Recommend a fret-wire source?

I need about 3 guitars' worth of fretwire.

I'm new at this, and not wedded to any particular brand, but I have a Musikraft neck with 6105 (.095X .047), which I really like. The closest StewMac has is Medium/Higher (.095X .048), which is prolly close enough.

I'll be in the US for a couple months in the summer. Can ya'll recommend a good source?

I need about 3 guitars' worth of fretwire.

I'm new at this, and not wedded to any particular brand, but I have a Musikraft neck with 6105 (.095X .047), which I really like. The closest StewMac has is Medium/Higher (.095X .048), which is prolly close enough.

I'll be in the US for a couple months in the summer. Can ya'll recommend a good source?

I'd say Jescar but you need to buy a 1lb roll or look for a reseller

Like the StewMac wire. Also like the LMI wire. however, if you're looking for Dunlop 6105, i'd recommend Warmoth. Last I checked( many months ago), they seemed to be carrying Dunlop wire.
Here's a link.
http://www.warmoth.com/Fretwire-C216.aspx

I'd say Jescar but you need to buy a 1lb roll or look for a reseller
That was my first thought too.
I think it's worth it, even for just 3 guitars. It's great wire and it never hurts to have a little extra for not that much more money.

http://www.jescar.com/

Cheers.

I buy my fretwire from warmoth. It is dunlop, priced fair and is pre bent.

Interesting: Musikraft sez 6105 is .095" x .047", but WM sez .095" x .045". . . .

How many guitars do you get out of a pound of wire?

I bought some here. Price seemed good and have had good dealings with the place before and ships promptly to my country:

https://www.cbgitty.com/cubecart/fretting-supplies/small-lot-fret-wire.html

Out of curiosity, I've started looking around at Japanese sources, and was shocked to see that one guitar's worth of nickel-silver fretwire (24 pieces or a couple 2-ft lengths) costs 30 to 50 bucks! :shock: I'm definitely filling up my suitcase this summer....

I believe Musikraft uses Jescar...

How many guitars do you get out of a pound of wire?
The average guitar takes roughly 3 feet, so that's a lot of guitars, and it is more than worth it. I used to buy 1lb rolls from CF Martin, back when they sold such things. Thanks to buying the pound rolls I now have stash of some fretwire that is very hard to get these days. Any way you look at it (even if you end up selling it), it's money in the bank :wink:

Yeah, I think it's roughly like 11 guitar's worth in a lb.
The Jescar wire comes pre-radiused as well, but it's like an 11" radius, which is great for me, but a 9.5 or 7.25 fingerboard would require it to be bent more (obviously... haha).

I've been using the stuff from LMI, it comes bent to about an 8" radius.

I've been using the stuff from LMI, it comes bent to about an 8" radius.

I've been told that LMII fretwire is Jescar. Good stuff.

Bob

I bought from the same place as moobox, he has an Ebay site as well...decent prices (cheaper than most others anyway), and ships fast. In fact just got some fret wire from them about a week ago.

Amount-wise, I sort of fall between the cracks. I'm building my first guitar right now, I have plans for the 2013 Challenge, a LPJr DC in my head, and a neck I want to re-fret, and it'll take me years to get through just that. Seems uneconomical to buy a small amount, but a pound of it is overkill.... I know I'd save money in the long run, but I don't know that I'll always want this size of fret wire, and I have to consider short-term expenditures--that is, I only have so much money to spend over the summer. :neutral: (I got a pound of PU coil wire to buy this summer, too!)

I'm also getting more and more confused about dimensions; Fender (http://www.fender.com/en-JP/news/index.php/?display_article=424) says:

6105: Modern narrow and tall; currently very popular (.090" x .055").

Which is different from both Musikraft and Warmoth. :confused: I thought these numbers were standardized....

I like the StewMac tall jumbo wire because it gives me tons of material for finishing. Of course,
I tend to make quite a few mistakes when I build and need all the leeway I can get.

I will 3rd or 4th the recommendation to buy it in quantity as there's nothing worse that
having to stop a build (or four) while you're waiting on parts.....ahem.

I'm also getting more and more confused about dimensions; Fender (http://www.fender.com/en-JP/news/index.php/?display_article=424) says:

Which is different from both Musikraft and Warmoth. :confused: I thought these numbers were standardized....
Sigh............... standardized? Surely you gest :lol:. Most of the measurements you see refer to only the crown above the fretboard, I like seeing the whole thing. Here is the fretwire I normally use (at least lately) LINK (http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2012/Main/399). I normally use the H5648 for everything, but that's me. More important is the diagram showing all the measurements (and where they are measured). BTW, this is a very good deal on fretwire and is in the quantities you say you want and does NOT need bending. BTW, one of my favorite rants is straight fretwire (I don't care who sells it). This stuff is extruded round, on the roll, and takes effort to straighten. Why anyone would pay more, buy something that has been bent straight, only to make/buy a bender to make it curved again is beyond common sense :roll:. Just my opinion (and pet peeve). YMMV :grin:



Dave

Sigh............... standardized? Surely you gest :lol:. Most of the measurements you see refer to only the crown above the fretboard, I like seeing the whole thing. Here is the fretwire I normally use (at least lately) LINK (http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2012/Main/399). I normally use the H5648 for everything, but that's me. More important is the diagram showing all the measurements (and where they are measured). BTW, this is a very good deal on fretwire and is in the quantities you say you want and does NOT need bending. BTW, one of my favorite rants is straight fretwire (I don't care who sells it). This stuff is extruded round, on the roll, and takes effort to straighten. Why anyone would pay more, buy something that has been bent straight, only to make/buy a bender to make it curved again is beyond common sense :roll:. Just my opinion (and pet peeve). YMMV :grin:

Dave

Obviously I am naive. :oops: :lol:

I've heard of Grizzly before, but I didn't realize they had luthier supplies. :eek: I'm bookmarking that! That does look like the right amount for me, and I see your point about curved vs straight fretwire. I think I need a bit taller stuff, though, so I'm now leaning towards the Stewmac medium/higher or Warmoth. That's a great price, though. . . . Maybe I'll get a batch of that H5648 just to check it out. :idea:

Obviously I am naive. :oops: :lol:
Perhaps :smile:

I've heard of Grizzly before, but I didn't realize they had luthier supplies. :eek:
They have quite a few goodies worth checking out, it's where I get my pickguard blanks................and rosewood fretboards--5 for 35$-beat that! :lol:. They are quite rough and need planing down, but geeez :roll:

. . . . Maybe I'll get a batch of that H5648 just to check it out. :idea:
I'd take home at least two each of the H5648 & H5649. Get some tall fretwire if you like, but in general you'll get more use out of these in the long run :wink:

I buy my fretwire from warmoth. It is dunlop, priced fair and is pre bent.

Maybe some of what they sell is from Dunlop, but not all of it. The sizes of the wire show that. Pretty sure they get it from Jescar, since several years ago, a Warmoth employee was bragging to me how they get fret-wire made in Germany through an East coast distributor and that it was just too bad how a little guy like me couldn't get any of it. (little did he know that Jescar was soon to start selling to small guys too)