How to find the right Electric Guitar Frets AI guide
Written by an AI model from its trained knowledge.
What the AI looks for in Electric Guitar Frets
- Crown size
- Choose by crown width and height, in sizes such as vintage/small, medium, medium-jumbo, jumbo, or narrow-tall. Height affects bending ease and grip pressure. Width affects feel and how often the frets need dressing.
- Tang fit
- Tang width and barb size must match your fret slot width. A loose tang lifts or buzzes. An oversized tang can back-bow the neck or split the slot.
- Material
- Choose between nickel-silver (traditional), stainless steel (longest lasting) or gold-colored EVO-type alloy (wear and nickel-sensitivity middle ground). Stainless lasts much longer but needs hardened tools to cut and crown.
- Pre-radiused vs straight
- Pre-bent wire should match or be slightly tighter than the fretboard radius. Wire that is flatter than the board springs up at the ends.
- Quantity
- Buy enough length for every fret plus spare. Each fret uses more than the board width because of the cutting waste. Running short mid-job means the sizes may come from different batches.
Brands that matter
- Jescar: Fret wire maker offering nickel-silver, stainless and EVO alloy.
- Dunlop: Long-standing fret wire numbering familiar to many techs.
- StewMac: Fret wire alongside the tools needed to install it.
What to avoid
- Starting a stainless refret without hardened cutters and files.
- Wire with unspecified tang dimensions.
- Changing to much taller frets on a worn neck without leveling the board first.