Frets wearing out (Page 1 of 2)

CurtRHCP  I had one guitar for 40 years  and gave to a grandson I taught how to play. It still looks new and never had a fret replaced. If you hit you notes in the center of a fret you should not have to replace them. I like ebony fret boards however the guitar that is still being used is a rose wood fret board . If you are wearing frets than watch as you play and see if you are fingering notes on top of the fret rather than in the middle between frets. Either that or are you turning your guitar too high?  What gauge string are you using? Maybe try a lighter gauge.

I know two bass players and from knowing them one after years of playing had all his frets replaced. The other one has a 30 year old 5 string bass and he has never had a fret replaced.

I have the same problems with dents in the frets. I have had two guitars that I've had fret replacements done. Not cheap and if you have a bound neck it's more money. I know mine come from pressing harder on the strings than I should. I learned on a cheap guitar with a higher action and I never broke myself of the habit of pressing to hard. So I think the two major causes are high action and pressing to hard on the strings. I have the action right on all my guitars . I just need to lighten my fretting hand.  Good luck.

When I play, my fingers are a bit behind the fret, like on this picture
http://files.hubguitar.netdna-cdn.com// … G_8319.JPG

I also read old guitars had best quality frets...

I also think my fingerprints are pretty acid, when I touch a screen we can clearly see my fingerprint ^^

Thanks guys!

How do I know?

Further to this discussion, I had a look at the frets on my EP Les Paul last evening, and noticed they're wearing down quite a lot. It's less than 3 years old, but I do a fair bit of bending. I called my luthier (Matt Lunn @ Route 12 Guitar Repair, Kentville, NS), and he also recommended stainless steel. He said he uses a brand called "Jescar", and send me a link from this supplier in Ontario:

http://nextgenguitars.ca/products/jumbo … e-set.html

After some more digging, I learned about the Vicker's Hardness scale (expressed as an HV number), i.e., the harder the metal, the higher the number. I found this out about the three main fret materials:

Nickel-Silver = HV200
EVO Gold = HV250
Stainless Steel = HV300

I asked Matt about the standard nickle-silver frets, and he said there's really no silver in them. Usually they have 15% - 20% nickel, blended with tin. They're very pliable and easily shaped to the radius of a guitar's neck, but that same softness enables them to wear quicker. I learned more from him in 5-minutes than I've ever known about frets.

While this is all interesting, and I hope it's useful to you, Curt.

Yes I use a capo, quite often because I tuned my guitar one step down, so when I have to play a standard tuning I put the capo on the 2nd fret.
I never placed my fingers on the metal fret, the sound would be weird ^^
I placed them a bit before the fret. There's thousand of images showing people placing their fingers like me. Even professionals.

I also have an Epiphone Les Paul, frets doesn't shine like on my other guitars, but there's not even a single scratched. I play less with that guitar but I used to play quite a lot during a period. By the way, the fretboard is not "coated", it's not shiny at all and the fretboard doesn't slide as good as other guitar, but I don't really mind, I received it.

Tenement Funster :
Thanks for the informations!

Frets wearing is clearly visible on frets : 2, 3, 4 and a little bit on 5th fret.
I just take my guitar to check it, I place my capo between the frets.

For a test, I gently did a slide with the thin E string on a perfect fret, after the slide, there's a significant scratch. Mmm, I know why after several days it's starting to wearing out.

It's the only acoustic guitar I have, and I play everyday with it... I bought it 350$...

Aaargh... Anyway, it was in my plan, in January I'm gonna buy a new guitar, an electro-acoustic to play concerts, I hope it's gonna be a guitar that will last. This shop owner is really nice (he invited me to play with his band live).

1 It happened I forget to leave my capo, but just 1 or 2 times...
2 My capo is in the middle of the frets.
3 Well it seems tight, but there's no way to loose it.

Here's a picture of my capo :
https://static.bax-shop.es/image/produc … cal_01.jpg

Thanks for the replies ^^

1. Does the guitar sound OK?
2. If yes, forget about it. 

But do wash your hands before you play.  I have oily skin and have noticed a difference in how long I can keep strings on a guitar just from washing my hands before playing.

My advice is to fix it when it's a problem.

A G7th capo allows the player to go on and off - setting the pressure manually - all with one hand.

Wow ... they are gorgeous, aren't they? What I didn't see was a way to adjust the tension, but I do like the one-handed operation. For me, tension adjustment is so important, because the need varies when going from electric > acoustic > 12-string. The G7 is the only one I've found which will do it all with one hand.