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Post subject: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:29 am
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Hey folks.

Was wondering if anyone on here or at fender could tell me what metal the frets on an eric johnson signature strat (v1, maple) are made of?

The one I play has intonation issues (really slight, really hard to hear, but if you reallllly listen or look with a stroboscopic tuner, it's out) and I am thinking it might be due to fret wear. I do a LOT of bends using 2 or 3 strings at a time, all the time, and I'm thinking maybe I need a refret. I've heard stainless steel frets are hard as nails and won't wear, so I'm thinking of having those fitted. But, obviously, there's no point if the guitar ships with stainless steel frets.

Also, before it comes up, I'm aware of the supposed tonal differences, I'm cool with it. So, that's not a consideration/factor for me in anyway. Just fret wear and planning ahead so as to not have to refret the thing every 3 ~ 5 years.


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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:30 pm
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Fender doesn't ship any guitars with stainless steel frets.

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 12:33 am
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OP.. You do realize that our guitars are set up / designed on a tempered system ... :?
Or in other words, it is not possible to have each and every note be at it's respective perfect pitch.

Refret every 3 to 5 years....?
That sounds extremely excessive and unnecessary... :shock:

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:10 am
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Drew365 wrote:
Fender doesn't ship any guitars with stainless steel frets.


Not true.

FMIC ships their EVH guitars with SS fretwire as a standard feature.

This is not the case for Fender-branded guitars and basses, though.

You can order a Masterbuilt guitar and bass with SS frets from the Custom Shop by submitting a query from your local Showcase dealer.


Last edited by chromeface on Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:26 am
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On the subject of stainless steel frets.

(1) They are not cost effective for a manufacturer to install as a standard... The wear on tooling and the amount of labor just makes the cost prohibitive, which when added to an instruments cost would severely reduce the % of buyers..

(2) You can get a guitar made from the Custom Shop with stainless steel as they will build what you want.... But... It does come at a price....

(3) there are some Fender licensed manufacturers that do sell SS fretted necks, but as expensive as the process is... It really doesn't make sense....

Although if that is what you want then ..... YMMV.... 8)

you can try this company, they are Fender licensed and less expensive than the more popular..
At this time of posting Stainless Steel frets will add $45.00 to a neck...

< http://www.bhefner.com >

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:38 am
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Gents, I stand to be corrected, but I don't think the Custom Shop does stainless steel frets, even as a special order.

Maybe that's changed recently, but at any rate I remember a thread on Mike Eldred's forum (head of the Custom Shop) where he said he'd never do stainless steel and if folks wanted those frets they'd have to go to one of the other companies that offers them. I seem to recall it got quite heated: some people didn't like what they were hearing but Mike stuck to his guns on it.

As it happens, I have done stainless steel frets. They are perfectly do-able - but they are really destructive to tools and I completely understand why some luthiers won't touch them and others charge a significant premium.

They are definitely a lot harder, and so will surely wear much slower, which makes plenty of sense from the player's point of view.

Personally I don't believe the stuff about tonal differences. I'd make a goodly cash bet that faced with a row of guitars, some with nickel frets, some with stainless steel, hardly anybody could tell which was which. I certainly can't, that's for sure. They look and feel exactly the same. It's just when you try and file them you discover the difference.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:43 am
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Oh, and to answer the original question, the Eric Johnson Strat definitely does not have stainless steel frets.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: What fret material / Eric Johnson maple strat
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:12 pm
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Ceri wrote:
Oh, and to answer the original question, the Eric Johnson Strat definitely does not have stainless steel frets.Cheers - C

To the best of my knowledge and belief, the Van Halen guitars do.....and that wasn't enough of a turnoff for Fender not to have produced and marketed his gear.

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