Why no jumbo frets on acoustics?

[mc1]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

This thread is nearly 9 years old.

Not any more!

Why no scalloped fingerboards, that's what I want to know!

[KarenB]

I have a Yamaha that has larger frets. I like it better than smaller frets. If I ever get a custom made, I'll show them the frets on this guitar.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

This thread is nearly 9 years old.

Wow didn’t notice. Darn dead thread necromancers! [emoji23]

[jonfields45]

Here is my idea and no one has mentioned it yet...

As an acoustic guitar fret wears and develops flat topped divots, the fretted note will start to "zing" for the plain strings and can actually buzz for the wound strings (this I've experienced).

As a fret wears, a narrow one will have a narrower flat topped divot.

On an electric guitar, you can't hear any of this and worn big frets are fine with the advantage you can squeeze for vibrato.

[RoyBoy]

Tone. Fatter frets have a larger radius crown, leaving more string in contact with the fret when noting. This produces a fatter, fuller tone. For playing the blues that's great but most acoustic players are more interested in sparkle, overtones, and a nice clear bell tone.

I live in the electric world as well and can hear the difference between the wire gauges, especially on Fenders. I prefer my guitars with the tall and skinny "vintage" gauge now (0.090" wide crown vs standard 0.080") which is a nice compromise.

I speculate that jumbo wire gained popularity a few decades ago because strings bend nicely across it and it meshes nicely with a humbucker tone. The other thing is it obviously lasts longer before needing leveling or refretting. The the advent of SS fretwire and now, EVO Gold, that rationale is no longer relevent

[Vanx]

I'm going for FW55090 EVO, they should be medium-jumbo, like 6105 from dunlop, for my Gibson J-45.

Is it a good choice? They should be a little bigger than stock but not so much.. I really desire to have a lighter touch on the fingerboard as I have wrists problems, what do you think guys?

[erhino41]

After I wore the frets near down to the board on the epi, I went with jumbo frets. Tone and sustain went through the roof. It was the only guitar I played for five years before that point, so I knew every nuance of how it sounded. I still remember vividly the first play in the store when I went to pick it up, heavenly! I'll definitely give jumbo frets a shot the next time I need a guitar refretted.

[brandall10]

Eh, I'd much rather have vintage-size EVO frets if I was concerned about durability and lifetime.

I consider jumbo frets one of the worst things to catch on in the guitar-world. It's just a different way of achieving the same effect as a scalloped fretboard - which is playing more shred-tasctically as you don't have that pesky fretboard adding drag to your finger-motion. Removing that connection to the fretboard removes some of the connection to the instrument.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Vanx

I'm going for FW55090 EVO, they should be medium-jumbo, like 6105 from dunlop, for my Gibson J-45.

Is it a good choice? They should be a little bigger than stock but not so much.. I really desire to have a lighter touch on the fingerboard as I have wrists problems, what do you think guys?

Yes, 55090 is a fantastic choice. You will find it’s much easier to cleanly fret certain barre chord formations. I can’t say that I notice a tonal difference between large fret wire and vintage (I have both) except that it may take a lot more pressure to get some barre formations to ring clearly with the latter.

[Tony Burns]

My 71 Guild D-55 has jumbo frets -it plays great

[soma5]

Originally Posted by Vanx

I'm going for FW55090 EVO, they should be medium-jumbo, like 6105 from dunlop, for my Gibson J-45.

Is it a good choice? They should be a little bigger than stock but not so much.. I really desire to have a lighter touch on the fingerboard as I have wrists problems, what do you think guys?

They are very close to the old 6105 size. I used to use Dunlop 6105 but I've moved to Jescar 55090 size. I am told that 6105 is taller now than it used to be but I've already made the switch so I can't verify that.

[zoopeda]

How does a capo fit in here? More need for retuning when applying, or just apply more lightly?

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

How does a capo fit in here? More need for retuning when applying, or just apply more lightly?

No jumbo frets on any of my acoustics, but I have electrics with them. Yes, you capo with a lighter grip and/or retune if you don't (and if you have a Kyser you have no choice but to retune). On the other hand, with lower and vintage frets sometimes you have more issues with the capo not cleanly fretting if it doesn't match the fretboard radius.

And of course this high frets/capo application is more of an issue if you aren't playing solo. Having each string more or less equally a few cents sharp isn't that big a crime for a solo piece to my duff ears.

I generally check tuning after I capo regardless of capo type and fret height unless I'm particularly distracted. What you bring up would be an issue if you were one of those who rare players who move the capo to a different fret in the midst of a song.

[Vanx]

Thanks guys for the replies, I'll go with 55090 on my J-45 so!
Really interesting the capo fact...
I use exclusively Shubb capos, and I always use capo with my acoustics, hope I'll be fine with the taller frets

[Howard Emerson]

A thread from antiquity, but whatever.......

I've been using Dunlop 6100 fretwire for almost 20 years, and as of late I make sure to use stainless steel so that it's the last time it ever needs replacing.

I use it on my flattops and my electrics as well. I don't have any callouses to speak of, and I don't have a death grip, so intonation isn't an issue.

It makes bending very easy as there is little fingertip to fingerboard contact. For the most part I'm using .013-.054 sets on acoustic & electric.

Regards,
Howard Emerson