Luthier Quick Tip 4 Stainless Steel vs Nickel-Silver Fret Wire

[@jamus1217]

I bought a guitar with stainless steel frets many years ago, and they're still like shiny new today. It blows my mind.

[@GuitarJeff]

Years ago I worked for a fastener company. There are various degrees of hard stainless steel. Same for steel, aluminum etc. So for example we had a Stainless steel fastener that went into auto industry, was a softer metal the drills would wear out every 4 hours, maybe 400 fasteners. We had another one that went in the space shuttle, this was a super hard stainless, and the drills wore out every 2 hours at about 60 parts. They had to be machined slower too. Which makes me wonder what type of stains is used in fret wire, also why is that type used. Which kind of goes along with what you said about the nickel silver that are harder if softer wire is cheaper. I have a guitar from the late 80's. I bought brand new. I used it every single day as it was my first real guitar easily 1-3 hours a day every day play. I also gigged out with it for 2-3 years so Friday Saturday 3 hours shows, and I still to this day play it on occasion. It has never had frets leveled. Yeah I can see fret wear but really not what I would call bad. Where I have a 2017 Les Paul, already had to be recrowned. It just makes me wonder who choosed what alloys to use for Fret Wire and Why. Because you can get Stainless Steel softer than the Nickel Silver depending on alloy and treatments.

[@psychotikpaisano]

Thanks Chris! I just did my first fret job in stainless. Did it for the longevity. Bought pre-radiused frets, level sanded fretboard, then pressed in with super glue. Got away with not leveling and got a good result 🙋‍♂️

[@zantrex4]

Love the feel of stainless steel, the extra durability is just a bonus for me. Guitars having SS frets is one of the first things I check when looking at a potential guitar purchase. If a guitar does not have SS frets... I factor an additional $450 or so into the cost because the frets will need to be replaced asap for me.

[@Dreamdancer11]

Iam like you..stainless steel frets became the reason i learned to do fretwork in the first place(and the building guitars for hobby)....i urge you to do the same cause then every guitar can be high quality and the money they ask from fretjobs are just ridiculous......doing that i can even have bullet or affinities with perfect jescar SS super jumbo fretwire now instead of trying to get a new suhr for example for mainly that feature.....learn fretwork and cutting a new nut and you ll have excellent guitars..forever with minimal spending.

[@robertzdunczyk]

Thanks a million for the fret wire chart.

[@briw4647]

all my guitars have been nikel silver... until recently. i bought my first stainless steel fret guitar recently. it felt so nice and smooth. i know the sound can be slightly different, but i cant hear much . but the bends and everything are effortless in stainleess steel

[@sparrowhawk81]

Thank you for making this. I love finding out things like this. I'm going to get one of those slim tapers asap

[@harrypalmer3481]

You probably don't have to describe where Belarus is now anymore! It's 2022/3/18 as I'm writing this. I enjoy your videos & appreciate the tips.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I wonder how many viewers knew where Belarus was when I made this video. At any rate, I'm not recommending their products anymore.

[@harrypalmer3481]

@@HighlineGuitars ​ @Highline Guitars It would be interesting to know. It would be interesting to know the political position of the Sintoms people with regard to Ukraine. To say it's all so sad just sounds too glib. Music & the production of music is generally, generally motivated by the better side of side of human nature. You get my vote Sir!

[@DavidRavenMoon]

I think that’s an exaggeration about how often you need to *replace* frets. My main bass is a 1987 Ibanez 5 string. I use round wounds, and for a while used SS strings. I play hard. The bass still has the original frets. I did level them about 5 years ago, but mostly because I wanted them lower. This is also true of other instruments I own (I have 18 guitars/basses). My ‘72 Mustang has the original frets. I recently regretted a 1981 G&L guitar with very worn frets. But that’s more than 18 months! It could have used a fret dress like 10 years ago! As a player I don’t like the feel of SS. But I install SS frets if people ask for it. 😃

[@HighlineGuitars]

It is an exaggeration, but I wanted to account for intonation-obsessed full-time studio musicians playing stainless steel or cobalt strings on soft nickel silver frets. That is extreme, but they are out there.

