Frets 101

Tannin

I know nothing about frets. People talk about jumbo frets and 1342 profile frets (or some number) and wide frets and high frets and stainless vs Evo Gold ... and none of it means anything to me. I just pick up a guitar and I play it. In more than 50 years of playing I've never noticed the difference between one sort of fret and another. 

(Well, OK, the painted ones on my lap steel. I noticed they were different.)

Well, one other difference which I really only noticed a week or three back. My Guild has narrower frets than my various other guitars. I think these are the sort that people call "classic" or "old school" or some such. Sometimes I imagine that they give it a different feel and a slightly different sound, more abrupt, less forgiving. At other times I think the frets have got nothing to do with it, it's just the combination of Red Spruce with mahogany, and possibly the carbon fibre neck block.

Anyway, what's the deal with frets?

* What different sorts are there?
* What difference to they make to the sound>
* What difference to they make to the feel?

(I ask from the perspective of an acoustic player who bends very seldom if ever.)

Mellish

I only notice frets if they give me a problem.

I'll give you an example
Say they're small frets. The lack of height means I can't really feel where I am on the board. It's a problem cos I like to be able to feel my way around. 

Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, they're just There  

But if I can feel `em, I'm much happier  

blueskiwi

Stainless steel frets are a harder material.

I swear by them on electric guitars, once they're installed and set up they basically don't wear out. Whereas, playing with lots of bends and vibrato, regular frets start to wear to the point of needing work after a couple of years.

Some people on internet forums say they sound 'brighter' or something but can't say I noticed.

That's all on electric guitars though, and this is the acoustic section.

I would probably be willing to give it a go on acoustic too. I imagine any tonal difference would be more noticeable. I imagine the way we tend to play on acoustic probably does not wear fret so fast (though a recent 2nd hand dread purchased clearly has some wear in the 'cowboy chords' fret positions).

Mostly I don't notice them unless there is something wrong.

I tried a very expensive acoustic a few weeks ago that had frets I didn't like. They were quite narrow but maybe on the tall side too - felt like little speed bumps when moving my hand around the neck.  I would have to guess they were maybe a 'vintage correct' feature that it would have been better not to reproduce.

Roland

blueskiwi said:

Some people on internet forums say they sound 'brighter' or something but can't say I noticed.

If play legato then there is a distinct “ping” when the string is hammered onto the fret. If you don’t play that way, or you use a distorted electric sound, then you won’t be aware of it.

Tannin said:

... stainless vs Evo Gold ...

EVO Gold isn’t as hard as stainless steel, but it’s hard enough to last a lifetime for most players. It does have a light gold colour, which some people don’t like.

Cryptid

I've come across more acoustics needing a refret than electrics, usually when they've been played solely in the cowboy area by someone gripping on for dear life.  

There seems to be much less variation in fret size on acoustics than electrics  - skinnier and shorter in general as not intended for fast lead playing or much bending, with a focus on intonation.  

My 2011 SJ-200 Studio has been the only acoustic I've had where the frets are troublesome, even the untouched upper frets were minuscule in height and fairly wide. The first 7 frets were like ribbons. Got the guitar cheap so it's in with the luthier for a full refret - he's using Taylor frets which I believe are a fairly standard size, comparable with Martin, Collings etc. 

stickyfiddle

The numbers you see are usually Dunlop codes for nickel-silver frets:

6203 - vintage small ones
6105 - modern narrow tall like Fender CS use
6150 - old-school medium jumbo - quite wide but still not that tall
6100 - proper jumbo - massive train tracks

earwighoney

Here's one for Jescar

Tannin said:

* What different sorts are there?
* What difference to they make to the sound>
* What difference to they make to the feel?

(I ask from the perspective of an acoustic player who bends very seldom if ever.)

I've never really noticed the differences in the frets in the guitars I own, aside from on one which has vintage sized frets and they are noticably small.  One of my acoustics has the FW43080.

As for material, I'm not a fan of really soft frets.  I've owned a few electric guitars that have very soft frets, and they actually sound great but they wear incredibly quickly.

I've not played an acoustic guitar with stainless steel frets but a few with EVO Gold, and if my guitars need a refret, I will choose it.  There's a slight bit of a bit of zing, the pros of never having to deal with fret wear (for most people) is much greater advantage.

maltingsaudio

I think you’ve answered your own  question “In more than 50 years of playing I've never noticed the difference between one sort of fret and another. ”

For all guitars you  either like the feel of it or you don’t. You can get hung up in the various differences in specs, but unless your having a guitar built for you and to your specs, what you see is what you get and if it doesn’t work for you move on.

This obviously doesn’t work when your buying from a screen but in real life it does

TheMadMick

The only thing that changes with fret height is how tight the capo needs to be. Just noticed that this morning.