Guitar Frets Explained | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 43 | Thomann
Is there such thing as “best frets” for guitars and basses? Why do many struggle with small vintage frets?
Is stainless steel better than nickel-silver? So many questions. 
Let’s talk about all of that, enjoy Guitar Tech Tips!
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Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:33 Fret sizes | Fret Crown, Tang and Stud
2:44 Fret materials
3:05 Nickel-silver frets
3:41 Stainless steel frets
4:37 EVO gold frets
5:04 Brass frets
5:23 Time for a test ride
5:53 Outtakes
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Originally posted by UCtvgPVBJ_r1vjN4mRuHCbog at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_uAc6YwK0U
cool vid, but I have to admit, even after the edit, I STILL thought I heard "evil gold" ????????, and just assumed it was one of those kooky things that often find their way into guitar lingo, hehe…. and while I personally still dread even the thought of adjusting my guitars (more out of boredom/lack of patience than fear….), I have to say that I recently succeeded in eliminating the worst fret buzz I've ever heard on a brand new guitar with my Gretsch G5222…. it took me WEEKS of fine tuning, but I finally got it to play and sound the way I wanted, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now, and I really like your end-of-video catchphrase, very appropriate, thanks!
The outtakes! I can't even. That stuff is gold. LOL
Sustainability ( Stainless )
Hi Chris, very cool so you know more than a luthier ?
I would love to sit friedman down in a blind test with 10 guitars and a distorted sound and him showing us his supersonic hearing telling which is SS and which is not lmao. Some people man…
Do luthiers get a lot of Tang?
Gibson frets les Paul or sg custom shop..which model?
I WAS hoping to hear some sound samples for fret material differences. But video was good up till that anyway. EVO sounds like a great option but stainless is still my next neck fret material because it’s easy to find.
People think they can hear a difference and so they "hear" a difference. They're basically just psyching themselves out. That's it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViKqDGo4Inc&t=188s
The tool thing with stainless steel frets is bull crap. I've been using the same tools for years and all I use is stainless frets. Get some big #4 wire cutters….then use a dremel to fine tune the nip and shorten them.. The only thing that takes longer is leveling….You're dealing with files and sand paper….a leveling file takes them down quickly. (You don't need the file more then 15 minutes) Sandpaper is cheap. Screw you luthiars, you're liars about the difficulty and expense.
EVH said there is no tone difference with stainless steel frets.
So there it is, there is no tone differences. Fin
How about glass?
Stainless steel frets are not "brighter." What a load of shit. They sound exactly like polished regular frets, except they stay that way. There is no excuse to use nickel silver frets unless you like scratched and dented frets after moderate playing.
The EVO gold frets are going to be the stuff I will use when my old Flatiron mando needs a refret job. I think the stuff from StewMac is good for a long time. Depends on how long I live.
I keep hearing about how bright sounding stainless frets are….sorry but I think that that's bullshit based on the theory of the metal being harder rather than really hearing the difference. I have made many tests in this area and I'll bet most people would never hear the difference especially people playing high gain stuff. I've been a luthier for over 40 years as well as a live sound engineer and by the way I can still hear 15k. Hear with your ears not your mind!
Als Alt-Germane kann ich zwar Englisch aber kann Thomann auch deutsch?
I am doing a deep dive on this topic. Great info thankyou!
What it looks like to me from reading about this across the internet is there are a lot of collectors who are terrified of their investments depreciating in any capacity.
04:30 Stainless steel frets are not the hardest, titanium ones are way harder.
I've been playing for years. Noticed a big difference between nickel and ss also the lack of rosewood makes it very shrilly. Good think I have old guitars and I'm not bothered about refretting.
Evilll Golllld! ????????
Stainless steel should be standard on all guitars, acoustic or electric.
I'm 75 years old and don't play any heavy metal. I do play pretty much everything else and have always hassled with wearing out my frets.
Thank you!
I enjoy nickel
Had SS frets and immediately removed them. Made my Telecaster sound too different from Nickel frets and not for the better.
Nicely explained several questions I had
6105 ????????
I simply hate working on SS frets!
I’d pick stainless every time. The tone difference is extremely minimal.
Ideas ok,,, I am interested in modding guitars to give them 36 stainless steel jumbo frets.