[@user-mt4vo4ey5n]

Medium/medium nickel silver fret wire at Stuart Mac is $7.50 for 2 feet. The same in stainless is $9.30. When re-fretting a guitar that requires 42 inches of fret wire, the difference in cost would be approximately $3.60. When a good Luthier is doing a fret job, why the heck does a lousy $3.60 even matter? The only reason I can see is that the stainless adds the cost of the diamond tools that wear.

[@Isaiahbarros]

When I close my eyes I hear a cleaner toned Steve-o! Great vid btw very informative 👍

[@barnettg66]

Everyone seems to have a different view for how long frets will last. For full-time professional players I get that the period may be shorter. Although I am not a professional, I do play my guitars almost daily -- perhaps an hour a day on average. Of my three primary go-to guitars (two Strats and a Les Paul), I've had them for upwards of 25 years and none seem anywhere close to needing a refret. I tend to be a heavy handed player -- 80s Heavy Metal -- so I'm not easy on the frets. There are a couple of minor divots in the lower frets (frets 1-5 or so) but you have to really hold the guitar in the right light to see them. So far as I can tell, they have no effect on playability. I also have a newer Warmoth 7/8 S-Style with a 24" neck and stainless steel frets. I'll agree it is sublime for bends. But even it now has those same slight divots, with no discernible effect on playing. If I can get 25 years, how will I ever know when I need a refret?

[@boshi9]

Brian May plays the same guitar his whole life (Red Special) and apparently he never had it refretted. There are some photos out there of that guitar without strings on and you can see that the frets appear quite worn out, but that doesn't seem to bother Brian.

[@BenjaminFranceMusic]

Thanks Chris. I'm getting ready to start my first scratch build, and this definitely helps some in making my fretwire choice!

[@RitusG]

What about Jecar's EVO Gold? It's supposed to be longer lasting and harder than nickle silver but not quite as hard as stainless steel. Some people won't like the gold color but it seems to be a good middle ground.

[@Bob_at_OZDiggzguitars]

pretty good stuff, if you can hang with the brass look. It can actually stand out nicely on an ebony fret board. It didn't seem to be too harsh on my 3 sided file (with safety edges), nor my cutters and tang nippers (most tang nippers on stainless are a huge no-no). As far as longevity? I guess I'll find out as time goes on.

[@ssabp8313]

@'rictus Actually I was in a Guitar Center and I'm trying to remember what guitars I just happened to pass over and I noticed the fretz had a gold tone to them I can't remember the brand. Music man maybe or evh/ fender maybe

[@fatfro1]

I care about my tools too much, so I'm sticking with nickel. That's a good excuse right?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I use the same tools for both. I haven’t replaced a single file in over 15 years. Full disclosure: I don’t use them every day, all day long. But still, they have held up well. Stainless steel fret wire is only hard on crappy tools.

[@cgavin1]

I like SS frets for feel but if you have a nice guitar, an old les paul or a R8 or something with nice PAF repros in it or a nice lively tele you will hear a difference. I like the sound of my "heroes" and they all used nickel and funk and clean strumming and bluesy stuff just sounds correct with nickel to my ears. SS is a bit crisper and clearer and it carries over. Also gotta say, no big deal refretting a guitar every year or so. The wire is like $30 and the tools required are minimal. I do it in an afternoon..

[@Jinnuksuk]

Initially I was thinking to get nickel/silver fretwire on my build being familiar with it and knowing they are perfectly fine but after watching a tone comparison with nickel/silver vs stainless steel, I changed my mind and ordered stainless steel fretwire. Some people do prefer nickel/silver for their warmer tone whereas I like the stainless steels' brighter tone.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Brighter tone and longer life, what's not to like about stainless steel frets? And if you want to warm up the tone, you can always swap pickups, magnets, tone pot and capacitor values, just to name a few.

[@trus3683]

I have had guitars for years that have nickel frets and even though there is wear, they do not need to be refretted every 18 months. Also, shouldn't frets be (attempted/assessed for) recrowned first before going the refret route? Great video, though! I learn a lot from you.

[@pallecla]

Agree. I am a guitar tech and have never seen NS frets wear totally out in that short time frame.

[@THRobinson]

When I heard that I hopped onto my usual forum and asked what they thought of those numbers and no one seems to think 12-18months sounds right. 5-8yrs for nickel-silver for a daily player seems more accurate.

