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John Myung Bongo 4

Has anyone worn through their stainless steel frets yet?

acwild

acwild

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
856
Location
Hillsborough, NJ
My band covers Lenny Kravitz "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and STP's "Interstate Love Song." Those two tunes have worn out my second frets on most of my guitars except my two stainless equipped guitars (JP XI and PDN Axis). Now I'm starting to see some wear on my stainless frets. :eek:
I'm wondering if any of you have had to get your stainless frets re-fretted.
 
In ten years of use, the stainless frets on my Tom anderson were as new.
In two years of use, the "non stainless"frets on my Fender Eric Johnson were dead.
 
Tim O'Sullivan said:
I always thought that with normal use, SS frets basically never wear out?
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That was my understanding as well. I guess I'm not falling under the "normal use" category. My guitars are tuned down a half step and strung with nickel 9's. Generally speaking, I don't break strings. I know I don't have a gorilla grip with my fretting hand because I also play scalloped necks without issue.
 
Here's a guy who probably wears through stainless steel frets with ease...(Kane Roberts)

kane-roberts-steroids-rambo-570x709.jpg
 
acwild said:
That was my understanding as well. I guess I'm not falling under the "normal use" category. My guitars are tuned down a half step and strung with nickel 9's. Generally speaking, I don't break strings. I know I don't have a gorilla grip with my fretting hand because I also play scalloped necks without issue.
Click to expand...

Lenny Kravitz and STP songs are known 'in the trade' as SS fret killers! Try some Lionel Ritchie - much kinder to fretwire!
 
Tollie said:
Here's a guy who probably wears through stainless steel frets with ease...(Kane Roberts)

kane-roberts-steroids-rambo-570x709.jpg
Click to expand...

This dude could seriously play guitar. His stint with Alice Cooper back in the 80s produced some great classic metal songs.
 
A lot of wear also comes from keeping strings that aren't new on there for too long. What I mean is strings rust, and they have gunk stuck under them which corrodes/rusts that part of the string. So even if you wipe it off now the string is still more coarse, bending and pushing those strings into the frets causes wear faster than having a new set of clean strings on there.

I just wipe my strings down everytime I'm done playing, takes a minute more but it maintains any kind of frets from wearing for a long time. Even my Fred Wagner and Nickel Frets last much longer by just wiping the strings down and changing them whenever it gets to the point where they corrode even in the slightest.

That being said, I've never had wear on my SS Frets.
 
Tim O'Sullivan said:
Lenny Kravitz and STP songs are known 'in the trade' as SS fret killers! Try some Lionel Ritchie - much kinder to fretwire!
Click to expand...

:eek:

Kenji20022 said:
A lot of wear also comes from keeping strings that aren't new on there for too long. What I mean is strings rust, and they have gunk stuck under them which corrodes/rusts that part of the string. So even if you wipe it off now the string is still more coarse, bending and pushing those strings into the frets causes wear faster than having a new set of clean strings on there.

I just wipe my strings down everytime I'm done playing, takes a minute more but it maintains any kind of frets from wearing for a long time. Even my Fred Wagner and Nickel Frets last much longer by just wiping the strings down and changing them whenever it gets to the point where they corrode even in the slightest.

That being said, I've never had wear on my SS Frets.
Click to expand...

I wipe my strings religiously before playing, in-between songs, and after. Strings are changed frequently too. In all fairness my guitars get a lot of hours on them. I was just surprised to see some wear on my stainless frets. It's not a lot yet but it has definitely started.
 
Tim O'Sullivan said:
I always thought that with normal use, SS frets basically never wear out?
Click to expand...

Nothing lasts forever. Not even diamonds. And how do you define 'normal use' and for how long does 'normal use' continue? Stainless wear out much slower than regular but if you play 'em enough of course you'll see wear. The average home player may never see fret wear, but many of us are not the average home player, right?
 
dwells said:
i have 3 necks with SS frets,i play alot and not even a dint anywhere, ill never go back to nickel
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Loving the feel of the SS frets.

DrKev said:
Nothing lasts forever. Not even diamonds. And how do you define 'normal use' and for how long does 'normal use' continue? Stainless wear out much slower than regular but if you play 'em enough of course you'll see wear. The average home player may never see fret wear, but many of us are not the average home player, right?
Click to expand...
Yes this forum does seem to have more working musicians then others. Says something about the guitars for sure.
 
Yeah it absolutely depends on how much time you put into the gear, I have quite a few guitars and I play my #1 the JPX7 the most. No wear on that but I cycle through all the gear. Even nickel frets aren't that bad considering how often I cycle through each guitar in my collection, it'll take me awhile to eat at any of those frets.

That being said Stainless Steel is the best, nothing beats having the feel of a new set of frets each time you pick up the guitar no matter what. Fred Wagner 18% Nickel is also fantastic, doesn't wear at the rate Nickel usually does and keeps a very similar feel to Stainless Steel. The glassy feeling I mean.
 
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My gold Axis is from 1996 and there is plenty of miles left on the original frets.... Having a few backups certainly doesn't hurt for keeping them fresher.


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Players should be aware of the metallic composition of the strings they are using if they are concerned about fret wear. Steel strings on nickel frets, guess what. All the high end strings being offered stating long string life MAY not be best for fret life. Just make a knowledgeable decision.
 
KEOKI said:
Players should be aware of the metallic composition of the strings they are using if they are concerned about fret wear. Steel strings on nickel frets, guess what. All the high end strings being offered stating long string life MAY not be best for fret life. Just make a knowledgeable decision.
Click to expand...

I tried stainless steel strings and remember seeing major fret wear within a month. Never again... That experience made me very conscious of fret wear. If it weren't for stainless frets, I would seriously drop certain tunes from our set.
 
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