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Axis 30th Anniversary

Luke III low-wide frets?

W

woodshed

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
10
Greetings. Can anyone give me any info on what the low-wide frets on the Luke III could be compared to? I'm assuming they are not as tall as a 6105 but definitely wider than that. Is it considered a medium jumbo or medium fret wire? I sooo want to pull the trigger on a Luke III but that one spec has me balking. I currently play a 2011 LP Junior (Pelham Blue) & a couple of 2012 MIM Teles. Been playing over 25+ years; grew up playing Gibson SGs, Explorers & Les Pauls mainly. Played Ibanez JEMs & RGs (modded) for a long time, now settled into the MIM Teles & LP Junior. No one within a 5 hour drive has one. Any help from someone who can compare those frets to something I can relate to, will be greatly appreciated. Thanks much.
 
The low profile frets are not even close to medium jumbo. They are very low frets, like you would find in some vintage guitars. You can feel some wood under the fingers. I like it, but when the time of a refretting came, i decided to try medium jumbo stainless steel frets and it became even better than ever.
 
luiscesaripad said:
The low profile frets are not even close to medium jumbo. They are very low frets, like you would find in some vintage guitars. You can feel some wood under the fingers. I like it, but when the time of a refretting came, i decided to try medium jumbo stainless steel frets and it became even better than ever.
Click to expand...

Wow...I was afraid of that. Deal breaker for me. I absolutely do not like that feel; doesn't work for me. Wonder if the Sterlng Luke has medium jumbo or low wide? Think I'll check that out. Thanks for your input.
 
I personally dont find them all that low. But thats just me. I would not compare these to verry low vintage frets but something in between. I have played/owned about 50 guitars from various brands and this one works verry well for me. Dont find em extremely low.
 
I have been an Axis player forever. I have taken to the LIII without even actually realizing that the frets are any different. And I am usually pretty particular. BEST BET: Go try one! Find a Guitar Center (or other dealer) who has one and go play it! You'll be surprised at how great a guitar the LIII is!


​
 
I constantly change between my Luke's 1,II and LIII. The Luke's 1 & II have quite high frets (I had them both refretted with the same height they came with originally). I have to say, I barely notice the difference between all 3 guitars as far as fret height is concerned. It really is not even an issue.
 
Exactly my opinion, unless you are buying a vintage gibson with extremely flat frets. The actual fret size shouldnt be a deal braker. My classic stingray has verry narrow frets compared to the other ones but it plays like butter just as the rest do.
 
I jump around from my JPs to the Luke III without really noticing. I also have several other guitars that have Dunlop 6100 which are very tall and wide. No problems for me
 
I'm moving between a Luke II, Axis and Morse weekly and frets are not the thing I notice that much. Anyway, this all depends per guitar player, of course.
 
ksandvik said:
I'm moving between a Luke II, Axis and Morse weekly and frets are not the thing I notice that much. Anyway, this all depends per guitar player, of course.
Click to expand...

Same here, going between my Luke 3, Axis SS, and Silo Sp, only difference I feel is neck shape (a little).
 
I didn't notice any difference between my Luke 3 and Axis to be honest.
 
I have a Luke II and I certainly notice that the frets are low and I will eventually put some taller stainless steel frets on there. Just about my only issue with the guitar, but at least it is fixable. It is noticeable going from other guitars I own to the Luke.
 