[@trus3683]

@@THRobinson Yeah, I would say the 5-8 year mark sounds closer. On top of that, occasional recrownings and fretwork may even prolong that number.

[@ERWebster]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I always assumed ~5 years for NS and decades for SS.

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

I was thinking like 10 years lol, I bought a used ibanez 7 string from 2001 and noticed some fret wear which i thought would be ok for a guitar this old, but then I got a new fender american deluxe and I started seeing the same fret wear after just 1 year, so it does happen. Im glad he said that because i thought something was off but I guess its normal if you really like to dig in when you play. So no more nickel/silver frets for me anyway.

[@beanpole8294]

never known a person to replace frets every year

[@autodidacticprofessor869]

An EVH or SRV type guy who tours and plays with high adrenaline every night, yeah, I can imagine the guitars need new frets more frequently than we can imagine but there is a reason Leo Fender made his guitars replaceable. I think I'd only pay to refret a Gibson type guitar because of that. Otherwise I just get new necks for my Fenders.

[@autodidacticprofessor869]

On the other hand, Pearly Gates still has her original fret wire and Billy Gibbons still plays her on records. But the guy uses 7's and barely touches the strings. All about style.

[@jonjackson8811]

do you know any professional players?

[@nethbt]

Stainless steel frets have different types of hardness, Jescars I believe are the hardest at 300., those Korean and Chinese Stainless go to around 250...Nickels go to around 180 to 200

[@justinrayguitars6024]

Stainless definitely gives your tools a harder time. Also it takes longer to complete the job at least for me.

[@Hello_there_obi]

but with nickel by this guys calculations you would have to do it 4-5 times as often so wouldn't the tool wear be just as great if not greater?

[@Ramplcro]

Great that you talk about SS frets Chris. Like everything probably there are different quality alloys and i would advice people to use/buy the best frets possible, the price benefit ratio is one of the highest other than properly leveled, crowned and nut set guitar by the luthier. It would be interesting to see if there is a hardness comparison of Jescar, Sintoms and other (SS) frets and see if there is a difference in endurance to wear. As far experience goes i have 2 guitars with harder Dunlop NS frets and 1 with Jescar SS frets all fitted with regular strings. I can say that after year and a half playing for 30-60 min, 5 days out of 7, with SS frets there is not a scratch. The other NS fretted one (the third i don't use often) i had to level the frets after 2 years. So in my experience there is decent difference. Only downside is that harder frets eat your strings faster but that's a price i'm glad to pay.

[@onpsxmember]

Hardness =/= abrasion resistance. The company with the big G had to realize they bought tons of fretwire that was useless to work with (You can still find the nudge nudge story from Parker if you look for it). The more polished the surface, the longer they'll last...up to a point and bending feels nicer as well if one is used to it.

[@HighlineGuitars]

One thing you'll notice about my videos is that is stop short of falling into rabbit holes.

[@TheSavagederek]

12-18 months!!! Are you Steve Vai? I'm on 22 years with my 99 US Strat, and she's had 2 levels in that time and still has loads left. You would need to play 10 hours aggressively per day, and still doubtful they would need replaced. Maybe a dress, yes.

[@Stu66orn]

Hello! What angle do you use to bevel the edges? Most ready files are 35 degrees but isn't that too aggressive?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I do 35 degrees.

[@superbroadcaster]

I'd say use Jescar's EVO Gold wire, less harsh on tools than stainless but lasts about as long. I have an acoustic with EVO Gold wire that's 15 years old and it could use a fret level in about 5 years. I'm a very aggressive player and they're holding up amazing

[@Hello_there_obi]

If it's less harsh then it isn't as hard. So it won't last as long. No two ways about it I'm afraid. SS is the best for players.

[@superbroadcaster]

@Bomoheathen Hardness doesn't translate to durability. If something is harder, it can become too brittle. Stainless steel is harder than EVO gold but it's more brittle. I'm just regurgitating what my luthier of 30 years of experience doing refrets of all material of fret wire has said.

