I started seeing this on the internet a few years ago, people complaining that their Squier CV had excessive fret wear after just a few months of playing. Has anyone on this forum experienced this? My CV is 5 years old, gets played about an hour a day, and has no abnormal fret wear. The frets are still in excellent condition.
Soft fret wire on Classic Vibe?
- Thread starter Airdale
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old soul
Tele-Afflicted
That's the word on the street. Mine started to dent or flatten fairly quickly, but I did play it a lot. I recently leveled and crowned them so they should be good to go for a while
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Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk
My CVC showed more fret wear after two years than my Danelectro did after twenty. Not difficult to crown it out, but I'd have to agree, it is on the soft side.
My CV50's is starting to show wear with divots under the plain strings 1st to 9th frets and tramlines on the wound ( chords ). There's flattening 9th to 15th ( widdle space ) too. Not as bad as the CVC for a given amount of play time though.
My CV50's is starting to show wear with divots under the plain strings 1st to 9th frets and tramlines on the wound ( chords ). There's flattening 9th to 15th ( widdle space ) too. Not as bad as the CVC for a given amount of play time though.
roycaster
Tele-Holic
Even with favorable currency exchange rates, corners have to be cut to make the price point…
Frontier9
Friend of Leo's
I have a 2002 MIM Fender '69RI Thinline. The frets are like tin. I played it maybe 30 minutes a day when I first got it in 2005. Six months later I started to see excessive wear. Last year I finally leveled and crowned them. Six months later... a hell of a lot of wear, again. At this point the guitar needs new frets, no getting around that.
CavalierX
TDPRI Member
I tend to be an abusive jerk to my Tele's bending and grinding strings on the frets all the time... flat or wound I don't care vibrato cords all the way up and down. I have not noticed any "excessive wear" to the frets of either of my Bullets or the CVC I have. The CVCs are 2009s so I can not speak to the newer CVs, but if its a issue I would just stay away the Stainless Strings and keep it to Ernie Balls or other nickle coated strings. Maybe even check out the new coated string if the wear is concerning. GL
Antmax
Tele-Meister
My Vintage Modified is the same way. I was disappointed to find my PRS SE is even worse when it comes to fret wear. I have 2 SE's and a Squire VM that I play regularly. The SE's are 2 and 3 years old, the squire is 5 years old. The 2018 SE is equivalent to the Squires and the VM has been played a lot more since that was my beginner guitar and only guitar for a couple of years.
I get the impression that's the caveat of affordable guitars. Corners are cut in some areas like materials used for frets and other hardware like tuners and bridges. Fortunately for me I learned how to do refrets on a vintage project guitar. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming and cost as much in tools as to get a proper setup with leveling done professionally.
I get the impression that's the caveat of affordable guitars. Corners are cut in some areas like materials used for frets and other hardware like tuners and bridges. Fortunately for me I learned how to do refrets on a vintage project guitar. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming and cost as much in tools as to get a proper setup with leveling done professionally.
AndyPanda
Tele-Holic
Are you guys seeing a change on the frets since the move from China to Indonesia? Or are you saying the frets were soft on the older Chinese made ones and they're still soft on the newer Indonesian CVs?
Paul G.
Friend of Leo's
I had a 90s Mexican Fender Strat with similar frets. Pure junk. I guess you get what you pay for.
old soul
Tele-Afflicted
Jerry_Mountains
Tele-Holic
Mine have some indentations in the first three frets and around the twelve (I suppose I play more in that area of the fretboard) and I don't even play it very often. Yes the frets are soft.
I don't know why guitar companies are still using soft alloys for frets, modern steel and cobalt strings are very hard on low quality frets, and it's not something you can easily replace like a pickup or a bridge.
I don't know why guitar companies are still using soft alloys for frets, modern steel and cobalt strings are very hard on low quality frets, and it's not something you can easily replace like a pickup or a bridge.
mrloshaw
TDPRI Member
I've had mine under a month and just noticed dents in the frets already, I do play 6-10 hours a day every day but I've never seen dents in frets before this. 
But you now have the tools and the ability, which you would not have if you'd gone to a professional for the work. This is how I justify almost all of my tool purchases.
bluescaster72
Tele-Holic
Not something I have noticed, but I also will rotate my guitars . I did notice it on a MIM Fender strat and American Strat I had the frets wore down very quickly. but I used between 11 and 10 gauge string and am a heavy bender with very strong hands. but I do feel Fender got cheap with the fret wire other guitars even cheap imports I used to own never had this issue.
Gfurman
TDPRI Member
6-10 hours per day is probably way more than the average player invests. That being said, that shouldn't happen, especially so quick.
You said you only had it for a month back when you posted this. Was it a brand new Indo version, or what year and make was it? Also, what have you done since you posted this?
T00DEEPBLUE
TDPRI Member
It's a known issue on the older Chinese-CV's and was pretty much the main Achilles heel with them. Unless you are comfortable doing a stainless steel refret, there's no easy way to fix it.
I just happen to be one of those madmen which did exactly that.
I just happen to be one of those madmen which did exactly that.
guitarist232345
Tele-Meister
Yep, I have had my CV Esquire for nearly two years and there definitely is fret wear. I reckon it has a few more years before serious issues may emerge but that's part of the cost. If it needs fixing, I will either buy a new [thicker] neck or crown it, so it really is not an issue to me. Sticking a thicker soft V neck on it in future would be a dream come true as I love fat necks. So just look at it that way.
