Do you need stainless steel frets?
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- Опубликовано: 26 янв 2021
- Stainless Steel frets are all the rage on those boutique guitars and now they are even on some of the Fender production guitars. Do you think you need them? Well Baxter and Jonathan give you the breakdown on the pros and cons and if you need to rip your frets out for the shiny new steel ones!
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. This channel is KILLING IT with amazing topics and playing, the perfect mix
Thanks so much! We appreciate you watching!
I want my frets to be made from the bones of a T1000.
Liquid metal frets ? I'd rather take a T800.
It sounds like a great idea, but that's a massive upcharge from the Custom Shop.
Stainless Steel fret mojo. I admit, though, that I want them because people say they last and you'll never need a refret. Having said that, I've never needed a refret...
A mere technicality. Don't let logic get in the way of new gear and cool mods! lol Thanks for the comment!
My 16 year old Parker’s stainless frets look factory fresh after everyday playing for all that time
My baby sitters in the 70s tended to smoke some cigarettes that didn’t smell like the ones I normally smelled...
WAY WAY MORE PEOPLE SMOKE WEED TODAY THAN IN THE 70S. were they smoking cloves?
@@stratjed don’t remember cloves in the 70s. I smoked the hell out of them in the 80s. I agree, way more people are smoking weed now.
For me it’s not just the longevity and life of the frets. They feel smoother, especially with bends and vibrato. I’ve refretted most of my gigging guitars and absolutely swear by them.
As far as the process, it’s not much different, just more time consuming and tougher on the tools. Once it’s done, it’s totally worth it.
Thanks for the great info! Always nice to hear about personal experience.
Completely agree. I don’t feel like I have to have them on all of my guitars, but my number one gigging and Recording Electric guitars, absolutely :-)
@@LucasHaneman recording ? For what reason? Tone,, or..?
@@realtruenorth Not so much specifically for recording, but in my case my number one gigging guitars are my number One recording guitars in many situations. I definitely like both types of frets, just enjoy the stainless for live use on electric guitars
@@LucasHaneman I see no disadvantages to SS, by the time they are gonna wear out my strings, I need new ones anyway. And brighter tone to me means there is less being lost. Its easy enough to turn the treble down later. I just hate when my 12th fret starts buzzing out or I get a false note.
Do I need them? No. Do I want them? Yes.
We appreciate the honesty! Jonathan is with you!!
Totally, yes. Less refrets, feel smoother, look nicer for longer. They're probably gonna last longer than the actual guitar itself will.
Yes!!
Your videos sit right between informative gear videos and opinion driven guitar podcast and I love the format. Subscribed and looking forward to more!
I never thought I needed stainless frets until I had two guitars that featured this material. I am a believer, especially for the super smooth vibrato that is possible with no string drag at all.
Killing it lately guys, really enjoying the content.
Thank you! We're glad you're digging it!
SS frets are a large part of what makes Music Man instruments feel so premium. That oil/wax treatment with SS frets makes for really wonderful playing necks. I have a Music Man JPX and a Skervesen 4AP and they feel great to play on with the SS frets. It's just a different feel from the vintage style instruments. That being said, my fav guitar is my tomatillo strat with jumbo nickel frets. I have a much stronger preference for larger frets than I do for SS. I do not like touching the fretboard!
good video never thought much about it. rock on jhon & bax keep the good videos comeing
SO, now we also need to see Baxter's Amp collection in addition to his guitar collection.
Make those the next video!
stainless steel frets seem like the newest marketing sauce to me. They're nice but I've only had to have a fret job done once on a guitar I've had for like 20 years.
Depends on the quality of the frets, and the pressure/strings you play with. I've had guitars that lasted 20 years on nickle/factory frets, and some that barely made it 5 years. I'm not super hard on frets, but some players I know will TRASH a neck very quickly. For them? It ain't sauce...it's almost necessary.
I think this is probably true for a lot of players, but like Craig said, really depends on how the individual plays. Thanks so much for the comment!
Maybe fenders "new sauce"
Everyone's been on stainless bandwagon for several years, you can get a Harley bento n for $400 with stainless frets
And they've been around since, 93, I think, on Parker guitars first (don't quote me on that)
If you read about PRS, Paul has an alloy that he selected to be harder than normal nickel silver, but not quite as hard as typical "stainless". He feels this ratio has the best overall sonic and durable properties, and says PRS almost never gets refret requests from any artist who plays a particular axe extensively. He tweaked that detail out to his own very particular standard.
