jbkim

Sorry krazyderek, I'm in no way involved in this commercially... I'm just passing info along to this forum because I've gotten so much for myself here. I'm not getting anything out of this. You should shoot Kevin some e-mail for definitive info. The introduction post that I made earlier was a condensation of the all the e-mails we've been shooting back and forth. Hmm... I re-read the e-mails he send me... I forgot to mention that there is a 7-10 day lead time to order PLUS the week or so to ship from HK. Here are some lines from the e-mail: I'm probably going order one set for myself to start.

Yeah, Randy had some of the tightest timing ever. His unison overdubbing of his solos are scary precise.

Whoa! This thread has nearly 300 more "views" this morning than last night! Must be a popular topic.

Hmm... I put a link in the post to the thread... but I suppose I'll edit it to duplicate it here as per krazydereks request.

Whoa! Yes, congrats! Ugh! Diapers

I'm really impressed that they responded to you so quickly

Oh, actually, the one I as refering to is really a mailing list, steinberger_world. This is where I "met" Kevin (who has the SS frets.) It's not really a build site but I get a lot of useful info there. I love headless instruments .

Heh, you could have edited it and made F1sh look like a putz

I think those Grip strengtheners will over exercise muscle you DON'T want for guitar playing, i.e., you don't want or need to press hard done when fretting. It's all about finesse... you don't want your hand "muscle-bound." Even with a guitar strung with 12's or 13's, you should try to get the most out of the least amount of effort. If you must use a device, I'd suggest a device more like this (linked from this page that list other practice devices.) Since this is a builder's forum, it should be easy enough to build something like that... but I think the design can be simplified to use ONE string (maybe the 3rd string) and weave it in a serpentine fashion, using only ONE tuner peg. 1 ________________________________@ <-- string end (__|____|____|____|____|____|__ __|____|____|____|____|____|__) (__|____|____|____|____|____|__ __|____|____|____|____|____|__) 6 (__|____|____|____|____|____|____O| <-- single tuner \____\____\____\____\____\_ | +--------- frets I think it can be made smaller, maybe 5 inches with only the fretboard portion. There still needs to be a way for it to be used single handed... maybe a strap to loop around the back of the hand... or some sort of thumb mount harness??? Hmm... I didn't like the way I explained the "finesse" above. Imagine 3-D space represented by the x,y and z axes. The up/down move (z-axis) would be the only thing that a GripMaster would exercise. There is a LOT of forward/backard (y-axis) and left/right (x-axis) movement involved in playing... the aformentioned finesse.

Blah! Here it is.

Below are some tips about SS fretting I got in some e-mail. All the words are by "The Tube Doctor" mentioned in this thread here. I just organized them here in a central location. Please peruse the above thread for the full story on availability/prices/etc. But in the meantime, here is the contact info for Kevin ("The Tube Doctor") and a table of available sizes. 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 If anyone else has a tip regarding SS fretting, please post here. Below are some pictures of the process with non-diamond files. The diamond fret levelling blocks are also high on the list of must-have tools. They work great for bevelling the fret ends. I've been using an abrasive wheel on a flexible shaft to polish the bevelled fret ends. It's time consuming, but worth the work. (my mantra) If you must hammer the frets, use a plastic face. SS is tough, not hard. It will dent easily with a brass hammer, and then you've got to sweat and swear to get the marks out and recrown the fret. I use one of those JAWS fret presses, plus a few judicious taps with a plastic face hammer to seat and level the frets. Do check them in groups of three, make sure they're level, then move on to the next three, checking against the previous trio. This will really save you time when it comes to levelling/recrowning. You'll need to do less of that onerous task, and will preserve much more of the original fret height.

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.

For future reference, you're allowed to make edits to your own posts.

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.

It's probably Freddie VanHalen, Eddie's evil twin. sorry, even lamer joke.

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?

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.

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.

Anyone still interested in SS frets? Ooooh! Shiny!

Hmm......

Eh, indeed!

That sounded pretty good. Strange thing is, your rendition reminded me of Rush... it was as if Rush covered the Satch tune . Strange indeed, I probably need sleep .

Hmm... MusicYo is being a little sneaky. Last week it said "Sale Ends 11/30/2003" now the page say "Sale Ends 12/31/2003." Well, at least it's still $59.99. Oh, and if anyone was wondering, shipping is $7.95 to NY (didn't order it though.)

At this rate, you're going to wind up with a Korean wife .

*drool*