Stainless steel frets are quite popular now due to their durability and availability. Many luthiers and makers have retooled to be able to process these since they are harder than nickel frets and thus are harder on tools and potentially take longer to install, etc. But it's clear that they are superior for longevity and feel. And customers are demanding them.
However, some luthiers reject these (Paul Reed Smith, Tyler Guitars to name a few ...) -- likely because they don't want to retool and spend the extra time or money on them. They postulate that they can hear a big difference -- some initial ping attack that is annoying, etc. and that it isn't worth it. I think it's BS. Many people have believed this myth until they actually have tried a SS fretted guitar and found no real difference.
I have tried this on many electrics -- and acoustic -- guitars and there's no real discernable difference in sound to me. SS frets are a key feature on many of my guitars now.
Here's an example of this. He believed the BS myth in the beginning and had an older guitar refretted with nickel frets, but then on another guitar decided to revisit and use SS frets and record the tones before and after. It's the best test I have seen because:
I would challenge anyone to hear a difference. especially if you were not told which was which. Most of the comments mention that they couldn't hear a big difference, and neither could the player. That is the most important part. He was specifically looking for differences and he could not really discern a difference in playability or tone!
This just shows you which luthiers really care about their customers and which care more about their bottom line and profit margins.
However, some luthiers reject these (Paul Reed Smith, Tyler Guitars to name a few ...) -- likely because they don't want to retool and spend the extra time or money on them. They postulate that they can hear a big difference -- some initial ping attack that is annoying, etc. and that it isn't worth it. I think it's BS. Many people have believed this myth until they actually have tried a SS fretted guitar and found no real difference.
I have tried this on many electrics -- and acoustic -- guitars and there's no real discernable difference in sound to me. SS frets are a key feature on many of my guitars now.
Here's an example of this. He believed the BS myth in the beginning and had an older guitar refretted with nickel frets, but then on another guitar decided to revisit and use SS frets and record the tones before and after. It's the best test I have seen because:
- He used a guitar he is extremely familiar with in terms of playability and tone
- He changed to new strings before and after the refret
- He recorded the guitar before the refret on a Fri night, had the guitar refretted to SS on a Sat, then got it back the NEXT day and recorded it again. This is as close to reduced delay as you can get!
I would challenge anyone to hear a difference. especially if you were not told which was which. Most of the comments mention that they couldn't hear a big difference, and neither could the player. That is the most important part. He was specifically looking for differences and he could not really discern a difference in playability or tone!
This just shows you which luthiers really care about their customers and which care more about their bottom line and profit margins.
