Heard that EBMM will be going to all SS frets within a year?

[Axis_SC]

Without naming any sources... But supposedly reliable info.

It definitely suits me better (have them on one of my Luke III BFR Models and like them so much better), so I'll be looking forward to it if it's true.

Any opinions or has anyone else heard the same?

 

[DrKev]

I can only say that the stainless steel frets (and roasted maple) were why I bought the Cutlass RS. If I could have gotten a Silhouette Special with SS frets, I'm not sure I'd have bought the Cutlass.

Of course now that I have the Cutlass, I would only give it back if I could swap for a Silhouette Special with roasted neck and SS frets AND the buffer circuit.

 

[tbonesullivan]

It's possible. A lot of other makers have made the same change, and others are considering it. A lot of EBMM artists now have SS frets on their guitars, and a lot of the PDN runs had that as one of the options included in the package.

Some love them, some do not.

 

[Vegaman]

REALLY hope so

 

[bhull]

I think the industry is headed there as a whole.

I've always wondered, is there a reason not to install SS frets?

 

[GWDavis28]

I've always wondered, is there a reason not to install SS frets?

SS frets cost more, I would imagine.

Glenn |B)

 

[beej]

They're pretty nice. I've become a fan.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I think the industry is headed there as a whole.

I've always wondered, is there a reason not to install SS frets?

They are more expensive to deal with, and also can be troublesome to install. You need pretty much a precision ground fretboard, as well as precision bending of the frets. They are harder and stronger than Nickel Silver, but that also means that they will more readily pop out if they aren't bent right. With new guitars, this isn't as much of an issue, but as a guitar ages, it can be. That's more of the manufacturers concern.

For the consumer, some don't like the feel, and some don't like the sound. You don't see many acoustics with SS frets, though some have put them on. I know that some people say "well there's no way the human ear could tell the difference" yet these same people INSIST that you need a bone nut for the best tone, and you need to have a slide made of this material to sound good.

There IS a change in tone. The question is whether it's something you notice. With an electric guitar, which already has a ton of filtering on the sound, I doubt it makes much difference at all.

I will say that the "slippery" feel takes getting used to. That "freshly polished" feeling never goes away.

 

[fusionid]

OMG please!

why any company uses anything else is beyond me. I refret all my guitars with SS.

IMHO, the tone changes a bit. Slightly more presence. Use your tone knob noob. Or simply use the amp eq.

 

[TripHazard]

I won’t buy a guitar without them anymore. Same with maple necks - I’ll only buy roasted now. I’m even changing my Cutlass for an RS. My only exception in my collection is my AVRI 59 Strat

 

[bhull]

They are more expensive to deal with, and also can be troublesome to install. You need pretty much a precision ground fretboard, as well as precision bending of the frets. They are harder and stronger than Nickel Silver, but that also means that they will more readily pop out if they aren't bent right. With new guitars, this isn't as much of an issue, but as a guitar ages, it can be. That's more of the manufacturers concern.

Thanks for the info! I've always known the pros of SS, but never the cons.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Thanks for the info! I've always known the pros of SS, but never the cons.

I should mention that Nickel Silver frets can also sprout over time, as the metal "remembers" when it was bent differently. However it's much more likely with SS frets if they are not radiused perfectly before installation. With Nickel Silver wire, they can kinda be worked into shape.

It also would be perfectly possible to make a non-corroding alloy with the same hardness as the nickel silver, but then it would wear just as readily.

From what I saw on LMI, the relative hardness of the popular alloys are:

nickel/silver wire HV5/200
EVO HV5/250
stainless HV5/300

So, Nickel Silver is in general, 50% harder than Nickel Silver. It's 20% harder than EVO. That is also 18% nickel silver. Some instruments, such as classical guitar, banjo,etc use 12% Nickel Silver, because they feel the softer alloy sounds better, or works better with the softer strings.