Satinless Steel Frets

[bourbonsamurai]

a real variable that hasnt been touched here, is fret mass.  its so hard to describe tone with words, lol, but its definitely an issue.  about 20 years ago, a friend of mine bought a fender nocaster reissue, and it was PERFECT sounding.  this guitar was so gorgeous sounding, it would draw attention, unplugged.  i was so jealous of this motherfucker over it, too.  it was factory stock with dunlop 6150s, which are by no means small frets, but my buddy had it refretted with 6100s, and it changed the sound so drastically, he accused the luthier of swapping pickups.  it really was a whole different instrument after the refret.  its hard to say how much of this difference was purely tonal, vs how much the different feel affected perception, but it really opened my eyes to the huge difference these types of mods can make.  





 

The physics says you might get more sustain with higher mass frets, but even though steel is lively and nickel is comparatively dead, it shouldn't matter very much on the frets, compared to say the bridge which is the predominant tonal factor -- even more than woods. 

A couple of you are saying you can hear the difference between nickel and steel frets. That would be an easy and interesting blind test to do. Most of you couldn't definitively distinguish between my LP with the Suhr DA pups, and the Chubtone with the Suhr DA pups + a Floyd on it. In theory, that should be much easier that hearing the difference between steel and nickel frets. 

All I can say is that I personally don't hear or perceive any tonal difference in the fret material. If I did, it would be so minor I could compensate for it at the amp or anywhere along the chain. It wouldn't (for me) outweigh the durability advantage. 

Obviously we all feel the difference between big and small frets, and whether they're flat or round crowned. But I didn't notice any appreciable difference in feel between 6150 vs 6100s either. 
 
 
 

 

through a clean deluxe/super/twin, i could tell straightaway which was which, 4/5 times.  and i really think i could do it 10/10 times, all other variables equal.  i could do it on feel alone, really, no amplification necessary.  im really used to clean and acoustic sounds, though.  id imagine there are a lot of players that can do similar, comparing overdrive and distortion pedals, cuz thats their own depth of experience.  i do think id have a struggle blindly identifying stainless vs jescar evo frets.  those are nearly identical, in terms of feel, so the difference would really come down to sound alone.

[TravisW]

I have a project guitar sitting around here that's fretted with jumbo nickel silver. I might still have a couple pieces of Jescar Stainless sitting around. If I can find some, I'll pull a couple frets, throw in the stainless, and we can have the "Pepsi Challenge". 

[bourbonsamurai]

I have a project guitar sitting around here that's fretted with jumbo nickel silver. I might still have a couple pieces of Jescar Stainless sitting around. If I can find some, I'll pull a couple frets, throw in the stainless, and we can have the "Pepsi Challenge". 

 

if theyre the same size frets, im sure the different feel will be immediately apparent, and thats irrespective of tang dimensions, which affect fretted mass.  what dave said about bridge materials and design being very important is 100% legit, afaic.  consider then, the fretted note is really only another bridge, but a the other end of the vibrating string.  as surely as the mass and hardness differences matter, between an aluminum bridge and a steel one, i think its only reasonable to consider that fret mass and hardness contribute simlilarly.

[Dinosaur David B]

I just checked the order for my Chubtone Spitfire guitar and I did get stainless 6100 frets in that. Thus the comparison I did with that guitar and the Les Paul is also a test of sorts because that Les Paul has smaller, MEDIUM jumbo nickel frets. 

In theory, the Chubtone should have far more steel mass with both a Floyd and the larger, stainless steel frets. Yet the guitars recorded sound incredibly similar. 

Cary, you might hear some difference in the room, playing with a lot less distortion. But that's true of all subtle tonal variations from ANY part of the chain.  

 

[bourbonsamurai]

I just checked the order for my Chubtone Spitfire guitar and I did get stainless 6100 frets in that. Thus the comparison I did with that guitar and the Les Paul is also a test of sorts because that Les Paul has smaller, MEDIUM jumbo nickel frets. 

In theory, the Chubtone should have far more steel mass with both a Floyd and the larger, stainless steel frets. Yet the guitars recorded sound incredibly similar. 

Cary, you might hear some difference in the room, playing with a lot less distortion. But that's true of all subtle tonal variations from ANY part of the chain.  

 

 

sure, theres no denying that much, dave.  i think once we get into even mid gain territory, most all this typa shit becomes a pointless matter.  doug aldrich has ss frets on his guitars, if im correct, and nobody would call his tone bright or brittle.  my only point, such as it is, is that these differences are apparent when playing clean(ish), or unplugged completely.  even using input compression makes it harder to tell a difference.  i like my bf fenders for reasons, most of which have to do with the sort of clarity and articulation that makes these minutiae more noticeable.

[Dinosaur David B]

these differences are apparent when playing clean(ish), or unplugged completely. 

 

Ah, then that's your caveat!

If that's the only time you'd hear a difference, one has ask if that context matters in one's playing world, or if it matters enough to trade it for the durability of probably never needing fretwork again.  
 
 

[bourbonsamurai]

these differences are apparent when playing clean(ish), or unplugged completely. 


 

Ah, then that's your caveat!

If that's the only time you'd hear a difference, one has ask if that context matters in one's playing world, or if it matters enough to trade it for the durability of probably never needing fretwork again.  
 
 

 

youve heard me play jebs rig before, and ive seen clips of you and he playing live.  i love yalls sound, but thats waay more gain than i use, left to my own preferences.  for me, robben ford is the goal. not necessarily his specific tone, but the articulation and musical bounce.  the way his attack pops and zings.  you can hear that dudes very soul on display.  im not comparing myself, either, except to say that clarity like that reveals all.  to an extent, i based my deluxe build on his twin reverb specs.  i dont use a zen drive, but i hope our amps act the same.  its that im used to hearing and feeling as much as possible, at all times.  

[Dinosaur David B]

Coincidentally, I found this.

[bourbonsamurai]

bad news about the jescar evo.  nothing really good ever stays around forever, seemingly.

[merlo_zeppelin]

Coincidentally, I found this.



 

Super cool video, thanks for sharing