Any way to determine what fret wire is on a guitar?

psychodave

psychodave

Well-known member
I’m curious what few wire is on my 2016 Charvel nitro. I have the build sheet and it reads Dunlop 6100 (it also reads a bunch of other stuff that is incorrect 🤔🤣). I’m having doubts since I’ve played this guitar extensively for the past 6 years and there is zero fret wear. Frets are shiny and never dull (I’ve never polished them either. Note that I ordered it with light aging, so they didn’t age the neck at all. Any grime is from actual playing. They didn’t even roll the fret board… I did it myself. For comparison, my 2019 nitro that I got two years ago has a little bit of play wear.

Here are some pics. Notice that even the brass dots are tarnished… but the frets look flawless.

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Notice the green and tarnished fret dots 🤣
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Stainless doesn't come in 6100, it's slightly taller. It's made by Jescar, check 'em out...
 
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psychodave said:
This makes you like 3rd in line. 🤣. I’m actually being serious. 😲
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Whoa guy!!! I said I wanted this years ago! But, you would have to be nuts to sell that thing. Charvel makes some bad ass guitars. I sold one a little while back that I hugely regret. The pain runs deep my friends, it runs sooooo deep.
 
psychodave said:
This makes you like 3rd in line. 🤣. I’m actually being serious. 😲
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That works, most people flake, although I been here so long that I would have seen this years ago and probably asked before. We need a review of this matter, no way am I 3rd Dave!!

To to your question. I play 10-52 or even 56 sometimes and I know in the past that wears nickel frets down from experience. If you play light strings it may not wear especially if you play super light?
 
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mooncobra said:
Whoa guy!!! I said I wanted this years ago! But, you would have to be nuts to sell that thing. Charvel makes some bad ass guitars. I sold one a little while back that I hugely regret. The pain runs deep my friends, it runs sooooo deep.
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The 3 aged nitros I had smoked that guitar. No need to reminisce about that one or any deep running pain, just move on to bigger and better things. That vanilla shake one was very good and still way better than any Suhr or Anderson I’ve tried, but vs the aged nitro was like going from 2D to 3D or as Ruokangas so eloquently put it with poly vs nitro, it's like having it with vs without a condom
 
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Pretty sure Warmoth has a fret size chart on their website. If not you could Google one and use the digital calipers Mr. Willy mentioned to determine size. Also a magnet might lightly stick to stainless steel. It won't clamp down on stainless because there isn't enough ferrite in stainless steel to make it happen. Judging by the pics and your description I would guess they are stainless.
 
Nickel has that grind when bending, stainless never does and is always smooth as glass. Not sure about that magnet test, could work...

Well it just worked on the nickel. I'll get one out of it's case that has the stainless tomorrow.
 
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I don’t know Dave those look like stainless to me if you haven’t polished them. Any divets 1-5? Nickel is horrible about that.

I’ve noticed stainless frets absolutely chew through my 10-52 strings on my Les Paul’s with a heavy hand. Literally flat spots the strings. The frets are super tough.
 
Exo-metal said:
Nickel has that grind when bending, stainless never does and is always smooth as glass. Not sure about that magnet test, could work...

Well it just worked on the nickel. I'll get one out of it's case that has the stainless tomorrow.
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Stainless will grind and be gritty if the polishing isn’t absolutely on point. I know from experience on that one.
 
If you have absolutely no dents in the COWBOY chord areas of the neck those are some tough nickel frets......

I fret and bend notes quite hard as well well and I usually will have some noitceable wear a few years into a new neck or fret job.

They could have increased the metallurgical hardness of those nickel frets to get them closer to the S/S life span who knows. Maybe send Charvel custom shop an email and ask them what they are since you bought it new?
 
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