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Hi everyone,
I have nickel frets (stock) on my epi sheraton and 3 months after a setup (crowning and polishing) they are starting to get quite flat and thus creating fret buzz in a lot of frets.
is this normal? I play elixir strings which i believe are nickel.
should I opt for SS frets? I read good things about them. Or are different brands of nickel frets any better and durable than the epiphone ones?
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08-04-2019 05:31 PM
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After 3 months no amount of playing has anything to do with fret wear, something else is going on even if you play 24/7. Buzzing can be cause by almost anything related to the evironment.
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hmm I though it was weather related but I found it weird that only a few random frets suffered from buzz (most are on the high E).
My strings are quite old (2 months and a half), but I don't know if that's the culprit, I have even older REALLY rusty strings on a les paul and it plays beatifully with no buzz whatsover and low action.
I can never get this guitar to play perfectly, not even after a real professional setup, it plays great for a month and then goes back to buzzing.
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i've had nickel frets on my strat and kessel for literally years with almost zero fret wear practicing 3-5 hours a day.
I did get SS frets on my tele neck but it's definitely brighter.
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This sounds like several fret-ends rising out of their slots - can be caused by a dried out fingerboard and/or poor seating/pre-bending to begin with. When you had the setup done by a "pro" then get a second opinion by someone else, then have the originator repair it or refund the cost.
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It depends a lot on the player's technique IME. I'm a light touch player, maybe you're as well.
Originally Posted by jzucker
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I use a lot of dynamics, go from very light to very heavy Originally Posted by blille
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I recently had my #1 refretted (it had the original OEM nickel frets, 25 years), and went with SS.
I love them, I'll never go back- I'll always refret with SS from now on. Smoother feel with no polishing ever necessary, no wear, this guitar will never have to be refretted again (at least not by me)
The only downside, imo: strings wear faster, because SS is harder.
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My L6-S developed buzzing on certain frets. I tried everything before taking it to a luthier. He immediately identified the problem to be caused by the bridge pickup, sympathising acoustically with certain frequencies of the strings. Had I taken it to him before trying to diagnose the problem, I would have saved myself a lot of time, worry and strings.
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Has this been your experience with your other guitars? Maybe the wear can be attributed to excessive fretting hand pressure. Originally Posted by Kikodasneves
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It will cost more to have SS frets installed. If the frets are wearing out too quickly then they are likely 12% nickel silver. I find that 18% nickel silver frets are very long wearing and without the extra cost of SS fret installation. Originally Posted by Kikodasneves
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I have pretty much tried to avoid taking on SS refret jobs. I will but I quote a very high price with the idea that if you really want it then you have to pay a lot extra. The Gold Jescar EVO are better deal and will last without the SS issue. Matt is correct %18 nickle silver is pretty hard and my beef with SS is they really are hard on tools and good tools cost alot of cash. My Jescar Fret Tang nipper is fantastic but very costly about $150 for it and the various attachments depending on fret size. I hate to ruin that tool unless I get lost of money on SS frets.
I have owned guitars for over 30 years and not close to needing a refret, but I am pretty easy on frets and they are not played endless hours daily. However it tells me frets even on a guitar played hours daily should go at least 10-15 years. I suppose if you bend and power chord, never change your string or do routine cleaning then maybe frets go quicker but most jazz players get many, many years out of a set of frets.
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No it is not normal. I havn never heard of frets going "quite flat" in 3 months. Sounds crazy. I played commercially an ES-335 for years, then an ES-Artist for years, then a PRS for years. On all of them the frets were still quite high when I parted with them. Besides this guitar, have you been playing long? If so, have you ever had this kind of wear before?
FWIW, I have had several high-quality guitars with SS frets, and really liked them. But that is definitely a subjective thing.
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My luthier (who is also a friend) charged me the normal price as for nickel frets, BUT... I had to pay for a new set of nippers, because a SS fret job ruins them. So for my tele it was $350, including the new nippers and SS fretwire... that might be a LITTLE low because he's a friend, but SS shouldn't cost MUCH more than nickel. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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Having played Gypsy jazz and learned the powerful right hand technique, my fret wear has increased exponentially from what it was in years past. Keeping a stable of 13 guitars and rotating them is all that stands between me and semi-annual fret jobs!
I did have a set of stainless frets installed on a vintage 175 that did not float my boat (I ended up selling the guitar). I will stay with traditional frets in the future. Here are my observation on the SS frets:
Strings wear out quicker (not a good thing if you use expensive Austrian strings as I do)
The tone is different (I would say more detailed, some would call it brighter)
There is a slight ping on the unwound strings (not audible through an amp, but I would loudly caution against using these frets on a purely acoustic guitar)
They do feel good on the fingers and never need to be polished, but the ping and increased string wear is a deal killer for me. The gold color of the EVO frets is a deal killer for me. YMMV
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My usual is quote the fret price and if they want SS then I add $100 to the cost. It avoids any cost problems and unlike playing gigs when I work on a guitar I have to get paid a certain amount or I won't do it. I have too many folks who do not want to pay for anything and complain about the cost. I don't need the work and when you call the plumber they don't cut me any deals...………….guitars, toilets, cars, and you name it...……… Originally Posted by ruger9
I remember Bill Hollenbeck once said years ago a person would inquire about a repair and then think you needed to do it as some type of practice and keep cost down. His standard answer was that he did not need the practice and since he was an electrical engineer by trade he could simply go do some home wiring jobs and make tons more money than working on guitars.
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I have SS frets on my #1 Strat and love them. The frets are polished to a mirror finish. As a result, they feel great, sound clear and detailed and make string bends effortless (literally plays like buttah). I have played this guitar heavily for 15 or so years (I play this guitar hard and bend a lot). 15 years in, there is no sign of wear on the frets at all. Nor have I ever noticed premature string wear due to the harder frets. In fact, in my experience is the opposite--strings last longer and stay sounding bright for longer. May be due to less friction because the frets are so highly polished.
Not trying to be contrarian, but my experience over the past 15 years has been pretty much awesome with an exceptionally well done SS fret job. But, this is on a guitar used for rock and blues. I have never thought to try SS frets on an archtop. Since I don't bend strings playing jazz, the traditional frets on my Gibsons have worked just fine.
Roli
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SS probably a good choice for rock and blues. For jazz most guys use flat wound strings that are easier on frets especially if you use nickel flats like TI’s. Some players are very hard on frets. My buddy Tuck A. needs a fret job every year but look how he plays. He is a animal.
He still doesn’t like SS frets.
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i got SS frets on an old worn hofner president , mistake ! I don’t like em as much as normal frets
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