easy on fret rounds

[bring the noise]

What rounds would you all recommend that have good tone and are easy on frets?

[LuckyBassPlayer]

D'Addario Nickel plated strings. They are pretty smooth strings, won't go dead on you for a pretty long time, and have good clarity, without sounding overly trebly.. I use them on my basses all the time. And they are cheap.

[tylerwylie]

Good tone is subjective. DR's claim to be easy on frets, and I've heard that Rotosounds chew them up but fret maintenance is something that should be expected over the lifetime of a bass.

I like DR's, they aren't bad on the frets yet they've got a great stainless steel set, otherwise most nickel rounds should be relatively softer on the frets, with stainless steel being a bit harder.

[TheMutt]

Tone is very subjective, but I have found that nickel-plated rounds are much kinder to your frets (which are also typically nickel).

Personally, I have been using DR Sunbeams, which are bright nickel rounds. Sound great on my SR5 and eventually mellow out into a set that I still love 6-10 months down the line.

[251]

Dean Markley FretMaster strings are burnished over the frets. They sound hi-fi & feel smoother.

FWIW, nothing will prevent fret wear if you bend particular notes or choke down hard on the neck. Plus, some fret material is softer & will wear faster. I leave it to the builders on TB to fill in the details.

[bring the noise]

What can be done to repair the frets when worn?

[heavyfunkmachin]

if they are not too worn down, just crown them (like sharping the fret) and if they are worn out, replace them.

I use rotos solo bass strings they are groundwound: like abut worn roundwound: less string noise and easier on the frets

[TheMutt]

Originally Posted by bring the noise

What can be done to repair the frets when worn?

If you're handy with a fret file and know how to do the work... you'd need to re-level the frets (using a sanding block), sand down the fret falloff (angled sanding on the last 1/3 or so of the neck), re-crown each of them (shape them back to rounded), and then polish them up with 0000ga steel wool or similar.
Here's something quick & dirty (regarding the search performed) I found via the web.

However, I'd just as soon leave it to the professionals to do that.

Also, if your frets are worn down to the point that they need to be replaced, you have three options:
1. replace the frets with new silver/nickel fretwire (the cheapest option)
2. replace the frets with stainless steel fretwire (more durable, but still will eventually wear down)
3. convert the neck to fretless (by and large the most expensive)

[edbass]

Originally Posted by tylerwylie

Good tone is subjective. DR's claim to be easy on frets, and I've heard that Rotosounds chew them up but fret maintenance is something that should be expected over the lifetime of a bass.

+1
I've heard the stories about fret wear, but it's not like it's a BAD thing (nothing to "fret" about...); it's like changing the oil on your car.
I've used round Rotosounds, generally stainless, on the majority of my basses for almost 40 years, and I'm pretty heavy handed.
A routine maintenance fret dress a couple times a year or so, and I've only needed new frets a couple of times total over all those years of hard gigging/playing.

I'd say it's far more important to get the strings that sound the best to you rather than worry about which strings are "easy on fret rounds".

[bring the noise]

Cool, thanks to all! Yeah I think its probably not that big of a deal. You just always hear rounds wear your frets.

[bring the noise]

Are the frets on newer basses stainless or nickel? I guess that could make a big difference.

[john grey]

TTBoMK the majority of commercial fret wire contains percentages of nickel at approx. 13-18%. Generally speaking this makes the wire pretty darn resilient to denting unless severely abused over the course of time. In fact I have only seen two situations with real dents on the last two frets and in those cases were quite old instruments. To achieve a working "slap" the actual impact (albeit possibly harder than simple finger compression) is NOT abusive. Actual finger compression wear would take several years wherein one would see the dent begin & IMO this would exist through continual repetition of one particular fingering in an unusual exacting fingering. It's just not that common in most situations.

However, there ARE certain instruments with custom fret wire that might be substantially soft. These may not be common. Custom fret wire could exist as particularly thin and tall: again not common.
If the instrument is not being abused, the likelihood of frets denting from round-wound strings is almost insignificant. The frets are being contacted all over the fret-board. Even in cases where the contact is made continually in a few positions (Slap), the actual impact does not need to be as sever enough to dent the fret - to achieve a great sound.

[dbhokie]

Making a bass fretless btw is the cheapest avenue if you are doing it yourself. Check out the How To section and the Hack Defret thread.

[Bob C]

All roundwounds will wear frets faster than flatwounds. Nickel strings will wear frets slower than stainless steel strings. Nickel-silver frets will wear faster than stainless steel.

BUT the wear is gradual and does not become noticeable until after a few years of steady playing. I've only used nickel plated roundwounds on my main bass almost exclusively since I bought it ten years ago. It has nickel-silver frets. For the last few years, I've used Ken Smith Bass Blasters. My frets show very little wear.

As was mentioned, a pro can dress frets to make all of them even again. I wouldn't do it myself. Well worn frets need to be replaced - all at once. It's pretty expensive.

You can do preventive maintenance by buying a bass with stainless steel frets, if you feel the need or desire.

[bring the noise]

Thanks to everyone! I am learning a lot on this site.

[KingRazor]

I'm amazed by how many people are concerned about fret-ware on this site. If your frets last less than 10 years, even with SS strings, I'd be suspect about the quality of the fret material...

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

I'm amazed by how many people are concerned about fret-ware on this site. If your frets last less than 10 years, even with SS strings, I'd be suspect about the quality of the fret material...

Some people can wear out frets within months no matter what they use. I think it has almost as much to do with how you play as the strings you use, although I sure did wear them out faster when I was using Rotosound Swing Bass strings.

[KingRazor]

Wow. My church owns a pair of basses that are each at least 10 years old. Never had any fretwork done and the frets look/feel just fine.

I guess they don't get played every single day though.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Nickel strings have been mentioned... But check out Pressure Wound / Compression Wound strings.

The outer wrapping is compressed to more of an Oval shape. This takes a lot of the harshness out of the physical string (a more rounded / smooth surface making contact with the fret). Plus, the more oval shaped outer windings reduce sliding finger noise roundwounds are notorious for.

I've used Compression wound strings on my Fretless and they are very very easy on the finger board, and it is the main string I use on my P-Bass.

[Bob C]

Yeah, pressure/compression wounds are a good compromise. I tried some GHS Pressurewounds, which sounded good and had even string to string tension/feel. But they FELT more like flatwounds than round, and that wasn't my style.