Stainless steel frets vs. nickel

[JonWormwood]

time for a fret job, I've always wanted to go to SS.

Any input here?

 

[Plendakor]

Most don't have the tools.

 

[JonWormwood]

Most don't have the tools.

I already have two guys in town who can do it.

 

[Keregioz]

I have them in my carvin guitar and I really like them. A lot of people say they they ruin the tone...I think that's bullshit.

 

[gemini8026]

Had a custom superstrat built. 3 years later, after a clean up, the frets still look new like the day I got em.

Cant go wrong.....

 

[Ermz]

I love how stainless steel frets feel. Dream for lead playing.

 

[Plendakor]

Well that's what I was told when I was looking for stainless frets. I would like to have some because it does not use, remains brand new after years of playing. I always have to pass my frets with steel wool once or twice a year ;(

 

[hurdy]

Yea, one of my Ibanez came with Stainless Steel frets, as ermz said: definitely awesome for lead playing!!

 

[Code001]

Stainless, without a doubt. The whole tone thing is BS. Both Tom Anderson and John Suhr agree that stainless is the only way to go, and there's no real difference in tone. It's basically all positive without any negatives. The frets feel like playing on glass, and they never get grimy. I've also noticed that my strings actually don't get as dirty with stainless frets, too. Just be sure you get a top notch luthier to install them for you. Nothing worse than having spent big bucks on a shitty fret job. I personally recommend Michael Tuttle @ Best Frets. He's pretty much the #1 guy when it comes to refrets with stainless, and he's pretty well known for balling fret ends ala Ibanez J-Customs. It's expensive, though. Joe Glaser is also a great guy, and he'll PLEK the guitar for you. Tom Anderson also does refrets, and he's a veteran at working with stainless. He actually has a guy named Bruce that does it.

 

[ze kink]

Both of my customs have stainless steel frets. They feel good to bend on, don't need polishing or filing and well, I feel are just generally better than the traditional stuff. Apparently they're a bitch to work on though so not everyone is happy to fret with them, and they're so hard that combined with the climate difference, the ebony fingerboard of my 8-string cracked. Ebony can crack easily anyway though, especially up here in the north, it gets so dry during the winter.

I feel that they sound a little bit brighter than traditional frets, which I don't think is a bad thing at all either.

 

[JeffTD]

SS. Fucking sex.