Well...I finally got to play a Luke III & I bought it. Timing is everything. I traded my 2011 LP Junior Pelham Blue, two 2014 Mexi Teles (each modded w/Tusq nut, one with Vintage Noiseless installed) & my 1994 Marshall 2100 SL-X towards it. It's a 3 month old *mint* 2015 Bhodi blue babe. This guitar addresses every issue I had with my previous guitars, the biggest being tuning stability. The verdict is still out on the frets. They are very low but thankfully not of the Fender vintage fret type at all. I was mistaken, they are/were not a deal breaker for me. If they become an issue after living with it for awhile, then I'll replace them & it'll be a new adventure. After playing the Luke III, I have had no desire to play anything else. I'm sure that will pass, as I do dig Teles & will get another one: I love Brad Paisley. ;-) But the bar is so high with MM guitars that everything else falls into place, if that makes sense. It's amazing how "free" I feel playing my Luke. I don't fuss with anything. The strife & struggle with my previous guitars just isn't there. It doesn't hold me back, if anything, it's so smooth & fluid feeling & easy to play...it gets away from me. I've played a Petrucci & a Silhouette Special, both guitars I would love to own & I know one day a Silhouette or Silhoutte Special will be mine, as will another Luke III.
I may be hitting you brothers & sisters up for some tips on setting the trem up. Currently it's set a little lower than a stock model comes, but still able to get that Beck sharp thing Luke likes to do, although not quite as sharp obviously. Again, I'llleave it alone for a few more days, but I feel I need mine set pretty much flush, dive only, so that it returns to pitch with minimal chance of tuning misfires.

Does anyone know ethe specs of the Luke III frets, the height & width? I'd like to know for future reference.

Thanks Music Man for an incredible dream guitar. Time to woodshed. ;-)
 
Changed strings on it, Fender 009s, nickel, & the bridge moved up a little. When removing the strings I noticed the set was in fact Fender 009 nickels. Cool. However, two of them were not the strings that came with the pack. The ball ends were not color coded properly. They looked to be smaller than the 009s. Odd, but I've seen it done before. After I got it restrung, the bridge was raising up more than when I began. When purchased, it was not flush with the body but it was set level, flat, so that pulling up went sharp but not as sharp as what a stock Luke setup is, from other videos & listening to him indicates. I had to tighten the screws a turn or two & got it back level. I want it set to dive only but reading some stuff online, I have no desire to do that & have to mess with saddle height. Maybe later...For now we'll see how it functions after my first tinkering with it.
 
woodshed said:
Well...I finally got to play a Luke III & I bought it. Timing is everything. I traded my 2011 LP Junior Pelham Blue, two 2014 Mexi Teles (each modded w/Tusq nut, one with Vintage Noiseless installed) & my 1994 Marshall 2100 SL-X towards it. It's a 3 month old *mint* 2015 Bhodi blue babe. This guitar addresses every issue I had with my previous guitars, the biggest being tuning stability. The verdict is still out on the frets. They are very low but thankfully not of the Fender vintage fret type at all. I was mistaken, they are/were not a deal breaker for me. If they become an issue after living with it for awhile, then I'll replace them & it'll be a new adventure. After playing the Luke III, I have had no desire to play anything else. I'm sure that will pass, as I do dig Teles & will get another one: I love Brad Paisley. ;-) But the bar is so high with MM guitars that everything else falls into place, if that makes sense. It's amazing how "free" I feel playing my Luke. I don't fuss with anything. The strife & struggle with my previous guitars just isn't there. It doesn't hold me back, if anything, it's so smooth & fluid feeling & easy to play...it gets away from me. I've played a Petrucci & a Silhouette Special, both guitars I would love to own & I know one day a Silhouette or Silhoutte Special will be mine, as will another Luke III.
I may be hitting you brothers & sisters up for some tips on setting the trem up. Currently it's set a little lower than a stock model comes, but still able to get that Beck sharp thing Luke likes to do, although not quite as sharp obviously. Again, I'llleave it alone for a few more days, but I feel I need mine set pretty much flush, dive only, so that it returns to pitch with minimal chance of tuning misfires.

Does anyone know ethe specs of the Luke III frets, the height & width? I'd like to know for future reference.

Thanks Music Man for an incredible dream guitar. Time to woodshed. ;-)
Click to expand...
It was one of the only guitars to unseat my 92 Clapton Strat as my main axe (tied with my Yamaha RSP20X, but the Luke has the boost like EC). It can sound like anything including itself. And it feels like liquid to play. Enjoy yours to the max!
 
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