Stainless Steel frets

[MarshallNole]

What are your thoughts on stainless steel frets? Yay or nay?

 

[jonmerickson]

Love them. May never have to re-fret (stainless frets are super hard) and they have stayed nice and polished. Also, nice and slick for easier bending.

 

[GIBrat51]

Honestly, I don't have any experience with them. It's a subject that's come up here before, and will again, I'm sure. As with anything, some TBers think SS frets are the cat's ass; some think they're God's curse on mankind. IME, luthiers don't like to install them, 'cause they're hard to work with, and supposedly too hard on their tools. I tried to have them put on an old Rickenbacker 330 guitar a while back (the tiny original frets are a bad joke, and these were just shot), but the luthier whined like a little kid about it, and wanted $500 to do it, vs. $300 for 'normal' frets. Since it won't get played enough to justify the cost, I let him put regular medium-jumbos on it. They were a huge improvement, anyway. I guess my answer would be that, IMO, they are probably a good idea, if you play hard; play a lot; and use roundwounds.

 

[line6man]

They are wonderful. All fretted instruments should have them.