@@j_freed yep, read that a while ago... helps us-nothing unless you get a prs
I love them. Yes, they do add more brightness to your tone but can easily be compensated for.
by just turning the treble down a hair on the amp?
I’ve played nickel frets forever like most haha. Then I got my first guitar with stainless steel frets a couple years ago and I’ll never go back to nickel. Like Jonathan mentioned, you need to live with SS frets for a bit to understand them and get a feel for them especially if your skeptical. For me i was an instant convert but for those that don’t want to lose that nickel tone try SS for a bit. I actually prefer the slightly extra top end the SS produces. It’s a harder metal so string vibrations will actually pass them them easier = more resonance throughout the neck. Nickel is softer than SS so technically it’ll dampen those higher overtones (“tinniness” people hear in SS compared to nickel). IMO SS makes playing more dynamic with that extra zing ones because the hard you play a string the more snap it has. The tone difference is so low though you really really have to listen to it. In a live setting it’s literally no difference.... I can’t respect if you have a light touch and don’t need SS because as long as nickel is polished well, it feels almost just as good as SS. However it’s still factually better than nickel. That’s not debatable. If you prefer the tone of nickel, that’s merely preference and not in any way objective.
Also SS wearing strings faster is bullshit. I have several guitars with SS and play them frequently over the last couple of years since having SS and there is no sign of string deterioration from SS. I actually went through strings faster on nickel frets because of how the nickel frets oxidizes and gets that Grimy feel and that would get on my fingers which would rub on the strings and tarnish them much faster. With SS that problem went away immediately using the same Brand of strings.
For those that prefer nickel. That is fine as that is your preference and I can respect that. But to say that it drastically changes that “historical” tone (delusional) or if you have some hype hate on SS you’re just in denial or have never used SS.
Jonathan here, and I think you've pushed me over the edge into stainless steel fret lust. Thanks for all the great info!!
@@CasinoGuitars hey Jonathan you’re welcome! You’re gonna love them! Btw I love watching the vids! Always so entertaining. Keep it up👍🏼
@DELORM if they’re finely polished after leveling them, then no. As long as that is the case they are silky smooth. That’s at least in my experience with the guitars I have. I’ve had SS frets on some guitars where the frets weren’t polished after leveling and they felt scratchy when bending. The good thing about nickel is that because they do wear faster you can smooth out them out over time regardless if they’re polished or not.
Fully agreed. After living with my new strat with SS frets. I am not going back to nickel! There is literally no point to a nickel fret anymore.
I got SS frets on my new strat and I notice the high E strings breaks more often when I’m doing bends vs nickel
I am also hard on frets (maybe too many years playing bluegrass on acoustic). I recently got a Suhr with stainless steel frets and have been happy with them.
Roasted maple neck and stainless frets are a nice combo. Makes me feel very modern too.
And that's just another reason that Jonathan is going to win this arm wrestling contest. He's been keeping himself in shape playing those stainless steel frets real hard.
Makes WAY more sense than that subzero treatment Gibson was trying to pass off a few years ago!!!
I love both stainless and nickel Frets. For what it’s worth, as a full-time player, I find the string life issue to be a complete myth. I don’t have acidic sweat, so I don’t usually have to change my strings as often as some people, but I am able to get 4/5 months with a set of NYXL 11/49 on my guitar with the stainless, same as my guitar with nickel/silver. I think if you are someone who goes through frets, like me and many others, stainless certainly should be a consideration. Unplugged they can be slightly brighter, but when I plug in, I sound like me on any guitar, stainless or not.
refretting a guitar shows how much love you have had with that guitar, you enjoy it's tone and it's feel why change its' DNA once you start changing frets to SS there is no going back
Thank you for Awesome Video! My 2020 Ibanez RG5000 series came with maple bird eye neck and Stainless steel frets. For the record, it does sound brighter and sometimes too slippery on the touch. The high E string may slip off the neck if you do your vibrato too ferociously. Not a bad thing in my opinion, but it does change your playing touch a bit. The advantage outweighs the little adjustment needed.
Cheers
I have one guitar with stainless frets . So far I am quite happy with them and the tone of the guitar is why I purchased it. Oh and it is an Epiphone if they can do it at an affordable price there is no reason others can't. Also I am a plumber by trade and have always gripped the frets too heavily.
