FRETWORK TAKEN TO ANOTHER LEVEL
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Fretwork – a crucial element in making
guitars
We use a lot of time to the fretwork – perhaps
more than any sensible person would do. It takes
hours just to shape, sand and buff the dome fret
ends the way we do! And that’s just the fret
ends… 
A fret size for every taste
Some players prefer lower frets so they can feel
the fretboard under the fingertips. Others enjoy
the effortless bending of notes with higher frets.
Small Frets
Our small frets provide the familiar feel of
vintage S and T style bolt-on guitars. Not
perhaps the most popular size in modern guitars,
but for some players this is the one and only way
to go. We install the small frets sometimes to the
Mojo and VSOP custom guitars, and they are a
relatively common choice in the Steam custom
basses.
Medium Frets
These frets are very common in modern electric
guitars. They’re comfortable all-around frets that
don’t feel super low but not extra high either. In
our instruments, the medium frets are the most
popular choice in the Mojo guitars and Steam
basses
Narrow/High Frets
The narrow/high frets are generally more
common in T and S style guitars. They provide
the vintage narrow look, yet the height makes
the playability similar to jumbo size frets.
LET'S BUST A FEW FRET RELAT ED M Y T HS !
Worn down frets – bad intonation?
When accurately installed and crowned, both
narrow and wide frets are equally well in tune.
So in this regard, the fret width does not affect
to tuning. However, if frets are poorly crowned
or worn down, this has a negative effect to the
intonation of the guitar – and with wider frets
the effect can be bigger.
Jumbo frets not in tune?
The height of the frets does not theoretically
affect to playing in tune either – but your
playing technique certainly does. If you press the
strings with excessive force against the frets, the
guitar does appear to be out of tune – and with
higher frets the effect is more dramatic.
STAINLESS S T EEL FRET S - A /B BLI ND T ES T I N G
Top notch playability
Some say stainless steel frets make a guitar
sound brighter, and the playability suffers too.
We’ve done a lot of A/B blind testing on this,
and my conclusion is, that when stainless steel
frets are expertly installed, dressed and buffed,
the possible tonal difference is insignificant, and
the playability is absolutely top notch –
smoother than one can achieve with traditional
fret material. Period.
Sloppy work, sloppy result
Nevertheless, there are persistent rumours
circulating, saying “stainless steel frets are no
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THE HOLY GRA IL OF FRET ENDS
Then again,  the fretwork is such a very crucial,
essential element in a guitar. The frets need to
be just right, no matter what. So… to hell with
being sensible, I say.
A world of difference in playability
We’ve decided not to count the hours or the
minutes, but instead just keep on doing the very
DOES FRET S IZE AFFECT T ONE?
Among our guitars, the Mojo and VSOP custom
orders are quite often made with these frets.
Jumbo Frets
The jumbo frets are very common in modern
electric guitars. Big frets equal fast, comfortable
feel and precision when bending notes. The
overall playability is smooth and effortless.
Jumbo frets are a popular choice in the
Mojo, VSOP, Unicorn, Duke, Aeon and Hellcat
– oh well – in all the guitar models!
Low Jumbo Frets
This is a “hybrid” fret size with the width of our
jumbo frets and the height of our medium frets.
They’re not quite as low as what is sometimes
referred as the vintage “fretless wonder” type
frets, but the feel is similar – wide, but low
enough so you can feel the fretboard better
under your fingertips. This is a newer addition
to our choice of frets. So far it has become a
quite popular choice for the Unicorn custom
guitars. 
How about the sound, then?
Different fret sizes mainly affect the playability,
but it is justified to say that the fret size can also
affect the sound. Theoretically speaking, the
Stainless steel – an expensive scam?
Stainless steel is a modern day fret material, and
an alternative to the traditional nickel silver.
Stainless steel has slowly become the favourite of
many guitar maker masters around the world
due to the superb durability and smooth
playability it offers.
When expertly installed, stainless steel frets will
indeed last for a lifetime. This is a fact, not a
myth. Stainless steel has become over the years
the most popular choice in my guitars, too. It is
these days so popular, that we don’t offer nickel
silver frets anymore on the Guitar Creator as an
option.
Nickel silver – due date expired?
good”. Let’s address this. In my experience, the
possible problems with stainless steel frets can
be usually tracked down to poor fretwork – bad
installation, dressing and/or buffing.
Stainless steel is a very hard material, and
requires extra attention to detail – sloppy work
gives sloppy result. So… if you take your guitar
to be re-fretted with stainless steel, be absolutely
sure to have the fretwork done by an
experienced professional with good references.
And notice – ‘experienced’ refers in this case
spesifically into experience in stainless steel
fretwork.
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best we can. Skilful fretwork simply makes a
world of difference on how the guitar feels to
play.
Expert levelling of the frets is the key to enable
low and buzz free action – and mirror buffed
frets make bending notes smooth as butter.
different mass of various sized frets reflects to
the tone of a guitar, but I would say this is rather
irrelevant. Different size frets make you
however play with a different touch – and that
does have a significant effect to the tone, for
sure.
Challenge yourself!
At the end of the day, there is really no right or
wrong here. The fret size is purely a matter of
your taste.
Sometimes, it might be a good idea to challenge
yourself, though. If you’ve played with low frets
all your life, this has shaped the muscle memory
of your fretting hand in a certain way. So…
when you pick up a guitar with high frets, it
feels awkward, and your reaction may be: “No, I
don’t like this. Not for me”.
But – consider this: A few more hours of playing
that guitar, after you have started to get used to
the feel of the high frets… What if you would
find a new, fresh perspective to your playing?
What if you would realize that the higher frets
allow you to do things you couldn’t before? You
never know without giving new experiences a
fair chance!
Nickel silver is a metal alloy consisting of copper
with nickel and often zinc. The name refers to
the silvery appearance, but the material does not
contain elemental silver. Frets made of high
quality 18% nickel silver lasts for years in active
use. Eventually nickel silver frets will however
wear down and need to be redressed – and
finally at some point the guitar will need a full
refret. Even if we don’t offer nickel silver on the
Guitar Creator, we can certainly use this
material in a custom ordered guitar.
All our common fret sizes are available in both
stainless steel and nickel silver materials.
Too hard for tools?
Some of the stainless steel badmouthing seems
also to originate from manufacturers who may
have chosen not to use stainless steel because it
is slower to work with and wears down their
tools. And… while this is very true – stainless
steel does wear down tools faster cause it’s so
hard – it doesn’t have anything to do with tone
or playability of a guitar. 
All fretwire we use is RoHS compliant.
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