Fret Wire - Classic Guitar

[Kim Strode]

A question for those classic guitar builders out there. I am building my second classic guitar at the moment and a luthier recommended wider fret wire, suggesting it offered better intonation. The sample piece he gave me measures (fret width 2.8mm, tang width .73mm, fret height 1.15mm).

Firstly, is he correct in his recommendation - and secondly, after checking out the suppliers of fret wire, I am a little unsure which fret wire I should be buying. The luthier was vague about where he gets his fret wire.

Thanks, Kim

[Paul B]

The closest Stewmac fretwire would be part #0150. Pretty close in all dimensions except the height above the fretboard is maybe 10 thou lower.

[Allen]

Here's LMI's fret wire chart. I don't see anything with those dimensions though.

LMI Fret Wire

If you are planning on building more than a few instruments I would recommend buying the 100 foot roll if you can. It'll save you heaps of money in the long run.

[graham mcdonald]

Most people use standard 2mm fret wire on classicals. If the fret slots are in the right positions, the width of the wire should have no effect on the intonation at all. Wider fret wire has the potential for being more out of tune (especially on steel strings) as the frets get worn into a flat spot on the top, the contact point will shift towards the bridge and they will play sharp. That sort of wear doesn't happen as quickly on classicals (though I have seen a nylon string guitar that needed re-fretting after 18 months playing)

cheers

graham

[James Mc]

A mate who’s a very good finger style player had a custom classical guitar made recently, after trying out a few guitars with different size fretwire he had them fit it with standard sized enviro gold fretwire. I expected it to look trashy, but when I saw it I was totally impressed. The gold looks amazing on the ebony fretboard with the matching ebony head plate and gold tuners (must be nice to be independently wealthy).

[kiwigeo]

I use standard fret wire on my classicals. The bigger stuff looks clunky IMHO. I also question the improvment in intonation with wider frets.

[Dominic]

James, I have used LMIs gold fret wire on two steel-strings and it does look great.

But they only have two sizes, the small is a little small for my liking but is OK and would be great for classicals. The big stuff is too big unless you are making an electric or bass. Not sure of exact sizes.

But, this stuff is soooo slippery. Bends, vibrato etc, like butter. Just wish they made a medium/tall sized gold wire.
Dom