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Post subject: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:31 am
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Just got my Number 1 Strat back from ace repair guy Ged Green. I asked him to fit stainless steel 6100 fretwire, really tall and wide frets that will last a lifetime. He's done an utterly stunning job, the setup and crowning and polishing is beyond perfection and the guitar plays like an absolute dream now. I'm so impressed I've decided to get him to do my Telecaster next month. After worrying a lot how it would affect the feel of my favourite guitar I've had all my fears allayed, this thing plays better than ever.


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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:45 am
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I'm still in waiting. My tech said to call this weekend to check progress.

Does it feel new?

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:50 am
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Waiting? Send it to Ged Green, he turned the job round in two days.

It feels astonishingly good. Better than new. I might need to tweak the action up just a little but that's personal preference. Stainless steel is the way forward for frets, Ged was saying he's never had one come back for even a fret dress because they never wear down. And it feels like I'm playing on glass, string bends are utterly effortless.

He charged £180 = about US$290. Well worth the money, it's transformed the guitar and given it another 26 years of playing life.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:18 am
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My tech works with my local store. I did it through them. I wouldn't mail my Guild anywhere, the thought is absolutely preposterous.

I was charged $300, which is a really good price for 24 frets, especially SS.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:28 am
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With an old guitar that's in regular use it's a really sensible option, keeps it in playing condition for the foreseeable future. I'm just delighted with the work he's done, can't wait to get him to do the Tele now.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:37 am
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Stainless steel is the way forward for frets

It's better than the common alternatives, but I would not jump to the conclusion that it's the way forward.

There are other metals alloys that are used for wear-resistant application, including tungsten (wolfram), titanium, osmium and some of their alloys.
Osmium in particular is near ideal, being about as wear resistant and corrosion resistant as you can get. Thus it has been used for record player styluses and fountain pen nibs. It is very expensive, though.
Tungsten carbide is far cheaper, but would still likely outperform stainless steel. Its problem is that it might be too hard for a luthier to efficiently work with.
Titanium has the advantage of not only being extremely durable, but also hypoallergenic, quite unlike nickel and some stainless steel alloys. If it can be used for hip implants, horseshoes and bikes, I would think it could work well for frets too.

With nickel being banned more and more for applications where it touches skin, it's clear that there will be a change. Stainless steel will probably win in the short term, and on price, but I expect to see higher grade options in the upscale market.


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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:41 am
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Osmium? Are you kidding? I wouldn't go near that stuff. It develops a coating of a very nasty poisonous oxide when exposed to air. Stainless is cheap, safe, durable and easy enough to work with, I wouldn't have anything else fitted to a guitar now.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:22 am
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Osmium? Are you kidding? I wouldn't go near that stuff. It develops a coating of a very nasty poisonous oxide when exposed to air.

Which is why osmium doesn't have many "pure" applications, but is used in alloys with other metals in the platinum group, to make oxidation a non-problem. I can see the concern, though. Yet, the platinum group is certainly exciting for wear-resistant and corrosion resistant applications. Even as coatings.

GilgaFrank wrote:
Stainless is cheap, safe, durable and easy enough to work with, I wouldn't have anything else fitted to a guitar now.

It's also a cat in a bag, as "stainless steel" is a term for a broad range of iron based metals, with wildly different characteristics. Some that both corrode and pit. It's a word like "sausage". I'd like to know what in it. :)


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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:50 am
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Adamantium frets are the future.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 12:37 pm
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Deluxe Matt wrote:
Adamantium frets are the future.


I'm sure some will buy, but with titanium in the adamantium it would surely wear out strings faster.

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:10 pm
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Strings are cheap compared to fret jobs.....and besides, the only place that a string wears is where it rubs the fret....


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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:32 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Osmium? Are you kidding? I wouldn't go near that stuff. It develops a coating of a very nasty poisonous oxide when exposed to air.


Yeah, but what's the tone like? :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:33 pm
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Oh, and for the record, my last three guitars have been ordered with SS frets, so I'm a believer. I wonder when Fender will catch up?

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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:51 pm
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Fender wants to sell guitars. The won't offer stainless for that reason.
Absolutely nothing else explains it.
And its a shame


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Post subject: Re: Stainless steel fret job!
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 3:28 pm
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Frank! That guitar looks absolutely CRISP! But in 50 years of playing, I have yet to wear out any frets. I guess I have always had a light touch.

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