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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | I have had my sweet Jewel for just 5 years now, made special for me by our dear Mother.
Changing her strings the other day, I noticed the little grooves in some of the frets, especially the ones closest to the nut. (Those of you who know me know that I don't just "cowboy chord" when I play--there are "finger marks" all up and down her neck.)
Now, my ol' lady Gertrude, made about '70 or so, didn't require having her frets dressed nearly as early on--it was after 2000, 30 years into her existence, and she got a whole lot of playing time, too, by two of us, over those years.
So...has the composition of the frets changed over time? Is 5 years a reasonable lifespan for frets?
I notice that the color of Jewel's frets is more "chromey," somehow, than Gertrude's, whose are a much duller color metal.
I am puzzled, because the way I play has evolved considerably since we were given Gertrude all those years ago...if anything, my "cowboy chords" take place much, much higher up the neck.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated--how many fret dressings can I reasonable expect to do before she needs a complete refretting?
--Karen |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 86
Location: northern virginia | I’m glad you brought this up because I have often wondered - and I mean often - why here in 2010 better big company builders aren’t using or at least offering stainless wire. Yes, there are plenty of sound-subjective and physical-fabrication reasons to use or avoid stainless, but IMO, after having read lots of luthier boards with pages and pages of debate, it confounds me why stainless isn’t can’t be found out of boutique builder, and Carvin, and I wonder if Ovation ever considered it back in the day when they first embarked on the Adamas project….it would have made sense as they were already impregnating the fret board with resin to increase its longevity. Good question and gripe - I do't know if the wire is getting actually softer now, but if I can ever afford to have a truly custom built piece, I’ll have stainless frets. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 815
Location: Colorado | I'm wondering about this, too. Less nickel in the fret wire? |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Help, hive mind, help...can anyone give me any ideas about this fret issue?
If they're dressed once, can I expect to have her refretted after that? I really don't know what to expect, so I'm hoping someone who's already dealt with this can give me some idea of what's next.
Thanks a lot,
--Karen |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Hmmm...a good question.
I had a '77 Takamine that I sold last year and the frets looked nearly new...and I play a lot.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit if manufacturers cheapened up their fret wire. Everything else on this planet has been cheapened. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | I think it depends on how deep the grooves are in the frets before dressing. One option would be to have the few damaged frets replaced now, requiring little if any reduction in height on the good frets.
IMO, if the grooves are bad enough that they are causing problems, you'll only get one dressing out of them. But I wouldn't let that stop me from getting them dressed now. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Well, different materials wear differently and how many fret dressings you get depends on how deep the grooves are.
Another option is to just play it until it's impossible to play, sounds like you got at least another 2 years to go, and then send it back to the factory for a major over haul, where they can check the neck etc.
PS On my electrics I always get a warmoth neck with stainless frets and they work great. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 86
Location: northern virginia | I wonder if the factory would re-fret using stainless, if one agreed to pay "whatever is necessary"....any members here that work in the factory that can float the idea?...I realize stainless wire is a bear to work with, but goodness, I think I'd pay the premium to have a few of my best outfitted in stainless by the factory. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | My Adamas 1680 has different frets to my other Ovations. It is a sort of goldy colour. See Dweezil's picture below - that colour is how it looks in real life. I haven't played it enough yet to make any impression on the frets themselves, so I don't know if they are harder or softer.
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | I'm not sure about regular O's but Adamas use stainless steel frets |
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Fret life...?