I only have one guitar with stainless steel frets. My experience is that it didn’t change the tone as much as the feel. The feel is just really smooth and easy for bends. Maybe there is a little more top end, but it honestly wasn’t a huge huge difference. It was expensive, though. The luthier charged more because he said that stainless steel frets are hard on his tools, and generally more difficult to work with.
I put stainless medium on my telecaster and looooove them what a difference did the fret job myself not as hard as you think a little elbow grease though
Firstly, love the videos that you guys do! If there's a couple of RUclips guitar people who you want to buy a beer for, it's these two.
I've had three guitars refretted, two of which have had stainless steel frets and I've lived with gigged with and recorded with and one regular nickel. Positives with stainless steel: bends are slightly easier I think, the frets don't wear out at all, tone difference is pretty minimal to me. It's like the tone knob moving from 8 to 9 on your guitar. Downsides: stainless steel refrets are more expensive and not every luthier does them. It wears out your strings a little quicker but not by much.
Next refret will be stainless steel, just need to find a new luthier as my local chap is retiring.
Also, if you get shocked by a kid dropping the f bomb, wait till you go to London where we use the C word as a term of endearment.
I don't need them myself but I've seen other people chew through frets quickly. I've heard Brian May say he's never refretted Red Special.
Was not expecting a conversation about Northern Ireland hahah. When you’re next over I’ll get you a pint of the good stuff.
Strangely, his story made me want to visit. To be fair, I wanted to visit anyway
@@honkytonkinson9787 in safer times you should! The whole island is fantastic for visitors.
We're going to remember this and hold you to it!!
@@CasinoGuitars looking forward to it lads!
My first experience with stainless was on a Parker Fly that played almost too smoothly. It made me try to play things I probably shouldn't have been trying in the heat of battle haha! Over the last couple of years I've made it a point to only purchase guitars and necks that have stainless and I'm not looking back. I love 'em! I have them on (almost) all of my Fender guitars, including my number one Tele. I even have them on a Double Cut Junior build - that guitar plays like butter! I haven't noticed a huge tonal difference, definitely not something a 1/16th inch of a bump to the treble knob on my amps wouldn't fix...
Been playing for over 30 years and just got a guitar with stainless steel frets. I have to say I do like them, makes bending strings way easier. Makes my 10’s feel like 9’s
That being said I have a few really nice PRS guitars without SS and I still love them just as much. It’s just a different feel for me, which is a good thing. Each guitar makes me play a little bit differently.
Exactly! Great points.
Whenever you get stainless steel frets, I would love a video of you telling us your thoughts on them.
I have been struggling with this for a while now. My first Strat is on the 3 level and crown and is due. Think I'll wait for the new Ultraluxcalisuperfantasticmega Strat to see if I like them first.
I came up on vintage fenders, I'm used to no help lol. My fav is the EC sig w vintage frets old habits!
If it ain't broke... Thanks for the comment, Bill!
I haven't been playing long enough to have an opinion yet. That said, I am also a fan of low maintenance, so I guess I'm leaning towards stainless
i have SS frets on my main warmoth partscaster and I go back and forth with if I think they affect tone. I don't think they do, but who am I?
LMFAO
Living for the tangents you guys go down in these videos lately!
You okay Baxter? Hahaha
Yes. Why refrett a guitar multiple times when you can just do it once? Stainless Steel frets last a lifetime or close to a lifetime. Stainless steel all the way. Any difference in tone is negligible.
Absolutely. They last a lifetime, they always look new and shiny. If I build another Warmoth bass I'm going for jumbo stainless steel fret and a roasted maple, satin finish neck with an ebony fingerboard. I also want a zero fret. Warmoth doesn't do zero fret but they said they could just leave out the nut slot, so that works.
I agree! Reffretting will sometimes mess up your guitar fretboard from one luthier hand to the other.
I had an esp with them. I didn't know it had them until someone pointed it out. Literally couldn't tell the difference in the material against any of my other guitars.
Would be nice to hear a comparison between the tele ultra and ultra luxe. As far as I can tell that have the same pups but different frets.
Stainless steel frets a solution to a problem I never had.
If you like Newry you will love Longford. Landlocked and morose it is noted for its incessant rain and not much else. The decrepit state of my 11 year old Mexican teles frets made me purchase my last guitar with stainless steel frets. I love that I can go to town on those frets and don’t have ears good enough to tell if there’s a negative impact on tone.
