rhoads56 Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 ouch.... cross pacific shipping..... i'm sure that'll be "cheap" Well, when you consider our dollar is worth 60c to you guys, its pretty good. And, you already pay for round the world shipping on a lot of your guitar hardware anyway, most of the stuff isnt made in the USA/Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Perhaps a couple years ago I could have got something like a floyd cheaper over here, when 1 US dollar was worth 1.23 German marks, but, the value of the US Dollar is now lower in value, PLUS, Germany converted to the euro, and when they did, it seems they made EVERYTHING more expensive. So, I don't know what a Floyd is going for here. I have a couple catalogs for the most popular German guitar parts places and there's no real floyd in them. Just Shaller (who would of thought ?) and Gotoh. A chrome Shaller Floyd--169 euro Also, when I was still back home, I thought I'd be able to get some cheap nut files here, since those Grobet one's that Stew-mac sells are from Holland or somewhere like that, I figure they'd be much cheaper here, but they cost 14 euro each. A set of Sperzels are 85 euro. Sperzel's are made in Germany , right ? Well, a couple hours ago I was driving being some truck that said Sperzel on the back, but I think it was a construction company. But I assume it's a German name cuz of that. All the German luthiers I have contacted here, tend to buy mostly from StewMac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 did you ever end up hearing from the SS fret wire guy rhoads? i'm still wanting to buy a couple meters of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 Yep, i have cut about eight necks for him, and have seen the samples. He is back home now (not in Australia), but i expect to see him again soon. He was bringing some fret wire and sample boards (mini guitar neck, with 8 different fret sizes) for me. No $$$ yet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 Anyone still interested in SS frets? Ooooh! Shiny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 I got an estimate from my supplier last week. Minimum order would be enough for 1500 guitars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 For the right price...I am interested! What would th equivilant dunlop fretsize be? 600,6100,6105???? Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 For the right price...I am interested! What would th equivilant dunlop fretsize be? 600,6100,6105???? Ok, I got some more info. It's about $45 for two 25.250" lengths (enough for one guitar)... plus shipping. For ten lengths, $200. Price is much higher than standard frets but you'll probably never have to refret after installing these puppies. The price is also much less than Hefner's. Here is a listing of available sizes, you can compare to the Dunlop chart equivelants. Crown Width Crown Height Tang width 0.094 0.051 0.024 0.106 0.039 0.024 0.110 0.055 0.024 0.083 0.037 0.020 0.105 0.035 0.020 0.090 0.055 0.020 0.109 0.055 0.020 0.105 0.045 0.020 0.090 0.045 0.020 I'm waiting for the OK from my contact to release his name and contact info before I post. I'm not in any way connected to this commercially... I just "met" him in another guitar forum. He also gave me a lot of useful tips for working with SS frets. I'll post these too if anyone's interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 ouch...... considering 35$ gets you enough normal wire to do a couple of guitars.. either way i'd still like to try out a set of #1, 3, & 6 according to your chart. but feel free to haggle the guy for better prices so are you going to do it or not rhoads? work out some prices for individual and bulk packs... ya never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsera Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 I just e-mailed dunlop about this maybe they can help out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 ouch...... considering 35$ gets you enough normal wire to do a couple of guitars.. either way i'd still like to try out a set of #1, 3, & 6 according to your chart. but feel free to haggle the guy for better prices so are you going to do it or not rhoads? work out some prices for individual and bulk packs... ya never know. Ouch is right! Using your comparison, SS vs. regular is about 5 times more expensive. Also figure in that SS'll probably last as long as 5 sets of regular nickel/silver frets... now factor in time and effort for one refret vs. 5 refrets. Of course, this is just hypothetical comparision... real world yada, yada... mileage may vary. SS'll probably be best for vintage instruments that are played (not displayed) where repeated refretting'll probably chip out the old fretboard. Well, anyway, I got the OK to post my contact's info but I've got a fuggin' raging headache right now. I'll do a proper write up with links to the guy, etc... later tonight. Ugh, gotta sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 I just e-mailed dunlop about this maybe they can help out I wondered why Dunlop didn't carry SS frets... but then if they become very popular, in essence, you'd kill off their tradition fret business, yes/no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 Rumour has it that dulop DOES carry SS frets As the story goes, Tom Anderson & Warmoth put up the money for the machinery, tools, etc. that were needed for Dunlop to do SS frets In turn, Dunlop promissed them exclusivity for a period of time Or so the story goes... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 i head the ss frets SUCK! supposedly they're incredibly bright. and piss you off to the point of no return. THey eat threw strings. bah. dont listen to me. ed roman really hates em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 so are you going to do it or not rhoads? work out some prices for individual and bulk packs... ya never know. I don think so. The outlay is too large to try and cover by reselling on to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 i head the ss frets SUCK! supposedly they're incredibly bright. and piss you off to the point of no return. THey eat threw strings. bah. dont listen to me. ed roman really hates em. ed roman hates alot of things.people who hate are not worth listening to imo. how exactly would stainless steel chew through strings?the friction is less on ss,not more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 There is less friction when bending, which means less wear to both string and fret. The frets are harder, so the frets wear the strings, rather than the