PRS fret wire.

[Mike J.]

I recently got a Vela semi hollow body and I love it! Did a lot of research prior to and one thing that really impressed me was a video of Mr. Smith himself saying how the fret wire they use is the hardest fret wire that their manufacturer is willing to make. That's great because I was playing a Telecaster and I've had to have the frets dressed up about once every 9 or 10 months. After a few years I had to have 12 of the frets replaced.

Just wondering, how long have you had your PRS guitars, how often do you play and how are the frets holding out? On average I play just about everyday, sometimes for an hour and sometimes for 2 hours.

Thanks.

 

[KentuckyBoiledChiccan]

I only have my Custom for less than a year but I have a monkey hands, stringing with 11's and bending to the moon and adressively. Usually seeing fret wear fairly quickly but no issues so far with my 24

 

[littlebadboy]

I've been wondering if PRS will be trying out stainless steel frets, since it seems to be the trend nowadays.

 

[KentuckyBoiledChiccan]

I've been wondering if PRS will be trying out stainless steel frets, since it seems to be the trend nowadays.

Lol, we had this chat here. It didn't go well

 

[tedtan]

I like stainless steel frets (and EVO gold frets, too), but apparently PRS doesn’t so I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for stainless frets from the factory on a PRS guitar.

 

[Mike J.]

I asked the tech I go to about stainless steel frets for my Telecaster. He said "yeah, if you want them I'll do it, but it's going to cost you about $400.00." He said it would cost so much because of the material being so hard on his tools. Wears the tools down real quick and it's hard to work with. But he agreed that they do last a very, very long time. He compared SS frets to coated string. He said "they last 2 to 3 times longer but you end up paying more for them."

 

[cwk84]

I've been wondering if PRS will be trying out stainless steel frets, since it seems to be the trend nowadays.

Jescar fret wire is hardened nickel/silver. They're pretty tough and feel as smooth as SS. You also have to consider that not every SS fret wire manufacturer uses the same density SS. Some SS can be softer than others. The SS frets on my Jackson grind down like butter when I use a diamond coated file. It's currently at Eric's guitar shop in LA for a refret with DGT frets (Jescar 57110). He suggested that fret wire and he's someone who works on a lot of celebrity guitars. If he doesn't see the advantages of switching to SS then idk what I'd see. Some say they're brighter sounding but in A/B tests I always pick the nickels thinking they're SS lol. And I don't have a super heavy touch so I didn't see the need for SS. It is definitely a trend these days but there's lots of trends. Do whatever you prefer is what I say.

 

[cwk84]

I like stainless steel frets (and EVO gold frets, too), but apparently PRS doesn’t so I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for stainless frets from the factory on a PRS guitar.

honestly PRS charges way too much for a refret. I was gonna send mine in for a refret with DGT frets. They're just Jescar 57110. Eric's guitar shop in LA charges 245 for a refret with that exact fret wire and he's known in the industry. He does a lot of celeb guitars. So if you want SS go to a good shop in your are. PTC isn't any better than any other good shop. Honestly they want over 600 for a refret with Jescar 57110. Smh. They're crazy. Not even Eric charges that much and he could because of his celebrity clientele. Imagine if PRS offered SS frets. They'd probably charge 800-900 for a refret. Lol