Right on to the frets but more importantly I will put longford on my list:) I love the sound of it:)!!!
Thank you god! I can definitely hear the difference and all SS fretted guitars I picked up have this harsh bright sound to it. I've managed this long without them so I stay away.
Ss frets change tone.. for me
A LOT brighter, sweeter and the frets just help you play more cleanly, cleaner lix. I love my Umbra burst LE peace! Fender Rarities Guitar Club
SS frets definitely have a high end sizzle to them compared to nickel silver frets. I have both frets on different guitars and I like them both for different reasons. I use Pure Nickel string on my SS fretted guitars to tame the added high end a little bit.
Good tip! Thanks for commenting.
I’m gradually replacing all my frets with stainless ones. I find the frets on my Fender guitars wear out faster than any other guitar. They feel slicker and smoother, easier bends. Aren’t wearing out my Elixir Optiwebs any quicker than usual. They still last about 6 months.
Oh my family is from Newry! My Great Grandfather came to America from there. There is still a ton of my family in town, the Donaghys.
I just had one of my Fender Strats taken in for set up. I got the guitar brand new about 15 years ago straight from the box and just never had it properly looked over or set up. I got it back today and the guy (not sure if he's an actual luthier but I'm assuming not) showed me a before and after video of the frets being polished. It's probably in my head, but the first fret or two seem really low to me now and don't seem to play as well (slight buzzing when barring chords, etc). Does polishing the frets involve sanding them? If so is it possible they were overdone? Probably "noob" questions, but I never bothered learning maintenance of the guitars like I should have, just have enjoyed playing them and trusting others to do the rest.
I have them on my Warmoth Strat and I love them
Love stainless steel frets. My Anderson drop top is awesome.
I think stainless steel frets makes the most amount of sense because they are much harder to replace frets so you want them to last longer
The strings are always going to be a wear out item whereas the frets being harder should always be better for friction reduction which actually would prolong wear on the strings
Two softer materials will wear on each other however a harder surface and a softer material will have less friction and last longer
They make a bigger difference on acoustics than I expected... though overall, it's slight to my ears
Thanks Casino. ⚓️
I'm a bassist, and I recently shelled out for that Tony Franklin signature model because I love that matching lake placid blue headstock. So it's safe to say i don't NEED stainless steel frets, though I do get why they are cool even if I'd consider them to be second cool like my matching headstock.
I've been playing for 50yrs. I've never needed stainless frets. I have some guitars with them but I can't tell one from the other when it comes to tonal difference. All the guitars that I've built (20+) have nickel/silver frets because I can easily replace them(if needed) and they're easier on my tools.
The main benefit and also the potential drawback of the stainless steel frets would be that the feel will stay consistent forever. This will keep your favorite guitar more betterer for longer, but it will also keep an ok guitar from breaking in...
“Hard probably”. Lol. Totally agree. I’m torn between I love my Collings so much that I want to change frets once and be done with it. I worry about having to change them too many times in my life. And with no thoughts of selling it, and the fact that I play guitar like I’m in a fight with it... might be the way to go.
Now that I finally have had a guitar with stainless frets for about a year, I just really prefer the smoother feel of them. Very....silky is the term that comes to mind.
I’ve never had them but they make sense. Prs doesn’t use them but Paul also uses hard fret wire and super glues them in and adds his wizardry. Great vid
Zero frets thoughts?
my Chapman and a warmoth tele both have stainless and I like them a lot. However my PRS guitars don't and that's fine too, but i have to polish those up every string change. It's more of a convenience thing if anything.
Does string gauge play a role in how often frets need changed, or is it simply playing style?
I’d say it’s time + gauge + style.
Since I've got a blacksmith's grip my frets, especially on Fenders for some reason, wear out within say 2 years of my usual amount (a lot) of paying to the point where I don't want to play that particular guitar as much which is a shame to me. Instead of regularly having fretwork done I'd rather have ss frets on all my guitars at some point so I don't have to worry about it any more and strings become 'the only wearing parts' of the guitar. As for the alleged increase of brightness...better brighter than darker, I'm sure one of the tone knobs of either guitar, pedals or amp will compensate the tonal differences in a satisfactory way for me. Ace video as per usual guys, keep up the great work!