[@Hello_there_obi]

@@superbroadcaster the guy was saying certain nickel alloys last almost as long as ss which means that fundamentally they are almost as hard. The physics of denting works like that. And ss may be more brittle but that doesn’t matter 😂? You’re not bashing it with a hammer or bending it. You’re rubbing it with a thin metal string…

[@superbroadcaster]

@Bomoheathen it do because we're talking abrasion, it's why bearings wear, if a material is brittle its more like a pretzel, even if its hard. Also your luthier will charge you more to do stainless because it's hard on their tools. I'm not here to tell you to not love stainless, I'm just saying it's not the perfect solution. It also doesn't help with toan

[@superbroadcaster]

@Bomoheathen I'm also seeing a guy that looks a lot like you parading an opinion like it has more value than other opinions, if it did then make a reply video and I'm sure it will change the industry standard and everyone will use stainless steel fretwire. Until then keep this opinion in the woodshed where your practice time is.

[@Deebz270]

Sintoms are good. A great range of fretwire from mandolin to bass, all meterial types.

[@paultrombetta]

12-18 mo? Jeez. I have a steel claw for a left hand. I must meet these animals that go through em' in 12mo

[@HighlineGuitars]

They are the guys who buy a new car as soon as they fill the ash tray.

[@Giggiyygoo]

That's me. I have a gorilla grip and I bend all the time. My first cheap guitar became unplayable after around 6 months. Stainless all the way for me.

[@sparrowhawk81]

I just took a look and I don't think you've talked about this. I think it is a fairly new thing. Stewmac sells this fret wire called cryo wire. I did my first full refret on one of my own guitars so I could learn without messing up someone else's instrument or a really expensive instrument and got some of it. It seemed easy enough to work with, but I haven't had it on long enough to tell if it is more durable. I guess it is just fret wire that has been cryogenically treated. Just wondered if you had heard of this.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I've heard of it as it has been around a while. Gibson offered it and maybe they still do. I know the treatment works, but if want longer-lasting frets, I'll just go with stainless steel.

[@sparrowhawk81]

@@HighlineGuitars makes sense. i was having a little trouble with the idea that they last longer but are easier to work than stainless. like...if they last longer because theyre harder, they should also be harder to work because theyre harder. i dunno. ill probably try stainless for my next experiment.

[@kyleboren7372]

Wait what? 12-18mo for nickel frets? I had a guitar with nickel frets for 8yrs before I did a refret job on it, and I played the crap out of that thing for the first 3-4yrs of having it and leveled and crowned it twice. The only reason I replaced the frets was because I wanted to learn how to do it.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I have guitars that have never been refretted. However, I know guys who like to refret every year or so. Who am I to argue?

[@Augrills]

I have been playing guitar for 15 years with nickel-silver frets and I have never had to get a guitar refretted. I play almost daily.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I replace my frets every time I change strings. However, I buy a new car as soon as the ashtray gets full.

[@Augrills]

@@HighlineGuitars lol. I guess I just never thought about my frets that much or noticed issues with them that are probably there. I also think everything is a scam so when they advertise shiny new stainless steel frets, I think… this was never a thing and no one really cared before? I like your video. Very informative Also my fingertips are double jointed, so maybe that affects how they interact with the frets cause they bend backwards in a way that’s not normal

[@RudeRecording]

Just wondering if you've noticed short fret life on some of the overseas made guitars and basses like PRS SE, Squire, etc.? I've experienced short life with some of the Indonesian and Chinese made instruments which I suspect is due to soft fret alloys. I prefer Stainless Steel on my instruments, no noticeable wear on any of mine after years of hard use.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Personally, I don't work on other people's guitars so I can't answer, but maybe someone else will.

[@bradleythompson5737]

I have a SE Custom 24 that I got 3 years ago. I'm a fairly heavy player I do a lot of bends. I have 2 or 3 very minor dents and some frets are starting to lose their crowns. It's my main guitar so I don't think the SE guitar fret wire wear out faster than your average guitar. I do know the Core models do have harder frets. 3 years of playing pretty heavy and only having extremely small wear isn't bad. You can typically level and crown 2 to 3 times if you stay on it and don't allow the dents to become too deep. For Squier guitars I have a 99 Squier strat that has it's original frets and when I do hard bends I can see fret material falling off the frets. So I don't play it hard and I'm going to level and crown those frets this week.

[@harrypalmer3481]

Re. stainless steel frets or nickel-silver - I'd rather replace the tyres regularly than the road.

[@0Imtheslime0]

I spent 12 hours on my last refret with jescar. Polising stainless takes long time.

