Fender Strat vintage frets

[mixmkr]

I have had this new Roland Ready Strat for awhile now (MiM standard + 13 pin) and am starting to appreciate the little tiny 'vintage' frets.

wadda ya'll think of these frets VS med jumbos?? Actually seems that my first position chords are easier to stay in tune (even after playing for 35+ years )
I had to raise the action up a tad, but that is ok. I don't really get into "speed-demon" low action anywazz.

btw, the neck is a 9.5 radius and rosewood too. I bought my Amer Standard new in 1988, and got kinda used to it, but this Mexi thing is pretty nice, actually. Pickups are more for rock and roll, but I bought it for the Roland pickup.

kinda weird, that thinking about it, I am down to only owning two Strats, but I bought them both new! 1988 and 2005.

 

[WERNER 1]

Hmm...

That would seem to be more of a personal preference question to me, and my answer would be "Med-Jumbo".

I had a Mexi for a while, and I really liked it alot.....I think it was around a 92 or something, but when I went out to by another one I couldn't find one I like so I ended up getting the 50th Ann. Deluxe which has Med-Jumbo's on it. To me this fret wire makes string bends much easier and controlable than the vintage stuff. Of course a few of my other guitars use the same wire so it just may be that I'm more "familiar" with that feel.

Rick

 

[Hard2Hear]

The MIM quality has gotten better and better over the years. They went from guitars that were ok for new players to guitars that alot of pros are taking on tour with them. Players like jimmie Vauhgan and Henry Garza have taken the MIMs to a new level.

I like big fat frets. I just don't like small frets. Its just a personal feel thing. My favorite frets are the low extra wide frets on the 70's Gibsons. I have a Strat with small frets, but I'm just biding time until I get it refretted with bass frets.

H2H

 

[metalhead28]

I know a lot of people prefer small frets for their superior intonation. Especially after you factor in some wear. On the jumbo frets I have played for years, once you get 'em worn down pretty good, the intonation is terrible due to that wide contact area. I like small frets for that reason, but I hate them for lead playing and string bending. I recently made the switch to tall and narrow stainless steel frets on my #1 guitar which now has the best of both worlds!

 

[Light]

Small frets don't have better intonation, unless you squeeze really hard. They they can act as a stop against your pushing the string out of tune.

Mostly, it is a feel thing. Most of the better guitarist we do work for like bigger frets, and (though I don't fall into that catagory) I like them pretty big too. My favorite frets are Dunlop 6150's, which are quite big, though far from being the biggist out there (which would be 6100's). And of course, just to put the lie to the whole thing, the guy who is probably THE best guitarist I know likes the tiny little Martin style wire. Go figure.

Tall frets are (in general) faster, and wide frets tend to be easier to slide on (look at those fretless wonder frets some time, they are quite wide).

And of course, none of it really matters if they are not dressed well.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[metalhead28]

When I mentioned better intonation with small frets, I was speaking about the actual contact point of the string. On wide/jumbo frets, especially ones without an excellent crown, the string is often not contacting the fret just at the center as is intended, but across some of it's width which terminates the string to one side of the fret, leading to poor intonation. On smaller or narrower frets this is not as much of a problem. I know I have experienced this myself and have heard of certain players prefering small frets in the studio for that very reason.

 

[Light]

When I mentioned better intonation with small frets, I was speaking about the actual contact point of the string. On wide/jumbo frets, especially ones without an excellent crown, the string is often not contacting the fret just at the center as is intended, but across some of it's width which terminates the string to one side of the fret, leading to poor intonation. On smaller or narrower frets this is not as much of a problem. I know I have experienced this myself and have heard of certain players prefering small frets in the studio for that very reason.

Intonation is a problem with ANY frets which have significant wear. If the fret's crown is in good shape, that is not an issue. The bigger problem I have seen people have with big frets is that they are used to their fingers touching the fingerboard, so they push harder than they need to and end up bending the string when they are just trying to play.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[bongolation]

the little tiny 'vintage' frets.

wadda ya'll think of these frets VS med jumbos??

They have a much shorter life. That's decisive for me.

Less bearing surface, more wear.

People will say this isn't so, but they're simply wrong. Think about it.

 

[Light]

They have a much shorter life. That's decisive for me.

Less bearing surface, more wear.

People will say this isn't so, but they're simply wrong. Think about it.

No, they don't usually wear faster, but you get fewer fret dresses out of smaller frets, and that is a fact. If the frets are dressed right, the contact point is just that, a point. The size of the fret makes no significant difference in the size of the contact point.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[bongolation]

No, they don't usually wear faster, but you get fewer fret dresses out of smaller frets, and that is a fact.

That translates -- quite clearly -- to a much earlier refret, which is what I said.

 

[metalhead28]

Yes sir, Mr. Light, you are 100% correct and I realize now that I should not answer a post based on my rediculous fabrictated knowledge, but should leave it to the experts who know the real answers... .... Come on dude, we are just trying to help. I really don't think anybody is making shit up here to sound cool. I respond to a post if I feel I have experienced something relevant to the question, which I feel that I have. I have some guitars with small frets and some guitars with frickin' huge frets. I know that with a decent amount of wear on all of them the small frets sound more in tune than the jumbos. I can physically see the difference as well. I obviously felt that this might be the exact thing that mixmkr was experiencing when he said that chords sounded more "in tune" with those small frets.
Please note that I am not discounting any of your statements, I'm just trying to convince you to lighten up! jeeeez....

If anybody ever tells someone that sawing notches into the back of their neck will yeild a better tone, then by all means, come in there and save the day, brother!

 

[jimistone]

I like the medium jumbos. I had my vintage strat refretted with them a couple of years ago and love it.