Hi Guys....had my custom shop strat (1998 I think) refretted abouty 10 years ago with stainless steel and yes they make the sound a lot brighter....initially. Now maybe because I've just grown used to the sound or the fact that my Helix can compensate for just about anything, I am totally happy with them they were fitted by a highly reputable luthier shop in Bristol UK, Tom Waghorn who did a beautiful job that will probably outlive me !!!
how i push down on the strings effects the tone...i use heavy picks to bang the tone out of my .11 gauge strings when i need it.then your fretting fingers got to hang on tight for the ride...wears out frets
I have one guitar with, and one without. I like the feel of bending on stainless steel frets (so smooth!) but on the downside the fret ends don't develop that played-in feel, whereas on the nickel frets the ends have naturally rounded in just a few years of playing time and feel great for moving up and down the neck.
Stainless steel feels different. I don't know if it changes the tone, but I know it changes the feeling, which can affect your playing, which can change the tone.
I own a Gibson Les Paul and a Suhr Classic T. I played the les paul exclusively for 14 years. Then I was hit by the bug and started looking for something different. After three years of searching and testing other guitar brands and models, I settled on the Suhr.
It took a few hours to get used to. But, oh man, once I got the hang of it, it changed my guitar playing for the better.
Personally, I like the Suhr better with its stainless steel frets. With Suhr's build quality, I shouldn't have to worry about changing it, ever. Or at least, that's the idea behind them. But if there's ever a time that these frets needs to be changed? I know it's not going to be an easy fretwork job.
Is it possible to Plek a guitar with stainless steel frets?
I’ve been playing with stainless frets since before the cool kids were doing it. I had my number one strat (1980’s MIJ) re-fretted with stainless back in ‘03-04ish. I have played the finish off the fretboard since then, and the frets still look brand new. As for the sound? I never really noticed an appreciable difference. What I did notice however, is how they feel. I have always likened them to “playing on ice”.
Are they hard on the strings? Again, I’ve noticed no difference. To be fair, I do change the strings often on that guitar, because I break them often. (At the bridge due to dive bombing)
It depends. Nickel silver on my Les Paul but SS on my “Superstrat”. There is a (very) slight difference in feel and tone.
Go get them, they're great!
I use EVO gold which is somewhat less hard than SS but much harder than NS...I love it...feels great, super smooth...is there a sound difference? yes, but only a little more high end "zing" and I really don't hear it thru an amp...I find that my strings last LONGER since the frets don't grind like standard wire, less metal getting chewed up...
I have guitars with them and without them. I'm not sure I could tell the difference if I couldn't see the guitar. What about EVO frets? They are supposed to be a good middle ground between standard and stainless.
You guys know I love you
No doubt about it, yes. I gigged heavily on one guitar with stainless steel frets for two or three years. You can hardly tell they have been played. Other guitars with regular frets have divits in them unless than a year.
I feel like if your a hard player then its a must. The people who need them absolutely wear their strings out faster no matter what frets there are. As far as sound goes, it can affect it, again depends on the player though. I offer them but usually the customer doesn't go with them unless it fits them
I only need them if I don't want a new neck every two years, or a refret. I'm a little afraid to find out what it'll cost to get a crown and polish on my 20 year old guitar with steel frets
We'd be interested in knowing what that costs too! Hopefully not too much. Thanks for commenting!
I had SS frets done on one of my guitars. They are easier to vibrato and feel a bit slippery. You can feel the difference.
Stainless steel frets is so 2020. I’m on to depleted uranium chromium/titanium blend. Game changer. Get some! 👊🏻
The frets in my Gretsch 6120 were dead dead dead. I needed a full re-fret and I decided to go with medium stainless steel. It was the right decision.
I hope to have some installed in my White Falcon next.
Anyone tried Jescar Gold? I have them installed on my Taylor 210e (the on in the pic) and I no longer have to have it refretted, it's not bright at all, it's rather warm, even more with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphore Bronze.
(Yes I chew on frets as well as I used to gig bars with a looper for solos and stuff).
Considering putting these, maybe even Jumbo on my Tokai Les Paul and Strat. And my self amplified Electrophonic Innovations.
I have stainless steel on most of my electrics (3 PRS, 2 Les Pauls, Strat, Tele and 335....and a Suhr that came with them]. They do pit the strings over the frets quicker but I change them often enough that this is zero problem. Probably too hard for acoustics (bronze strings left on far longer].
Something to consider is that having a refret of any description will make strings sound brighter than worn out frets.
