Fret Material Poll. Stainless vs Nickel.

[Cosmic Cowboy]

I prefer stainless frets for a number of reasons.
Mainly....
-smoothness
-durability
-dont dent easily.

I wonder if there are enough people that favor nickel to make some companies stick with nickel...or is it a cost-saving measure?

I cannot imagine the material cost of frets makes much difference to the bottom line for manufacturers.

 

[AAT65]

I don’t own any guitars with stainless steel frets so I can’t comment from point of view of how they play or feel.
However I bet you the reason that stainless steel frets aren’t used in most production guitars is that their hardness make them difficult and more time-consuming (= expensive) to work with, rather than the cost of the material.

 

[jvin248]

.

It's not the cost, many companies fear players think changing the recipe from the 1950s will alter the tone.

That's why Gibson still makes those fragile headstocks.

.

 

[KC]

I play both. SS are smooth, durable, a little brighter than nickel but mainly I notice this unplugged. Hard to say if they are better frets or whether it’s just impeccable Music Man fretwork.

 

[Peegoo]

If you think it makes a difference in the tone, then it does.

If you think it doesn't make a difference in the tone, then it doesn't.

Psychoacoustics is an area of human physical sciences that includes psychological and emotional components, which are really impossible to quantify because every individual is different.

So when it comes to psychoacoustics, remember to place emphasis on the 'psycho' part

 

[Geo]

The hardness of stainless steel is much closer to the hardness of guitar string ASTM music wire than nickel fret material.
Fret wear overall for most players though with nickel is minimal. Over the years most or ones seen resulted from poorly adjusted or lack of truss rod adjustment. Fret wear on the the first 4 frets or frets 10-13 is a clear indicator.

 

[Freeman Keller]

I install whatever someone wants - my own guitars all have nickel-silver. Stainless is definitely harder to work with, Evo is a nice compromise. I'll do partial refrets, mostly on acoustics, but its not that much harder to do the whole board and then I get to deal with any issues on the board. I don't hear any sound difference, not that it matters.

I'll add that I've stopped refretting finished maple fretboards, someone else can have that hassle, and I've never done a side pressed board.

 

[stephent2]

There's another option. I've been using Jescar Gold EVO frets on my builds and personal guitars for a few years now. Prefer them to nickel and SS.

 

[Boreas]

Apples/oranges. Depends on your needs.

 

[old wrench]

Use whatever fret metal you like

I like stainless steel, so that's what I use on all the necks I build

Sure, SS is a bit more expensive initially, and it's also a little more work to finish than other fret metals, but I know that it will have a very long service life, plus it has much the same traditional silver color as nickel-silver

If you like the look of gold frets, copper-nickel (evo) is the way to go

On a related but different topic - steel brake lines used to be the industry standard (with stainless-steel being used in custom applications), but they've been pretty much replaced by copper-nickel lines - they are easy to work with and last pretty much forever

As better suited materials become available, why not use them?

.

 

[GeneB]

I ordered stainless for my Carvin and like them a lot. My other guitars were bought used or stainless wasn't offered. But if they were I'd prefer stainless to nickle.

 

[NeverTooLate]

I don't know that stainless is necessarily a small difference in cost to manufacturers. I have heard otherwise.

I suppose it all depends on many business factors, but I would not assume that what may seem like a small difference in cost to a guy looking at prices is actually so for a business.

 

[Killing Floor]

There as a guy who believes he can hear the difference in the amplified tone, his name is Eric Johnson. For the rest of us stainless lasts so much longer it's worth any completely imaginary change in unamplified tone. I have both. When I am able to select it's no contest.

 

[Dismalhead]

I want frets to last as long as possible, so if I refretted a neck it would be stainless.

 

[G Stone496]

Naah, stainless is for kitchen utensils and auto body trim.

 

[Alex_C]

I have stainless on two guitars, the other nine are nickel. I prefer stainless for longevity, but nickel is fine.

 

[bottlenecker]

Working with stainless a lot, I know exactly why some luthiers don't like doing ss frets. Guitar parts are all soft and squishy and easy to file, and ss is not. I'd like to try ss frets, I never have. I kind of suspect I'm not going to like it on flat top acoustics, but taylor fans will. Just a hunch though, I'm open to it. I would love frets that don't wear out.
Or should I wait for tungsten carbide frets?

 

[Cheap Trills]

Stainless with the caveat that it changes the tone, so you need to choose the other materials and construction wisely.