ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Non ADA Gear => Guitars => Topic started by: Systematic Chaos on March 08, 2017, 04:43:17 PM
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I once played a friends guitar from a German Luthier, Siggi Braun Fine Young Guitars, which had a mixed set of frets. Regular Jumbos (6100) on frets 1 through 11 and narrow Jumbos (6105) on frets 12 through 24.
While having the same crown height the 6100s have a wider width than the 6105s and the playability and feel, especially high up the fretboard was awesome.
Now my latest RGR620 came with a fret dress but them frets (being 21 years old) were already way down.
I found a young luthier here in Tokyo who just opened his own guitar shop and we discussed the mixing frets option and I let him refret the RGR620 with Jescar EVO fretwire (which I prefer over Stainless Steel) with the mixing frets option....I couldn't be any happier!!!!
Left of the 12th: 6100 size - Right of the 12th: 6105 size
(http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af41/MagnusBausW/2C587E68-4F16-47B1-A28B-464C3608065B_zpss3o6ebo9.jpg)
BTW, we're talking lowest possible action, a flatout straight neck (no relief) and absolutely no string buzz at all!!!
And check out that Rosewood.....almost black!!!
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That is pretty dang awesome!! I love the concept
I also love that I can see the reflections of your strings in the frets & they're VERY close to each other = low action. NOICE
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Very cool SC :thumb-up: :whoohoo!: .
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That is pretty dang awesome!! I love the concept
I also love that I can see the reflections of your strings in the frets & they're VERY close to each other = low action. NOICE
+1
I would do that on a guitar I'm working on...
It has vintage small frets...and I was thinking about 6100 or 6105...and now I have the solution: MIX THEM! :waving-banana-smiley-emoticon
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Nice SC :thumb-up:
That is what Jake E. Lee had on his signature Charvel Strat. The new one he has is an identical copy of that old guitar, but with a mahogany, (I think), neck on it.
Harley 8)
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Its beautiful! :bow:
And it's bugging me that I can't touch it :facepalm:
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Wauw great idea, never even thought of mixing fret wire.
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now I'm not saying I invented this idea :crazy:, but I discussed the exact same thing with my local luthier one time also because I found with my fat fingers it's very difficult to fret the same way on frets past the 12. It really is a good idea. Did I trust my local luthier to do this? Well lets just say I haven't bit the bullet yet! I have other issues to worry about with guitars before I start asking for custom fret jobs! I also played around with the idea of different levels of frets to create a more even feel up the neck.
Frets anger me most than any other thing with guitars, probably because that and wood work are the two areas I cannot fix or deal with myself.
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I've never heard of this before but it sure does seem like an interesting idea.
SC, may I ask about how much that cost to have done?
While I wouldn't care for having the string action quite that low, I like the possibility of a little less fat-fingering up on the higher frets.
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I've never heard of this before but it sure does seem like an interesting idea.
SC, may I ask about how much that cost to have done?
While I wouldn't care for having the string action quite that low, I like the possibility of a little less fat-fingering up on the higher frets.
Kim,
the job itself is no big deal for a luthier, just a refret with 2 different fretwires which do not need a different treatment in terms of work involved (same crown height).
I paid ~250$ for the job including all material and work. The going price for a complete refret is generally 200$~300$, depends on whether you have a neck with binding (slight upcharge) and the fret material you wanna have (Stainless Steel also commands an upcharge since it's more difficult to work with).
Most important: I'd only let a trustworthy luthier perform a refret.
If done correct, a refret (or a good fret job in general) takes the playability and feel of a guitar to another level.
I have two more RGs whose frets are way past their prime which will get the same treatment in the near future.
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Hey Magnus....can you let me know Jescar EVO models matching Dunlop 6100 and 6105?
I've a project where I would love those mixed frets...
Can you ask your luthier? Since it's not easy for me to identify the right fretwires here:
https://www.jescar.com/product-category/fretwire/wirealloy/evo-gold/
Thanks a lot in advance! :banana:
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Yup, mixing frets isn't that uncommon, though I guess most never even heard of it.
It absolutely makes a lot of sense, leaving more playable fretting space up there where it tightens up.
While talking about fret width, I never liked jumbo frets, preferring medium.
This changed with my Vintage V6 Fillmore stratcat, outfitted with hard-alloy old-school slim frets.
They do feel a touch too low for my taste, so I'd prefer medium fat frets combined with quite slim ones on the high part. German hard-alloy (SiCuO) wire, of course ;)