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Stainless steel frets

#4
I don't see how frets could alter the sound of a bass. Tone doesn't come from frets ...

but back on topic, SSF are very hard and won't need a fret dressing as soon as nickle frets if it ever really needs it.
 
#6
ghoulbug said:
You lost me right there. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

Tone comes from the body woods, strings, electronics, cable length, pickups, bridge, tuners, fretboard wood, neck wood, number of bolts used (if a bolt-on neck), effects, amp, cabinets, humidity, wind chill, air pressure, temperature, fingers, amp power cable, fairy dust, angle at which you hold your bass, fingers, picks, thumbs, bows, and nut material. Frets are moot.

This is common knowledge.


Anyway, here's my take on stainless steel frets:
They're more expensive (around $5 extra per bass...), but last much longer. You won't notice a difference and you likely wont hear a difference either, except maybe a mild increase in sustain. They're also better because they aren't typically found on Fender basses.
 
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#7
FunkMetalBass said:
Tone comes from the body woods, strings, electronics, cable length, pickups, bridge, tuners, fretboard wood, neck wood, number of bolts used (if a bolt-on neck), effects, amp, cabinets, humidity, wind chill, air pressure, temperature, fingers, amp power cable, fairy dust, angle at which you hold your bass, fingers, picks, thumbs, bows, and nut material. Frets are moot.

This is common knowledge.
Click to expand...

LOL!
 
#9
Mayers said:
Tone doesn't come from frets ...
Click to expand...

FunkMetalBass said:
Frets are moot.
Click to expand...

Wrong, and wrong again. The fret is the witness point for the string on the neck, therefore is translating string vibrations into the the bass. Harder materials such as stainless steel don't soak up so much of the treble frequencies, and so instruments with stainless frets have a tendency to be brighter.

I've done a few re-frets with stainless wire, and it makes a big difference to my ears and hands. They sound brighter, somewhat clankier on certain instruments, and feel slippery smooth to the touch. Bending is generally smoother, and they last a lot longer than your typical nickel-silver fretwire.
 
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#11
I'm disappointed in you guys.
To state that frets are insignificant in the tonal equation is just... bewildering.

Pluck just ONE note on a bass with vintage-size frets and one with medium-jumbos and tell me you can't hear a difference.

That's like saying nickel strings don't sound any different from stainless steel strings.
 
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#19
Mayers said:
I don't see how frets could alter the sound of a bass. Tone doesn't come from frets ...

but back on topic, SSF are very hard and won't need a fret dressing as soon as nickle frets if it ever really needs it.
Click to expand...
I'm fairly certain the material the strings have direct contact with when vibrating has no influence upon how it sounds.

Obviously.
 

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