Can not changing strings often causes premature fret wear?

[Killed_by_Death]

I guess times have changed. I was working with a Pearl Jam song not so long ago where a high note was on the D string. I didn't have enough frets, so had to use a lower fret on G.

 

[nanymoa]

Have you ever played an electric guitar with really old strings? The non wounded ones tend to oxidize and go black and become rough. I think that could cause more fret wear than new strings. But when it comes to bass i don't think it's the same. Maybe to some degree. Have you played on really old nickels on a bass that hasn't been played for a very long time? Rough as hell. But if they get old being played a lot they die in a smoother way.

 

[Timmy-Watts]

Rounds=less surface area, the same amount of pressure applied to a relatively smaller footprint... flats, more, smooth surface area, the pressure is more evenly spread out. And all kinds of strings comfort a little to the frets. Plus, I slap more on rounds than flats. I'd think rounds would chew up frets more than flats for all there reasons. And I can't see why how often you do or don't change strings would matter.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Have you ever played an electric guitar with really old strings? The non wounded ones tend to oxidize and go black and become rough. I think that could cause more fret wear than new strings.

Yeah, I guess it would be a problem if the instrument hadn't been played at all in a very long time.

 

[GregT]

Playing a lot causes more fretwear for sure. Playing less also causes less fretwear.

I use TI Flats and I have never worn out a set of strings or my frets. Maybe I am not playing enough? Possibly.

I also play guitar and I can wear frets down to pretty deep dents that make strings buzz in less that a year. Not because I push so hard; I always play with a lot of left had vibrato even when playing chords. I have had 3 Strats in the shop having the frets levelled and crowned in the last couple years.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I just looked up "TI Flats".

I always wondered how anyone was getting any sound from Titanium, because it's non-magnetic. Now I know what it really means.

 

[Planespotter]

My wife recently bought me a '70 Gibson EB-3L that was a true closet classic. It had a set of flats that were probably 30+ years old and they still sounded and felt great. Unfortunately these strings would no longer intonate so I had to change 'em. The frets are in excellent shape, btw. Now my '00 P that's spent it's whole life strung with stainless rotosounds is a different story...

 

[line6man]

Although the notion of wearing frets with old strings is completely ludicrous, if you are concerned about wearing out your frets, have the bass fretted with stainless steel fretwire. Problem solved.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Damnit, I was just reviewing the specs on my limited edition G&L bass, that they pretty much went to lengths to make a great instrument, but they used Nickel Silver, instead of Stainless, for the frets. ARGH!

 

[line6man]

Damnit, I was just reviewing the specs on my limited edition G&L bass, that they pretty much went to lengths to make a great instrument, but they used Nickel Silver, instead of Stainless, for the frets. ARGH!

You won't find many instruments that come stock with stainless frets. Their hardness is both their advantage and their disadvantage. Luthiers and factories hate the extra work involved.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yeah, filing stainless steel is a PITA.
Drilling it is as well, or welding it. Almost anything.

 

[PortlandBass77]

oh no, it's the P + Tort + Flats conspiracy out to get us!

 

[Ric5]

Guitar players are fed the idea that not changing your strings often leads to premature fret wear. I think it's a myth just to keep people buying strings, but figured maybe some users on here had some real experience.

Yep ... Myth ...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Try convincing some guitar players that what they believe is untrue. They can really be zealots about stuff they cannot prove.

 

[baileyboy]

Guitar players are fed the idea that not changing your strings often leads to premature fret wear. I think it's a myth just to keep people buying strings...

Similar to the myth that one needs to change his/her running shoes every 300-500 miles. Utter nonsense. Simply propaganda put out there by those companies that stand to benefit financially.

 

[danosix]

I had it in mind to change to flatwound chromes on my Strat & my G&L, & just leave them on there for the foreseeable future.

It's not the age of the strings that matters - it's the condition.
If you keep them clean and free of grunge and erosion/rust, it doesn't matter to the frets how old the strings are pre se - just how NASTY they are.

 

[SasquatchDude]

I've had the same set of flats on my Jazz for a year and a half now, and in that time there's been far less noticeable wear on the frets than during the year or so when I used rounds and changed them regularly.

 

[GBassNorth]

The only instance that not changing your string can cause unnecessary fret wear would be if you had installed a really aggressive and rough round wound that was a substantially harder material than your frets. In that case the longer you leave them on and play them before changing to a less aggressive type of string the more fret wear you'll create.

So for instance, if I strung two different Rics with different strings - one with EB Cobalt rounds and the other with La Bella Tapes, played them hard for years and never changed them - I can assure you there will be more wear on the cobalt strung bass. But I suspect the guitards are actually thinking replacing the old Cobalts with new Cobalts will prevent premature fret wear, which is actually opposite of the truth.

BTW I did find Cobalts to be an extremely aggressive string! I put a set on one if my brass nut equipped basses and within a week of use I had a pretty heavy coating of brass filing dust all around the nut and started to notice a bit of wear to the frets. This set was from when they first came out a few years ago. The ones I had were very rough on slides and coarse to feel. Maybe they were defective IDK, regardless I ripped them right off and now use them as a sort of nut file if I need to rework a groove in a nut.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I ripped them right off and now use them as a sort of nut file if I need to rework a groove in a nut.

That's almost funny that they could be used like that, but makes sense.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

What is the best kind of dirt and rust for Metal?

This: