Ibanez JEM Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Why stainless steel frets don't come in high end Ibanez?

Jump to Latest
16K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  Jimboone  
#1 · (Edited)
When you see this feature in cheaper guitars, even some Solar guitars have it. You would think a 4k guitar would come included with SS frets?

Shouldn't the J custom come with it?

All I can think of is Ibanez doesn't want "invest" in the machines required for SS frets. They're old school, they don't have the equipment to do it.
 
#2 ·
The jury is still out on SS frets, not everyone thinks they’re a good idea.

That’s probably why they appear on guitars designed to appeal to younger buyers and not yet on folks who are a little older and a little more traditional in what they want from a guitar. Not saying that we want vintage fender specs, but standard nickel frets have worked just fine for years so many folks see no reason to change.

Ibanez will have folks who earn more than you or I do whose job it is to make these calls based on market intelligence that you and I don’t have access to.

We’ll see SS frets on everything when the company decides it makes sense commercially.
 
#5 ·
I don't think so

I don't know but I was quoted $550 for it by a tech near me, considering they last almost forever and you may never need a refret again, also supposedly it makes bending easier which I would like, but that's just me wanting to "mod" things lol
 
#6 ·
That bronz tint is probably the Jescar EVOgold frets. They are used on the Ibanez Q series guitars... They supposedly have a similar wear to nickle, some say it's wears slower (meaning they could be harder)... But are known to be used for aesthetics and are also nice for those who are allergic to silver or nickle.
 
#34 ·
You could just polish them. I use various grades of sandpaper, and then I use polishing compounds. My guitars frets are smooth as glass. Also, using a Dremel with a felt polishing wheel helps after the sand paper, on the polishing compound stage.

I need to get a new Dremel as mine burned up.
 
A
#11 ·
Mm, yeah, there's a few models now which have ss..

Whether they're better/necessary can be debated and depends on the player. They're certainly harder and more impervious to wear. Some people love them, others hate them as they feel it changes the tone for the worse. There's certainly hype around them.

Would I get them? I don't know, I'd have to try them. From a wear and tear perspective, I have a couple of guitars which I rotate, so the amount of wear any one gets is lessened. If I had one guitar which I'd play all the time, maybe, especially if it had medium to smaller frets from which you cannot get many levelings/recrowns.
 
K
#12 ·
I literally cannot think of a single downside to SS except that a fret level will cost more

if you play a lot a lot, you’ll notice nickel will wear ridiculously fast. I also bend too much.

They don’t oxidize, your bends will never feel like sandpaper ;)

They do eventually wear, but it takes so much longer. My AZ was my #1 for about three years and it could probably use a fret level.
 
#18 ·
I "retired" my 94 7V from live use, that was after I split the neck when it fell over on stage. It needed a refret anyway at that point because the frets were extremely pitted so I had the SS frets put in when I had the neck glued back together, but retired just means I don't play it live, I play it everyday at home. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd prefer to only play stainless steel now because I wear through frets quickly and my 777 30th already has significant wear on the frets which annoys me.

I don't want to have to think about playing a different guitar to even out fret wear. I think in future I can see myself refretting the 30th Jem with SS even if it reduces resale value, I'd rather worry about my enjoyment from it than how much my grandchildren will be able to sell it for.
 
#21 ·
You may have acidic hands

i thought you said you buys guitars to play not to collect or put on a pedestal so just put the stainless frets clearly you wear out frets faster thsn the average person for whatever reason
 
#20 ·
Hmmm...
I don't gig my Jem 77FP any more and it's probably the closest to needing a refret in my arsenal.

I've tried the "it's an investment it's going up in value faster than my share account" line. But that ends up in the logical conclusion that I have to sell it at some point. So I'll go with the 'retired memento' and see how that pans out.

I think I'll try SS frets on either of my players (PGM100, JS1000) before I get the Jem done.
 
#23 ·
"Acidic hands" or salty hands don't cause frets to wear faster, it can cause corrsion for sure... Silver and nickle tarnish pretty slowly... Though pushing hard or doing a lot of bends causes frets to wear fast. Corrsion is a very slow eroding process, while playing the living hell out of the guitar wears frets out quickly. I needed frets replaced after 2 years of playing my JS24P. Grant it... that was mainly the only guitar I played back then. And I played every day for hours at a time. Thankfully Stainless has stopped this in my other guitars. I still miss that JS a little bit though.
 
R
#36 ·
SS frets are made with a different compound so the theory is that they will have a different sound. Where the string terminates, fret or bridge, is going to affect the tone. That's why someone is charging $400 for a vintage accurate Tune-O-Matic bridge for your Gibson 59 LP Reissue. Whether you hear it or not I don't know - I've never tried them. What I can say is that silver frets on my old or relic guitars would look horrible. I've long justified having a number of guitars by wearing them all out slowly. It makes no economic sense but I like it. :geek:
 
#38 ·
Fret wear has a lot more to do with the softness of the fret than oxidation. Stainless isn't just less tarnish-able... It's also STEEL lol. Which is way harder than a nickle blend... Sure oxidation plays a roll but that is a slow erroding process. The salt in your sweat as well as the acidic levels will cause the tarnishing... But nickle frets also tarnish if the guitar sits and doesn't get touched by human hands. Stainless has it's downsides though, mainly the fact that the wound strings get flat spots worn into them faster... Causing your strings to go dead faster. But that (IMO) is a small price to pay for probably never needing a refret ever again.
 
Ibanez JEM Forum
posts
1.3M
members
72K
Since
2000
A forum community dedicated to Ibanez JEM guitar owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about collections, displays, models, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
All Other Guitars (including Prestige) Ibanez JEM, UV, JS & Other Signature Models Gear, Equipment, Recording & Off Topic Players, Bands, Sounds, Tours, Lessons & Theory! Tech: Setup, Repairs and Mods