[@gunzrloaded]

Hello have you ever tried that "Cryowire" that StewMac is selling...? I just heard of this type of fret wire a month ago.

[@HighlineGuitars]

No. I’ll stick with stainless steel.

[@immanuelsiregar7395]

What is the differences between Nickel-silver fret, and Cupronickel fret?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Cupronickel frets are harder than nickel-silver, but not as hard as stainless steel frets. In other words, sort of pointless.

[@immanuelsiregar7395]

@@HighlineGuitars Thanks, man. Have a great day.

[@Cymbaline713]

My main Warmoth Strat has SS frets. I got it in 2008, I've played the ever lovin' crap out of it for 14 years and there is no wear on the frets. Absolutely none.

[@johnbotsford6897]

What about "gold" fret wire? I assume it's not stainless.

[@HighlineGuitars]

No, it's not stainless steel.

[@bergglobus2428]

Although you said you don't want to talk about your tools in this video, can you do a video about your tools?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Here are a few: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4Wzmn-was1po8U kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5DSZWOaqJKjpJo kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2aQe2qcmrWeZ6M kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioa4qHV_e8plhNk kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIXMqGyQdsx9lbc kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5fUaZ2LmKhqhdk

[@kaz0271]

Chris I think you are forgetting stewmac's awesome lifetime warranty and superb customer service. Under their warranty model, if a tool fails to perform, perish, break during it's lifecycle, they will replace it free of charge, etc. So, in layman's terms you buy a tool from stewmac, you own it for life, basically. I myself, was kinda anoyyyed at the price for some of their items, but if you factor in the fantastic customer service and lifetime warranty, dude, you've ben missing out. Much love from CBR AUS

[@YTPartyTonight]

Nickel-silver refrets at 12 to 18 months of playing hard 24 hours, 7 days per week?

[@TheMae1St0rm]

Stainless steel as fret, but what material do you recommend as guitar string? I live in a highly humid environment and I don't want to restring or refret frequently

[@benink5690]

I've never had a fret dress done. 12-18 months damn.

[@aleksandarpopovic369]

I put s.s. on my bass, and s.s. strings at the same time. It was horrible. I got flange - chorus efect so intense and even more string effect then you usually get with new strings that the actual tone was around 50‰ of overall sound. When I put on nickel strings it was a little better. I'm taking off s.s. frets for shure as soon as I can.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Stainless steel frets aren't for everyone, but your experience is a new one on me.

[@aleksandarpopovic369]

@@HighlineGuitars obviously it's not problem on a guitar or if you're playing some kind of aggressive music where you need low and high end and lot of string sound.

[@ZoomRmc]

Hey Chris, it's Minsk, not Minks. It's not the first time I hear you say it. It's a capital of a country with a 9 mil. population, not some tiny island in the Caribbean sea.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I'm not talking about Minsk, I'm talking about Minx. It's a small town of about 400 people named after a cat.

[@geoffedwards189]

@@HighlineGuitars and @Zoom Yep, I've been to Minx! Not many people have been there or even heard of it. Great place with some of the best little cafe's in Europe! The tables and chairs were mostly made of nickel silver but at the better places that I liked to patronise were usually made from stainless steel. I wore the butt out of 2 pairs of diamond studded jeans during my stay. My slim tapers are still as good as the day I bought them though. Great video as always Chris! One of THE best lutherie channels on the web.

[@SnifferCustoms]

@@HighlineGuitars 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ZoomRmc]

@@HighlineGuitars Ah, that Minx. But you're clearly mistaken, the only fret factory there is "Symptoms", named after delusions luthiers develop after sniffing too much fret dust.

[@tball5677]

I have multiple guitars that I change out regularly and I'm a bedroom player with a light touch. I dont think I'll ever need to do a re-fret.

[@Eric_Post]

Hey thanks so much for all of the great info! Is there any specific triangle file that you recommend or will any old triangle file with the corners ground down work just as well?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I use this file: amzn.to/2CGizWc

[@chrisking6695]

I don't understand this SS = hard to work thing. I did a fret level on SS frets yesterday. Just normal 120 grit sandpaper and a few strokes and they were level. Then Stwemacs z file for crowing and polish with jewelry rouge. It wasn't hard at all. In fact I took too much off multiple times and and the relevel.

[@HighlineGuitars]

After using SS for years, I went back to NS and it was like soft butter at room temperature.

