom strat.I can't hear a difference...but the frets appear to have NO fret wear and hold a silky smooth polish for a long time.

[clearlight]

Thanks.
Was your 13 poin guitar a production model or a custom?

[clearlight]

Thanks.
Was your 13 pin guitar a production model or a custom?

[MidiBuzz]

I am a huge fan of them.  NO I don't notice a difference in MIDI, but I sure do notice a difference in playing.  Super smooth and slippery.  I REALLY like them.

[Elantric]

What about stainless steel frets?

(yikes)
I understand some Parker and Carvin guitars use those. And Warmoth offers them as an option

I use pure nickel strings myself ( yes I can hear the sonic difference these make too)  - but Stainless Steel Frets WILL make my strings wear out faster 


As a Luthier myself in a past life - I'm NOT a fan of Stainless Steel Frets.  - for all the reasons expressed here:

http://avhguitarrepair.com/repair-blog/stainless-steel-frets-hmm/

Here's a typical example of what SS frets do to tools, like these flush end cutters that chipped on the first two cuts. These cutters will last the one job, and then will have to be tossed out. Another $30 tool destroyed, that otherwise would have lasted for a long time.

Stainless steel strings are known for their bright tone, corrosion resistance and anti-allergenic properties for those who have reactions using normal nickel-plated steel strings. Stainless steel strings, because of their extra-hard alloy, also wear quickly into the softer nickle-silver frets. Bassists (and repairmen!) have known this for many years; they need dressing or refretting every 3-5 years because of huge divots being chewed into the crowns from using SS strings like Rotosound's. I also suspect that the new Ernie Ball Cobalt guitar strings (being another extremely dense alloy) may have the same fret-killing effect, but this will only be apparent after a good period of time.

So there is some truth that SS frets almost never wear, but this is when using normal nickel-steel strings. When matched with SS strings, they still wear just like any other fret does, just a little slower. Here's a bass with SS frets, used with SS strings that are already showing wear in under a year. SS frets are indeed VERY hard – but not totally impervious.

and specifically this point

On the flip-side of the coin, most guitarists don't use SS strings. But, what rarely gets mentioned when discussing the merits of SS frets is about the opposite issue: how fast they kill normal, nickel-steel strings, which almost all players use. The photos below show the wear (flat spots in the windings) of strings that are only a little over a day old!  My customer brought in this Carvin DC800 complaining about how fast the strings sound dead compared to his other guitars with normal nickel-silver frets. The cost of keeping fresh-sounding strings was getting out of hand (this can really get expensive here in Norway).

and this sums it up

So yes, I will do SS fret jobs for you, if you really want them. But keep this in mind:

It's going to cost you at least 30% more for the labor.
You're also going to pay extra for me to order the wire. Nickel-silver fret jobs are included no charge.
Unless you use SS strings as well, you're going to go through strings about 2 to 3 times as fast.

[aliensporebomb]

RE:  SS frets:

All of my guitars have regular frets except the Carvin with the Holdsworth neck.  I use the Ernie Ball Cobalt strings on that guitar and have had no problems thus far but those strings sound newer longer than any other brand/type I know of.   Still on my first set since the middle of February or thereabouts.

I know some have had bad experiences with those strings especially since they are so expensive but I am currently running them on three of my four electrics and am having no issues.  But I also play with a really light even touch (I haven't broken a string in years) and don't often experience issues in needing to change frequently unless I'm doing an important recording.  I can tell when it's time to change a set though when they get too dull or run into "I don't want to stay in tune" mode.

I am running a hybrid set of GHS Santanas on my old Ibanez Artist - they're "and a half" gauges so nine and a half, 11 and a half, twelve and a half, 26 and a half, 36 and a half and 46 and a half.  Really unusual string tension feel too but that guitar seems to like it.  I'll possibly go back to normal gauges on the next string change but these strings have the fast action of the .009s with a little bit of the heft of the .010 gauge set.  Best of both worlds.  I bought those on a lark when they were being closed out at a local store.

[melodymann]

Just about to spend big bucks replacing the frets on my Godin xTSA with jumbo stainless steel because I like the feel. I've heard they can be a little zingier- could this zing be perceived as harmonic content that could hamper midi tracking? I am using RMC system into a GR-55 as well as FTP into a Macbook.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Big Jim]

I have a Parker with SS frets and I have been running into intonation issues about 30 days after new strings are applied. I never thought about the frets wearing out the strings faster, until now. Thanks for the info on this. Funny how you can find solutions here with out even trying. Thanks for a very interesting post.

[Elantric]