other way around. But, that would only worry you, if you change your strings only once a month, and played for more than two hours a day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tube Doctor Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Like many other guitar folks on the net, I have mixed emotions when it comes to Ed Roman. He's really been a flame magnet, but on the other hand, when I was really stuck a couple of years back, trying to find a transposing pin for a Steinberger bridge, his site was the only place I could fill the order. I read his rant regarding SS frets, and would like to offer the following observations; -his comments regarding the tone of a standard Parker guitar seem to indicate his belief that the bright, cold tone he finds in the Fly is due to SS being used for the frets. Yet in another section of his site, he claims to have cured the Fly's tonal inadequacies by replacing the pickups with some non-standard items, either Dimarzio or Duncan, I don't recall exactly which. -ER has a long list of observations on tone wood, much of it insightful, and nearly all of which I find myself in agreement with. Yet Parker is known for using a composite wrap around a wooden core for their neck construction, which seems to contradict ER's belief that Korina is the ultimate tone wood. With these valid observations made regarding the constituent components of a guitar's construction, I find myself doubting that an otherwise good sounding guitar could have it's tone so negatively affected by harder, denser fretwire. Could a guitarist with a good ear for tone tell the difference between the open strings strummed on a guitar fretted with nickel/copper, compared to one fretted with SS? I consider myself to have a fairly decent set of ears when it comes to tonal evaluation, and I cannot and have not heard these negative effects attributed to SS fretwire on any of the numerous instruments I've refretted. My customers are really pleased because their setup remains unaffected; the crowns on SS remain intact, preserving intonation and making bent notes as effortless after a year as they were when the frets were first polished. The grunge that so affects frets here in Hong Kong (really high humidity) is eliminated. Strings do indeed wear out, though not as dramatically fast as some people might believe. The price of the fretwire is higher, but in the end, having to refret less frequently will not only save you money (fretwire is a minor cost consideration when doing a refret, the labor is major) but will spare your guitar from the wear of having the fingerboard and fret slots worked over so frequently. Let's say, for example, that you have your guitar refretted every other year. In 10 years time, that would amount to approximately $3000.00 U.S. dollars. Or you do in with SS, pay a premium for the fretwire, and proceed to save well over $2500.00. Gee, you could buy one of the many tasty looking guitars on ER's site with that kind of savings! My sermon is finished. Thanks for your indulgence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 you must type well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 you must type well Yes he does! Ok, I see that Kevin has made an appearance. Welcome The Tube Doctor. I invited him to join us at our favorite forum. Kevin is a guitar tech based in Hong Kong. I met him in another forum where he mentioned that he does SS refrets, particularly for Tommy Chung (not to be confused with Tommy Chong ) Another Asian guitarist! how cool is that?! You can see some of Kevin's work in the "My Guitars and Gear" link on that page and also here. Please note that Kevin is not a vendor but a busy guitar tech. He kindly offered to send me some SS frets. Since there seemed to be some interest here in this thread, I asked if I could post his info here. He said he'd be happy to help out his fellow guitar geeks. His contact info is here. Don't be scared by some of those prices... they are in HK$ (7.75:1 US$ ) He spends more time working on guitars than at a computer so please direct only serious inquiries to him. The cost of the SS frets are that high, well, because they are that difficult to get (as this thread shows.) The prices are high since he buys in small quantities (see rhoads56's post about his supplier offering only in big lots... enough for 1500 guitars.) If the demand for this fretwire increases, then he'll be able to negotiate a better price. He only stockpiles a stash for his own shop use so the price Kevin quotes factors in the time and effort he and his wife have to expend (international phone calls, wire transfers and what not) for each order that they'll have to process individually. Once again, if there is great demand, expect prices to drop. Oh! He's also trying to get his supplier to manufacture other useful guitar parts from SS. "How about replacing that cruddy standard Strat trem block with one made from 304 stainless? Or a TOM/STP for the Les Paul players? Stainless is good, but it's seldom used in such applications because the bean counters at the big companies just want to make and sell MORE, not necessarily better products." Cool, eh? If anyone is interested, I could collect and concatonate all the SS fretting tips Kevin e-mailed me and I will post them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkle Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 which seems to contradict ER's belief that Korina is the ultimate tone wood. I noticed that in his rant about how korina is the only worthwhile wood, he says that korina is the same as african mahogany. I don't believe this is true. Korina is African, and is in the mahogany family, but it is not the same wood. Ed roman is successful for the same reason that Jerry Springer and Howard Stern are. People love controversy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 If anyone is interested, I could collect and concatonate all the SS fretting tips Kevin e-mailed me and I will post them here. it'd be nice to know what things we should expect to do differently when fretting with SS post away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 If anyone is interested, I could collect and concatonate all the SS fretting tips Kevin e-mailed me and I will post them here. it'd be nice to know what things we should expect to do differently when fretting with SS post away Ok. I'll start a whole new thread so it's at the beginning and not buried on page 4 of this one ... but first some food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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