[@chrisking6695]

@@HighlineGuitars well maybe my SS are made of inferior steel

[@stevejones4618]

As far as tools go for me SS fret wire is most problematic to flush fret cutters. You must have decent flush cut fret cutters that say they can be used with SS or your usual cutters will last about 4 frets.

[@JimboLodisC]

How did you smooth out the edges of that Nicholson slim taper? Curious on that process, I've never done any fret work before but am interested in picking up a fret level and a file to give it a try

[@HighlineGuitars]

I used my bench grinder.

[@dimitrisloufakis916]

Why would you refret a guitar every 12-18 months? You don't even need to level the frets that often

[@HighlineGuitars]

This will be discussed in greater detail in an upcoming episode where I explain fret wear and how it degrades tuning and intonation.

[@davekiddie4467]

Proper sounding intonation

[@morgenholz]

Great information. Do you have a video expressing your opinion on bound vs unbound fretboards?

[@HighlineGuitars]

No, but I’ll tell you what I think. With CNC technology, bound fretboards are unnecessary.

[@bachrocktheamericahatersan5799]

A time will come when technology and luthier skills advance to the point, where stainless steel will be the only way to go.

[@trickedouttech321]

I could be wrong, yet that statement just does not seem on point to me? The every 12-18 months statement. I would say 65-75% of guitars in the world are Nickel Silver, How often do you hear of a guitar musician changing frets every 12-18 months? Professional gigging musicians with Nickel frets will go years without having to change them. I know it wears quicker, that is a fact. However, the 12-18 months seem like a crazy embellishment! I know the book calls for 1000 hours on NS frets. In all honesty, that is 1000 hours before they need maintenance. A guitar can go thru quite a few before one has to considers replacement. Fret maintenance. i.e leveling crowning polishing, With that information, If a guitar has the proper maintenance your talking 5000 - 7000 hours., depending on the player and tech performing the fretwork. Even if you are not the norm still put in 3 hours a day, 7 day's a week you looking for a replacement every 5 years. I find reality very different from the reality in one's head. I would say the normal is once your intermediate to advance most musicians are not putting in the 8-10 practice hours a day, at that point in their career or hobby, I would say even if you have some day's that you're putting in 10-12 there are many day's you don't touch the guitar. If you averaged it all spreading it out to 365 days a year. A lot of gigging & recording musicians on average only putting 1-2 hours a day in. Now you around 9-10 years before having to replace Nickel fret with the proper maintenance. Again I could be wrong. yet I have purchased quite a few 15-20-year-old NS fret guitars with original frets & showing plenty of signs of moderate to heavy use, & the frets are still very playable? Honestly, I would like to know. Is there anyone commenting that gets a re-fret once a year or every 18 months? If so even with the best luthier tech I would like to see the condition of your fingerboard if the guitar is any older than 10 years. Your talking that guitar been thru the process of pulling out and installing new frets 7-10 times. I don't care who the tech is. That is a lot of heating, gluing. pulling scrapping and stress on the fingerboard even on a ten-year-old guitar. With that average of 12-18 months just think of how many times t a 40-year-old guitar has had its fret ripped out and installed, it would not survive. NFW!

[@HighlineGuitars]

12-18 months may seem like a lot, but I know many touring musicians who do just that.

[@petermuller161]

I’m not a pro I just practice a lot and I have smoked about 4 guitars. If you like to do soaring vibrato and sprinkle in pitch harmonics you will destroy the frets. Not to say what’s right or wrong but trust me the fret wear is real!

[@flashbak01]

Hi Chris, thanks for all the great videos you do! I know you had another vocation I believe in corporate America prior to your luthier endeavor, correct? I wanted to ask if you are self taught or did you take a formal luthier course along the way? Thanks

[@HighlineGuitars]

I am self taught. I don't even know what a formal luthier course is.

[@flashbak01]

@@HighlineGuitars It's usually a course for about a year or so where you actually construct a guitar along the way. Like this. roberto-venn.com/ Personally, all my favorite luthiers are pretty much self taught. Self-Taught, how did you go about building a client base?

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@flashbak01 Roberto Venn is a private, for-profit school. IMO "formal" would be a fully accredited program at a legitimate university.

