PRS Fret wear - Bad technique or setup?

[xxxadixxx]

I jumped into the PRS pool about a year ago and quickly replaced almost all of my guitars with PRS Guitars. My lone non-PRS is an LTD w/stainless steel frets. My PRS are simply amazing instruments and easily keep me motivated to play. Recently, I restrung all of my guitars and noticed fret wear which looks unusual to me though it seems limited to my PRS Guitars. I have always noticed wear under the unwound strings (higher force and lower surface area) though it seems like my guitars are wearing under the wound strings and showing ridges perpendicular to the string. My playing does not include leads/bends and is mainly rhythm style playing. I knew I had a rather heavy grip and never worried about it with my old guitars.

The guitar shown below is a 2021 SC594 (11-52, D-Standard) which I purchased new about 8 months ago. I do not recall seeing any similar grooves when it arrived and have to admit there are similar (if less pronounced grooves on my other PRS). Two of the guitars are strung with 11-52 and two with 10-46. They common factors are my poor form (grip) and me doing the setups (the perpendicular grooves suggest it is from string movement as I do not bend much). While I am leaning towards my grip I would appreciate it if anyone has seen something similar from a setup issue (hopefully with an easy fix like raising the action!). Adjusting my grip would allow me to keep enjoying these guitars for a long time without having to do a premature refret!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Wow you have a heavy grip.

 

[xxxadixxx]

Wow you have a heavy grip.

Yes, it is not something I ever really considered and now I have to really focus on lightening up!

 

[SinSir]

Yes, it is not something I ever really considered and now I have to really focus on lightening up!

Channel your inner Bruce Banner instead of the Hulk lol

I'd agree it's a heavy grip. I'm heavy handed myself and still don't have what your experiencing.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

An observation not a criticism.

 

[theDeepender]

If you play the guitar, some fret wear is inevitable. If you play it a lot. It comes quicker. If you bend notes, a lot, it comes quicker and wider.
The answer is to have lots of guitars and rotate through them frequently.

 

[xxxadixxx]

So my takeaway is it is a grip issue rather than setup. Easy enough. After watching a few videos of PRSh talk about how hard the fret are, I knew the issue was on my side. Thanks!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I’ve found that a lighter touch aids with fluid playing.

 

[trisd]

Something that I can add that has not been mentioned. I have found different string materials have a big effect of fret wear. As far as the wrapped strings go pure nickel is the kindest then nickel coated carbon steel. I had a brief spell with EB Cobalts, man those things are abrasive.

 

[RickP]

Comparing the frets against your stainless ones, they will show wear long before the harder SS frets might. It’s been discussed here on occasion, and usually devolves into some silly finger-pointing…. Lol. Just suffice to say that if you happen to wear them to a place it causes issues, you can always re-fret with SS when the time comes.

Very few PRS players experience fret wear issues, but fortunately it’s an easy fix if you do.

 

[Simon Says]

So my takeaway is it is a grip issue rather than setup. Easy enough. After watching a few videos of PRSh talk about how hard the fret are, I knew the issue was on my side. Thanks!

Yeah I'm stringing 11's too but your hand must be a hammer. My older PRS is 20 years old, newer 2 years old and I never managed to **** frets that much. My Custom is at Monty's for a re-crawn, but that was none of my making, just the factory style level.

Well done mate, nice pair of hands right there

 

[Rider1260]

Nothing to bad going on there IMHO that's not even close to a recrown , heavy strings and playing will scuff the frets you will have many years before anything more than a polish might be needed to my eye. my 2002 CU24 has some fret divots you can see them and a recrown would easily fix it but you can't feel or hear it when you play.

 

[Sirplayalot]

Good coated strings like D'Addario XS series will definitely help. You'd have a coating between metal and the feel on your finger will be different keeping you focused on your fret hand. Don't feel bad I know if I only had a more relaxed attitude to my plating I would be a better player. Lastly if you don't try coated at least use nickel plated not stainless strings

 

[Moondog Wily]

Hard to believe that you can get grooves like that without a lot of string bending. I bend very little myself, and my HBII has some divots in the 1 and two frets under the B and e strings, which makes sense to me. That fiddle probably has about 2500 hours of play time since new in Jan '21. My gorilla grip is the culprit. It was actually the discovery of these divots during a string change a few months back that has had me focusing on a lighter grip. I am getting better, but still have too tight of a grip probably 50% of the time, largely based on intensity of the song being played. The more intense the song, the tighter I grip! But I'm workin' on it doc, I'm takin' the baby steps!!! Good luck with that and let us know what you ultimately do about it, before and after pix could be enlightening!!

 

[Maxime Bousquet]

You definitely have a strong hand! however nothing wrong with that! It's hard to change the nature of a guitarist and sometimes that's what defines our style.

I think Stevie Ray Vaughan must have had some pretty good grooves too!

 

[ViperDoc]

I believe 594s have nickel frets per vintage era spec, so if you play hard, you’ll wear them down. I’ve been there. The string only has to be held against the fret, not depressed to the wood. Practice makes perfect, or at least that’s what someone told me long ago and I’m still working at it.

 

[dmatthews]

Something that I can add that has not been mentioned. I have found different string materials have a big effect of fret wear. As far as the wrapped strings go pure nickel is the kindest then nickel coated carbon steel. I had a brief spell with EB Cobalts, man those things are abrasive.

I tried Cobalts a few years ago and came to the same observation.

 

[vchizzle]

Lighter grip on the fretting hand might help. That said, the more you play, the worse it’ll get. The pictures shown, not worried. Frets can be pitted and the guitar can still play fine. The lighter the touch, the more accurate your intonation up the fretboard will be. Especially true if someone else sets up your guitars. I do my own, I know how hard fret. Usually do my intonation standing up with guitar on strap so I’m in playing position too.

 

[László]

I play with a pretty light touch, and don't have the wear problem you're experiencing, but I'll admit that I'd be a better player if I could lighten my touch even more. This is especially the case when I'm recording on a project - in my zeal to avoid making a mistake, I often press the strings harder than I'd like, and on a long session, I notice stiffness in my fretting hand.

It's very hard to reach the ideal balance!