Does Fret size matter?

[Gilmourisgod]

The only difference I noticed is the bit of extra “clank” and string noise between stainless and standard nickel silver. My Steinberger has stainless frets, and I do have to play a little cleaner, at least with stainless rounds on it.

 

[micguy]

I don't believe you at all. Er...I mean the part about you never having worn high heels in deep snow.

Good idea to check that assumption, but with 13 EEEEEE feet, I have a hard enough time getting guy’s shoes that fit. ;-)

 

[Grapevine921]

Fret size matters to me. I'm a huge fan of tiny frets, part of why I can't stand the american professional Fenders. You could high dive off those frets!

 

[MegaSwing]

IMO, jumbo frets play differently—and create the illusion of high action.

 

[BAG]

the one Bass that I have with the smallest and shortest frets SEEMS to not sound as ... ? rich - it doesn't have the same "depth" as any of my other (7) Basses;

There are SOOOO many other things that would affect the tone more than the size of the frets.

I would say the argument could be made that the material the frets are made from has more of an impact on the sound than the height of the frets, i.e. brass vs. SS vs. nickel.

And the material the fret is made up of is one of those things.

 

[blastoff]

this thread made me realize that a fretless bass isn't fretless at all. its one big fret. they should call them "mono-fret" basses

 

[got_the_bug]

It's not the size of the frets, it's how you use them that matters.

 

[xI Jonathan Ix]

Came here for the fret size jokes...was not disappointed. Carry on!

 

[4stringfarley]

My basses with jumbo wide frets have more clank and rasp to them, the smaller fret size ones have more of a classic tone to them. My main player has no frets and sounds the best.

 

[Greywoulf]

I was under the impression that frets were only stuck onto BGs by Leo Fender for one purpose, and that was so the player could find the exact right note w/o having to look at the fretboard. This is why Leo called his first BGs P-basses. T'was a note-"precision" bass, get it? You otherwise don't really need them at all... In fact in some folks opinions (including mine) a BG sounds a helluva lot better w/o any frets! Certainly DB players, violin players, cello players, all kinds of string players don't need (or even want) frets to play well and make their instruments sound good. It just takes a little more learning, a little more skill, to play a fretless instrument, that's all. Leo was smart in that he thought by making the BG easier to play he could sell more of them to us lazy bass players........... ;>})
Greywoulf

 

[Phalex]

I prefer short fat frets. Medium Jumbo and smaller are useable, but I like em low and wide. Totally a personal preference, but there you have it.

 

[David Jayne]

I was under the impression that frets were only stuck onto BGs by Leo Fender for one purpose, and that was so the player could find the exact right note w/o having to look at the fretboard. This is why Leo called his first BGs P-basses. T'was a note-"precision" bass, get it? You otherwise don't really need them at all... In fact in some folks opinions (including mine) a BG sounds a helluva lot better w/o any frets! Certainly DB players, violin players, cello players, all kinds of string players don't need (or even want) frets to play well and make their instruments sound good. It just takes a little more learning, a little more skill, to play a fretless instrument, that's all. Leo was smart in that he thought by making the BG easier to play he could sell more of them to us lazy bass players........... ;>})
Greywoulf

There's also the fact that gliss and vibrato simply don't work very well with frets. Critical for classical instruments.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Very subtle sound difference in my experience. The difference in feel can be noticeable though, but you’ll get used to it quickly. You might have to lighten up the fretting finger pressure if you’re used to monster frets.

 

[byacey]

Some people feel that you have to crush the string against the fretboard when fretting the notes. I only press the string enough that it doesn't rattle against the fret. In this instance, fret height is irrelevant.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Mandolin frets on a bass ??

 

[2F/2F]

It's a matter of feel, and a major deal for me. I play right on or right behind the frets, so I notice the differences in frets, big time. I like curvy boards and tiny frets – the classic "vintage" Fender feel. Big frets are clunky and obtrusive to me, not to mention feeling a bit crowded at times (but more so on guitar than on bass). I also find that skinner frets have slightly better intonation. I will spend the money to get a bass re-fretted, if it has giant frets, but is otherwise "perfect," and I got it for a good price. Usually I have a bit more curve added to the board during the job, and stainless frets used, so it never has to be done again.

I do usually deal with mediums until the first re-fret, but jumbos just have to go right away, unless they are leveled very low, like old G&Ls from the '80s.

 

[Freekmagnet]

You know what they say - it’s not the size of the boat - it’s the motion of the ocean.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Certainly DB players, violin players, cello players, all kinds of string players don't need (or even want) frets to play well and make their instruments sound good

Certainly....not ALL "violins"... are fretless.
And "sound good" is obviously a relative term.
This cat is a helluva violinist on a conventional instrument. But you rarely see him play one.
I doubt that he "needs" them ...but HE seems to want frets.... a lot. ...just sayin.
(Mark Wood- Trans-Siberian Orchestra... etc)

 

[GMC]

I think a P bass needs a bit of fret clank to give the tone some bite. So bigger fret wire helps with that a wee bit. However, I think the main differeence between fret wire is playing feel.

 

[cnltb]

i have no idea if the size of frets has any bearing on how an instrument sounds. I do think there is a difference in feel however. My guess is that the material would have more of an impact than size would.