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Fretwire- I'm clueless...

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Ted:
I found SS made no tonal difference but just made bends a lot easier. I would recommend it, very smooth feel. I'm planning another build and that will feature SS frets.

Were the frets on your Burny worn or do you just don't like them?!

FELINEGUITARS:
Okay Sambo - I will chime in and add my own take on this
Thanks to Wez for much of the basic info...

Refrets
If you have a guitar whose frets are worn out or very uneven or simply not to your liking, then a refret is possibly in order.

There are wide number of fretwire gauges and types made worldwide
Some is American made, some is Dutch and much is far Eastern

Jim Dunlop wire has a good reputation (yes - the same company that lso makes picks and pedals and all that stuff)

Wire types
Most popular fretwire is made of "nickel silver" , although some players like the stainless (johnny Mac for one) and Warwick have long used a brass wire similar to what church bells are made of (apparently)

The stainless is  very hardwearing, and strings seem to glide over it very easily, but it does sound bright and as far as installing it goes it is much harder work , and  wears out your tools really quickly (which is one reason why we charge more for a refret with it - as we soon have to replace our costly tools after doing work with stainless.)

Wire sizes
Wire comes in a number of sizes - the main differences being in the height f the crown of the wire and also the width of the crown.
There are also a number of differences in the size of the tang bit that goes into the fret slot but that is more for the luthier to deal with rather than the player.
A taller wire will allow you to get more fingertip behind the string when bending which means that you can possibly have a lower action but still bend easily. It also reduces fingertip contact with the board which should reduce playing friction - although some player s may have to adjust technique a bit if they are used to feeling the wood under their fingertips.
Width of the wire can affect the feel and ease of using the wire. It also increases the fret's mass and can aid with sustain to a small extent.

None of this matters if the wire isnt put in well - a poorly done fret job can feel like cr@p no matter what fret size is used. A well done fret job can make even the biggest wire seem no so intrusive as the hand seems to glide over it.

I like using the biggest of wires like Dunlop 6100 or Dunlop 6000 on my own personal guitars as they allow me to play easily, and have an easy left hand technique - its what Tim likes on his guitars too.

Low/Vintage Wire - Dunlop 6230(old Fender & Martin) , Dunlop 6130 (70s Gibson)

Medium wire  Dunlop 6150, Dunlop 6155 (as used by PRS)

Medium Jumbo Dunlop 6110, Dunlop 6120

Tall Jumbo wire Dunlop 6105 (thin) Dunlop 6100 & Dunlop6000

Fret Dressing
A fretdress is the process of getting all the frets on a even level with each other by levelling out any high and low spots. Also requires the frets to be re-crowned to a smooth dome shape to give more accurate intonation and a smooth feel. This process is often required to be able to get the best out of a set-up as it eliminates the high spots that may stop you getting the low action that you wish for.
A fret dress is often required where a guitars fingerboard has srunk a little as wood doesn't always shrink in an even way and this often results in high and low spots on a guitar neck.

We use the Erlewine neck jig as this gives a lot more control over the process and also allows us to simulate string tension on the neck whilst doing a fret dress,

sambo:
Cheers guys!

Feline you pretty much nailed everything I was asking.  :)

Now to head over to your site to check some bound-fretboard 6105 re-fret prices...  :D

hunter:
I was surprised that my Page-Edwards came with really low frets - perfectly crowned and polished and rounded but quite thin and low, so in the beginning I got stuck on the rosewood when bending, but after a while I adjusted and now I love the feel. Actually I am not getting along so well with high frets, especially if they are so wide on the top (that's the crown I suppose?)

I think I have a case of the one you described, my Les Paul Special might have some bumps due to wood changes.

But it's a bound fretboard, which is why I hesitate to have it done, it will be >200 EURs.

Philly Q:

--- Quote from: FELINEGUITARS ---I like using the biggest of wires like Dunlop 6100 or Dunlop 6000 on my own personal guitars as they allow me to play easily, and have an easy left hand technique - its what Tim likes on his guitars too.
--- End quote ---

That blue (turquoise? aquamarine?) Lion of yours has the biggest frets I've ever seen in my life!  :)


--- Quote from: hunter ---I was surprised that my Page-Edwards came with really low frets - perfectly crowned and polished and rounded but quite thin and low, so in the beginning I got stuck on the rosewood when bending, but after a while I adjusted and now I love the feel.
--- End quote ---

Sounds similar to my "JB" Edwards, in fact I think all my Edwards guitars have roughly the same size fretwire.

My personal favourite is the medium jumbo on current Fenders - they always feel just right.  But I also really like the 9.5" radius, so that probably plays a part.

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