I had my R9 done while the frets were like new. I had the stainless plekked to the identical height (already being the same width]. Very little tonal difference in this case.
I like them, feels smoother. I hear no difference in tone though.
Why did they ruin the luxe with a painted head stock! Ugh!
1- to charge more$$$
2-to make it seem like they came up with something new ( they didnt)
3-to charge more $$$
@Rutger Ockhorst ✋
i´m just mad at the price, but i like the teles , to me only a tele or a jaguar should have painted head stocks
@@mougabo agreed on the price. you can get aharley benton with stainless steel frets for $400... so whats fenders excuse?
I love stainless steel frets. Any new guitar I get has to have them. I didn't think it was possible to not wear down frets.
We hear you...I still will stick with the inferior ones but that's just cause Im a bit silly:)
Id always thought If you're putting enough wear on frets to justify a refret then possibly you could benefit from SS frets. Most people will never wear through the first set of frets, let alone two.
I guess my gristletwang is just too strong. Lol. But you're right, a lot of folks never need a refret.
@@CasinoGuitars Your hands are basically gorilla hands. Puttin some stress on the strings for sure 💯
I love SS fret wire. For me it's the style of music that makes a difference. On my Taylor acoustic playing bluegrass or flatpicking, then I really wear out the frets. On my electrics even nickel frets last a long time. I have 2 strats that have SS frets and the feel is great. Now on my mandolin I wear through the frets in 16 months, so I need the frets filed every 1 1/2 years. I finally got tired of it and installed EVO Gold on all my mandolins. Now I can go 6 years without a fret dressing. EVO Gold is much harder than nickel, but not as hard as the SS. I might try it on the next guitar that needs a fret job.
I have an 80’s RG that I got cheap, but needs a re-fret. I asked a local tech/luthier and he was not excited about using stainless to re-fret. Works been too slow to have it done, but I still want the stainless. I think I would go with the EVO Gold frets depending on the finish and hardware of a guitar too. But not on this ibanez.
Funny I'm from Dundalk just down the road from Newry!😊
I love the Stainless steel frets on my Parker Fly
SS Frets on an ebony board are just awesome.
I only own 1 guitar with SS frets. I am having them replaced with nickel. I think it all depends on the guitar. I agree they do feel smooth and vibrato nicely.
I've never needed a refret, but on my builds I use as because I have caustic sweat. A lot of my hardware corrodes quickly. I often have to polish the frets at every string change. Talking like green frets on the regular.
I'm in the "Do I need them? No. Do I want them. Yes" camp. I've got 2 guitars with stainless steel frets and I will say they stay "polished" much better than nickel. So they do have a nice feel. Hard to tell if much of a tone difference and I'm not refretting a guitar to find out. Besides, I try to have enough guitars on hand that there's no way I could wear out the frets in my lifetime! (though my first guitar, an '82 squire strat with the thinner frets, is showing some fret divits. Could probably use a crown/level but nah. I'm used to it!)
Yes, stainless steel frets have more presence in the very very top of the frequency spectrum for guitars but it’s more noticeable acoustically and you’d only really notice comparing with a nickel frettet geeeetar.
Also, if you have some bad ish frezbuzz, it will have this tadditional top end kling with is really annoying haha. But it’s not so bad that I would ever consider going back to nickel 🤠
The last thing I need are frets that wear down my strings even faster. The only guitar I’ve ever needed referred is a 1998 Strat bought brand new 25 years ago and played very frequently. Now that I have to refret it, I’m going stainless steel. Yes, I know the refret is worth more than the guitar but it’s my first guitar and I know I’m keeping it as long as I live
Thank you for the Red Green cameo! "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!"
I chew out frets really quickly too. And that fear of wearing out frets quickly is angst inducing. However, I've had two refrets done. If the frets are polished well enough, they don't chew strings at all. I've literally had the same set on a guitar for over a year and they still sound amazing. One big factor here though might also be that I never sweat when I play and my guitar usually look super clean after many years. SS frets won't change the tone any more than what you can easily compensate for. They are simply superior in every single way!
can you guys pleeeeeease talk about jumbo frets vs normal ones
i bought a parts caster made from Warmoth parts and i really like the stainless frets. I play .11s and have a heavy hand. I get pits in regular frets after a few months. The warmoth shows no fretwear after 6 years of almost daily play. Its not a deal breaker but i will take them when available.
I'm saving up for Beskar frets. This is the way.