Decreasing fret size up the neck.

[Mark Reccord]

Here's an interesting concept. My best buddy is head tech/luthier at a local guitar shop. He recently did a refret on a Fender JP-90. The owner of the bass wanted him to put jumbos in for the first 7 or 8, then drop down to mediums up to the 14th or so and then drop down another size for the highest frets. I can't remember what frets he made the changes at, but you get the idea. It seems like a cool idea to me. You get the big, meaty frets for lower notes and the easier fingering and of the little guys up high. Have any of you had this done or heard of it? Do any manufacturers do it? Are the advantages real or just preceived? I'd like to know what y'all think. I'm having a refret done soon (for the cost of the fretwire, one of the advantages of being buddies with the tech guy!)and I'm considering this. What's the scoop?

[Angus]

Billy Sheehan did the same thing to his Yamaha, and all of the production Yamaha Attitude-Plus's, I believe. Works great, as long as the frets are of the same height. Great bass, too.

The reason why most do it is because you can get more precise intonation up in the higher register (which is harder to notice down lower), and you can still get all the grind from the frets in the lower register. Not to mention, tall narrow frets are easier to play high up on the neck.

[Mark Reccord]

Cool, that's exactly what I thought, too. I just hadn't heard of anyone doing it before. Makes sense.

[dancehallclasher]

wow, that IS a good idea!

[BehindTheMoon]

You want to be very careful about which part of the fret is the precise spot which the string takes off from, because that might change with different guage/width fretwire.

Take a stroll over to the MIMF and ask the people there if you have any questions. The combined luthiery experience there is quite humbling, plus they are incredibly nice.