Confused about fret height of SE

[rardyrard]

I tried a PRS SE Santana the other day in a store. They were nice but apparently I want an SE with even higher frets. I figured I was going to have to look for a signature model that happens to have jumbo frets (like the Akesson), only to find the SE Standard 24 actually have nice and tall frets. To my surprise, becuase after trying the Santana I went looking up fret height on this forum and SE's seem to have similar fret hight and lower than S2's or Core models.

So an Akesson would still be a nice option. That or a SE custom 22 would be really nice. They didn't have any 22 in store so it's still my guess what frets would be on a custom 22. They did also have singlecuts and 245's and all of them had frets that were a little lower than the SE standard 24.

Does any of you know in more details how frets are on the SE models? Most information in the net I find to be vague when it comes to frets.

...Maybe there is a 'rule' that when an SE has a wide thin neck, it also has jumbo frets?

 

[Ovibos]

The SE Mark Holcomb has very tall (DGT-style) frets. If I press down and touch the fingerboard, it sharps the note - particularly on the unwound G.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Interesting post which highlights how much the seemingly smaller details affect things.

I much prefer taller frets as I find my fleshy fingers prefer them when bending strings. My Bernard has small frets and whilst I can get by just fine I'd love to have that re-fretted with some bigger and harder fretwork. I will... But only when I need a re-fret.

But, I have a light touch. As mentioned, it's easy to fret a nope sharp on taller frets.

Sometimes we, errr, fret about the bigger details but it can be these tiny fractions of a millimetre that make a big difference. Shave a hair off the depth or width of a neck, for example, and it's the difference between me loving or hating it.

Tried a nice Tele a few years back... After my best chat up lines and a few beers I was convinced I was going to go home with it. But the frets where skinny little things. Vintage frets and the traditional neck radius of 7 point whatever just didn't work for me.

Went home with an SE Custom 24. Decided the Wide Thin neck wasn't for me. Ah well.

 

[rardyrard]

The SE Mark Holcomb has very tall (DGT-style) frets. If I press down and touch the fingerboard, it sharps the note - particularly on the unwound G.

True, but above my budget a little too modern metal-ish. The Akesson has more of a traditional guitar vibe that I dig. Call me conservative. An Allender SE would do the job technically as well but the looks aren't my thing either.

Interesting post which highlights how much the seemingly smaller details affect things.

It is, isn't it

Another way to ask my question is perhaps easier to answer: I want an affordable SE 22 with a wide thin neck and jumbo frets. Just like the SE Standard 24, OR an Akesson.
also know for a fact after trying that the following SE models don't have what I want fretwise: Zach Myers, Chris robertson, SE 245, and the SE singlecut. Amazing guitars, but bending the strings was significantly less comfy than on the standard 24. They didn't have the SE Custom 22 or standard 22 in the store at that point so it's still my guess.

There is an older SE Custom 22 with the flat top which I can get used for a very nice price. If I know for sure it has these ridiculously tall frets like the standard 24, I know it can be worth the drive to check it out.

 

[drdoom8793]

Tried a nice Tele a few years back... After my best chat up lines and a few beers I was convinced I was going to go home with it. But the frets where skinny little things. Vintage frets and the traditional neck radius of 7 point whatever just didn't work for me.

I feel you on that. I just picked up a Highway One Strat. It has the 9.5" radius and jumbo frets. Definitely the best Fender I've ever played. DGTs are high on my wish list simply because of their unique fret size.

 

[rardyrard]

I'm feeling like the thread is derailing a little bit. I'll try boil it down to even simpler question:

Is it me or is the SE standard 24 a guitar that has more jumbo-like frets than most SE's? If yes, I'm dying to know if a SE custom 22 from 2008 also has those very tall frets or if a 2016 SE custom 22 has those?

 

[garrettb]

I haven't played any of the SE Standards, but they are made in a different factory (Indonesia) from the rest of the SE line (Korea). It could be they are sourcing fret wire from a different source and it has different dimensions. All the Korean SE guitars I've played have had frets very similar to the USA models (i.e. jumbo, but not huge).