. . . 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-explainedQuestion 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?
Comments
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.
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.
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.