[@flashbak01]

@@HighlineGuitars True. Any tips as for how one starting out can build up a customer base?

[@coltknight3945]

I got about 35 fret jobs out of my stewmac double sided diamond crowning file with jescar ss frets. Just went to buy new one and they have 3x in price.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Don't buy a new one. Stewmac will replace your old worn out one for free.

[@coltknight3945]

@@HighlineGuitars - thank you!

[@scarmyguitar]

Chris would you please contact us?

[@Metalbass10000]

You're aware of the wide variety of stainless steels, with an equally diverse set of physical properties, right?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Right.

[@waynegram8907]

Why did SRV Stevie Ray Vaughan use very thick frets, any advantages of using very wide thick frets? because you mentioned that wide thick frets makes your guitar go out of tune over time fret wear and tear

[@HighlineGuitars]

I don't know. I would ask him, but he dead.

[@0Imtheslime0]

I doesnt go out of tune if you play them right. Large frets demands more dicipline in technique. They can throw you out of tune if you press too hard. Same can be said about scalloped necks.

[@waynegram8907]

@@0Imtheslime0 I didn't know fatter fret when make you go out of tune easier

[@trajtemberg]

Even tho i charge the same, most choose nickel frets for "reasons".

[@0Imtheslime0]

You really charge the same for both material frets? SS frets is a real time hog

[@trajtemberg]

​@@0Imtheslime0 The same hourly rate.

[@Asthmos]

if you dont have stainless frets, dont use stainless wound strings! they'll do more damage to your frets over time mmmkay 😊

[@sjorsvandermeulen4285]

12 to 18 months? What player are you?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Playing 275 nights a year @ 2 hours per show and two hours a day rehearsal and an hour or two per day in the studio.

[@0Imtheslime0]

Its amazing that Brian May's Red Special never have been refretted. All those shows and tours worldwide and never..

[@maxammo6282]

Need to make some fret wire out of old files😂😂😂😂

[@davedupuis2069]

Chris, how do you find stainless steel effects the tone? Given its hardness does it add a significant amount of brightness to the instrument?

[@HighlineGuitars]

They brighten the tone to a very slight degree, but it depends on how they are installed and the type of strings used.

[@davedupuis2069]

@@HighlineGuitars Can you explain how the frets are installed would effect how much they impact the added brightness? I'd like stainless frets on my bass but I absolutely do not like a modern sounding bass, hence my questions. Thanks for any insight.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@davedupuis2069 I don't know what you're talking about. I install frets the same way regardless of what they're made of and don't see how this makes any difference in the tone. If you don't like how stainless steel sounds, don't use it. Use nickel silver instead.

[@michaelcox1071]

Highline Guitars - you said, in your reply to Dave Dupuis’ original question that “it depends on how they are installed and the type of strings used.” That would lead to his follow up question about the installation affecting tone. I am also curious as to what you meant.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@michaelcox1071 If you press or hammer in the frets without flooding the slot first with CA glue, it won't make much of a difference in the tone. However, if you flood the slot with CA glue, it can slightly increase the brightness. That being said, you can change the tone to a tiny degree by changing the material composition of the strings. For example, stainless steel frets with stainless steel or cobalt strings will sound the brightest. Nickel strings will dial back the brightness of the stainless steel frets.

[@Flare4roach]

12-18 months for NS refret? Wow...that was not my experience whatsoever. I'm good for 10 years or so.

[@jjfloyd618]

If you are using nickel silver that’s almost as hard as stainless why is it not as hard on your tools as stainless?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Nickel silver fret wire is nowhere near as hard as stainless steel.

[@jjfloyd618]

But you said that we can get nickel silver fretwire that is “almost as hard as stainless”. Can you further clarify the difference between “almost as hard” & “nowhere near as hard”? Thanks.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@jjfloyd618 Most stainless steel fret wire is way harder than nickel-silver fret wire. You can find nickel-silver wire that has a harder composition than the norm, but it's not common.

[@thecentralscrutinizerr]

Where's the link to the Dunlop chart?

[@HighlineGuitars]

In the description.

[@yjm100playloud]

Why they don’t have stainless steel super jumbo frets. Thanks

[@HighlineGuitars]

www.jescarguitar.com/shop/jescar-fret-wire-58118/

[@jamminshaman5935]

How do you feel about Evo Gold frets?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Ugly. But that's because I can't stand gold hardware. Too pimpy for my taste.

