Medium jumbo frets, jumbo frets . . .

notanon

. . . I've always preferred vintage frets but I just read:

"On the other hand, jumbo 6100 fret wire can provide easier playability with better sustain, tone and bending because you don’t have to press as hard to fret the strings, but your fingers probably won’t even touch the fingerboard, which could take some getting used to if you’re accustomed to smaller frets."

From

https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/different-fret-sizes-explained

Question for folk here on thefretboard is do you play without touching the fretboard (okay, okay) if you are using jumbo frets? Makes sense of course and I'm now thinking I need to consider the tension I place when fretting. I have been conscious that I may be strangling the neck but this is an extra consideration for me. I've never liked jumbo frets but maybe that is because I was just insisting on hitting the fretboard?

bingefeller

Yes - I play with jumbo frets and I don't touch the fretboard.  They are a lot easier to play with, especially if you polish them with something like Peek and buff them up to a nice shine. 

notanon

Cheers @bingefeller ; have you been 'brought up' in jumbo frets? Have you ever made the transition from vintage to jumbo frets - what was that journey like?

bingefeller

notanon said:

Cheers @bingefeller ; have you been 'brought up' in jumbo frets? Have you ever made the transition from vintage to jumbo frets - what was that journey like?

No, I always played with medium frets.  I got an Ibanez RG about 10 years ago (I think!!) and it had jumbo frets and ever since I've bought guitars with jumbo, or medium jumbo, frets. 

When I first got the jumbo frets I couldn't believe how much easier it made playing and I couldn't believe that the strings weren't even touching the fretboard when I was playing.  You no longer feel the scraping of the wood against your finger when you are bending notes.

carlos

Don't agree w/ the statement about not having to press as hard to make a note ring true. The pressure shouldn't change depending on fret size. Scale length, bridge type, locking nut or regular, string type, string gauge, all those will change the pressure, but not fret size.

I've never liked jumbo frets but maybe that is because I was just insisting on hitting the fretboard?

Even with small frets your goal should be to make a note ring true. Exert as little as possible pressure until you can achieve that. If it touches the fretboard might depend on the fleshiness of your fingertips. Mine don't touch, not even on vintage guitars. If I think about it for a second, my fingers don't touch the fretboard even fretting on a classical which has tiny frets.

webrthomson

I've got a few with Dunlop 6000, which is pretty much as big as you can go fret wise! You need enough pressure to bar the string on the fret in front of where you are playing (as close to the fret as you can manage) but I don’t find that changes the pressure I play with much.

If however you insist on driving the string to the fretboad on larger gauge frets you may well bend the string sharp doing so on anything considered jumbo.

Larger frets, certainly the 6000 size, is a little like playing a scalloped board, a little lighter touch is required but it takes about 5 minutes to work that out okay.

stephen.wood125

I always had vintage or medium frets, I got an SRV signature with fairly large frets and wouldn't go back, to the point I actually bought all the tools so I could re-fret and make a new nut for my acoustic as I hated the "draggy' feeling of the fretboard on my fingers. I got the "medium tallest" fretwire from Stewmac and a new bone nut.

Stuckfast

Are there production acoustics that have jumbo frets? Having got used to them on one of my electrics I think I now prefer them, but all my other guitars still have vintage frets.