[@petermuller161]

I have played 4 affordable guitars to death and just give them away. Stainless frets are the move for me being a vibrato fiend.

[@Sarklord]

first....and chart is missing :-)

[@HighlineGuitars]

Look harder.

[@Sarklord]

@@HighlineGuitars I swear to Crom that the links weren't there when i posted that comment :-)

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@Sarklord They weren't. I was fooling with you. I was a little late getting my act together with this upload.

[@Sarklord]

​@@HighlineGuitars Alllllll right....i got trolled....nice move :-).

[@Adamfront]

If you need a regret every 18 months then you have a problem with your playing technique, not with your fretwire.

[@amitsapir2]

what about tonal diffrence?

[@HighlineGuitars]

That would be for another video and I try to stay away from conspiracy theories.

[@Hello_there_obi]

Only reason luthiers use nickel silver is so people keep coming back for that sweet sweet refret money. This guy is really giving that away by suggest 12-18 months for a nickel re-fret. Brian may himself never had his red special refretted ater decades of playing and he plays *only* that guitar. Granted it's likely shagged to hell but you get the point. Also the who "nickel is easier on your tools" might be true but think about it, you're having to do it five times as often by his calculations. So really the wear would be the same or greater with nickel. And the claim that some nickel alloys being almost as good as ss sort of defeats this whole point. If it's as good as ss that means it is almost as hard. Because that is what it comes down to. How hard and smooth the material is. So if it's almost as hard as ss, it will wear the tools in almost the same way. Basic physics. SS is the answer every time. Ignore what a luthier will tell you. It's in their interest to have you come for that refret.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I used to trade in my car for a new one as soon as the ashtray was full. Then I quit smoking. Now I trade it in when the windshield washer fluid runs out.

[@Hello_there_obi]

@@HighlineGuitars that’s all the time! Soooo a good anology to explain how silly it is to refret every 12-18 months lol 😜

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@Hello_there_obi Yep. My efforts at sarcasm are often misunderstood.

[@Hello_there_obi]

@@HighlineGuitars didn't make much sense though since you were championing extremely frequent nickel refrets in the video!

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@Hello_there_obi 😉

[@matrixmodulator]

Refretting each 12-18 months ??!!!???!!!!! whaaaaaaaat ? ....

[@HighlineGuitars]

No, you should start to PLAN on a refret after 12-18 months. You can wait 5-6 years if you're willing to start losing playability.

[@srdjangavran979]

Now, I have think about...

[@ozoneswiftak]

Fender sucks. And my crafter wears out fast. Thanks sir.

[@peelarat9578]

Dislike stainless steel. Nickel silver gives vintage ressanat. Stainless brighter...

[@axeman2638]

personally i don't like the sound of stainless steel frets even though they last longer.

[@HighlineGuitars]

You can change the tone by changing the type and size of strings you use.

[@axeman2638]

@@HighlineGuitars special strings for stainless steel frets? not heard of that. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@axeman2638 No, not "special strings," just different strings. You can buy strings made out of a wide variety of different metals. Each can offer a different tonal response.

[@axeman2638]

@@HighlineGuitars I know what I like, and what the players i like used to get the sound they got. Stainless frets is a modern innovation and not the sound I'm after.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@axeman2638 Okay boomer.

[@santiagoramirez7403]

my strings last longer than your frets

[@apostle7772]

Jesus christ is coming repent choose him today,he loves you

[@HighlineGuitars]

The real question is, does Jesus prefer stainless steel frets or nickel-silver frets?

[@arteCee]

yeh..the big J built his reputation on being stainless.

[@kaz0271]

My man, are you talking about dressing or re-fretting? I can see a dressing being undertaken within 12 months for a professional guitar player working with nickel-silver, also for a light handed player, MAYBE a dressing every 10 years for stainless steel frets (professional also). I enjoy your content, but this seems like misinformation to me.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Dressing.

[@shovington67]

Have you used triangular fret wire? What are the pros & cons? Are they difficult to shape.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Yes. Triangular fret wire works great. However, they work best only if you can achieve very precise placement and installation. If the frets aren't installed precisely, leveling will be necessary and that can spoil the shape. Recrowning triangular frets can be very difficult to pull off successfully.