Jackson American Series

[Dr. Caligari]

I have a Mono gigbag and it's been fine so far but hardcases stack better for sure. I don't see how I need more than one gigbag so I definitely prefer getting hardcases when buying guitars.

 

[jephjacques]

Why don't y'all just let people who are loud about expecting better from companies be loud so that y'all can sit quiet and possibly reap some benefits? Who cares if you don't care about SS frets or hard cases, they are objectively better and certainly aren't going to break anyone's bank at these prices

yeah fender's marketing strategy team is definitely reading this thread, sweat dripping down their faces. one just jumped out the window. they're so fucked

 

[jephjacques]

PS I set mine up in drop B and it's ridiculous

 

[trem licking]

yeah fender's marketing strategy team is definitely reading this thread, sweat dripping down their faces. one just jumped out the window. they're so fucked

Never claimed they were? Don't know what you're getting at here

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

I've never heard anyone bitch about having frets that stay nice forever. I have, however, seen plenty of people seeking reputable techs to maintain or change frets. This may involve shipping off your guitar if no one is around you and paying hundreds of dollars. If the guitar is cheap, this sucks even more. Stainless should be the new standard, especially on high end guitars... I dont care where they are made. Granted i will still buy a guitar with nickel frets as i personally don't wear them down much, i still expect better from companies. 50s fenders are great investments and history pieces, but it ain't the 50s anymore. Stainless all around

Stainless do not last forever. I have XJ stainless on 1 of my guitars, I played it religiously for 5 years (was my only serviceable player) and the frets were noticeably divoted until I got them dressed recently. Yes they are more durable and if money is no object then they're the obvious choice. But on a production line, where money is tight, I'd much rather have nickel frets with good fretwork than stainless with lackluster fretwork

 

[trem licking]

Stainless do not last forever. I have XJ stainless on 1 of my guitars, I played it religiously for 5 years (was my only serviceable player) and the frets were noticeably divoted until I got them dressed recently. Yes they are more durable and if money is no object then they're the obvious choice. But on a production line, where money is tight, I'd much rather have nickel frets with good fretwork than stainless with lackluster fretwork

You are the first person I've ever heard of doing anything to stainless. Sounds like they either are not stainless, or you have the grip of a gorilla. Why would the trade off be better quality nickel fretwork vs shitty work ss? Im betting the workmanship would be the same

 

[kidmendel]

PS I set mine up in drop B and it's ridiculous

What string gauges you using for that?

 

[tedtan]

I get there are reasons to like/use gig bags. Peeps saying they protect BETTER or equally in most instances are just plain wrong though. But my issue is with a high end guitar, they should ship the best product they can. Soft cases is them cutting costs

You want a great case, try a Calton or a Hoffee.

 

[jephjacques]

What string gauges you using for that?

bottom 6 strings of a 7 string set, I think it's like a 64-11

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

You are the first person I've ever heard of doing anything to stainless. Sounds like they either are not stainless, or you have the grip of a gorilla. Why would the trade off be better quality nickel fretwork vs shitty work ss? Im betting the workmanship would be the same

If I had to guess I'd say most people with SS frets have a larger stable of guitars, so less likely to wear any particular one down. In which case with multiple guitars I doubt many people are playing any singular guitar enough to wear them down within 5-10 years, whether nickel or stainless.

The tradeoff has to come somewhere. It'll have to come out of labour cost or other component cost. If it comes from labour cost, whether fretwork or otherwise, I'd rather not make that trade. If it comes from component cost, I can't think of any spec on these I'd trade for SS frets, especially for shows/touring.

 

[neptoess]

You are the first person I've ever heard of doing anything to stainless. Sounds like they either are not stainless, or you have the grip of a gorilla. Why would the trade off be better quality nickel fretwork vs shitty work ss? Im betting the workmanship would be the same

You must not have read too far into stainless. Steve Morse wears through stainless enough to need refrets yearly. He needed refrets far more often with nickel silver, though, of course. You don’t need gorilla grip either. If you play a guitar for 100+ hours a month, the frets are going to wear. You level, crown, and dress when this happens, until they get low enough that you need new frets. Stainless doesn’t change this fact, it just lengthens the maintenance intervals. I personally seem to take years to wear nickel-silver to the point that I need to level, crown, and dress though, so one set of stainless frets could, in theory, last me the rest of my life.

As for the tradeoff in fretwork, it’s because stainless is a bitch to work compared to nickel-silver. When the material is almost as hard as your tools, you need to put a lot more oomph and/or time into it. And, on a production line, those are both a lot to ask for. Even with a Plek in the mix, you’re still going to wear through tooling faster, and someone still has to do a final polish by hand.

 

[neptoess]

bottom 6 strings of a 7 string set, I think it's like a 64-11

You like ‘em thick lol. I don’t fuck with drop tunings too often, but 10-46 feels about perfect for C# standard on a Fender scale guitar for me. Might get a little floppy for the low B, so I’d probably move up to 11-50 for drop B.

I’m a wimp though. I use 09-40 in standard, and the heaviest I go is 12-54 for B standard.

My Martin has 12-54 in standard (on a 25.4” scale), but I don’t really bend a lot on acoustic, so they’re comfortable.

 

[trem licking]

Wearing through stainless is MUCH MUCH harder to do (i still question the validity of these wearing through statements). Very few cases of it happening. They throw ss on harley bentons so no excuses for premium, modern American made guitars not to have em

 

[Tree]

Wearing through stainless is MUCH MUCH harder to do (i still question the validity of these wearing through statements). Very few cases of it happening. They throw ss on harley bentons so no excuses for premium, modern American made guitars not to have em

Yes, because Harley Benton is really enforcing their QC and sending out premium instruments.

As everyone else has already beaten home, design/profit margins have to be established. It’s great that factories churning out more affordable instruments are plopping on SS frets if that’s your game. But here, with the extra detail and attention these are getting it was clearly a decision that it wouldn’t be important or fiscally feasible to do.

 

[trem licking]

Yes, because Harley Benton is really enforcing their QC and sending out premium instruments.

Also, see kiesel

 

[Tree]

Also, see kiesel

Your point.

^^^^^^^^^

My head.



What do you mean?

 

[neptoess]

Wearing through stainless is MUCH MUCH harder to do (i still question the validity of these wearing through statements). Very few cases of it happening. They throw ss on harley bentons so no excuses for premium, modern American made guitars not to have em

I highly doubt they’re putting Jescar stainless on Harley-Bentons. They’re putting “stainless” on them.

As for validity, here you go
Gerry Hayes is a well-respected luthier. Here’s his article about fret wear (and he talks about stainless in it) https://hazeguitars.com/blog/frets-are-consumables

It’s also just common sense. Every material wears, even diamond. For an extreme example, if you use stainless steel strings, your strings are just as hard as your frets. Still better than nickel-silver, where the frets are softer than the plain strings, but there’s no way you believe that stainless steel doesn’t wear at all

 

[trem licking]

Your point.

^^^^^^^^^

My head.



What do you mean?

Quality usa built guitars all with stainless. Impeccable fret jobs

 

[trem licking]

I highly doubt they’re putting Jescar stainless on Harley-Bentons. They’re putting “stainless” on them.

As for validity, here you go
Gerry Hayes is a well-respected luthier. Here’s his article about fret wear (and he talks about stainless in it) https://hazeguitars.com/blog/frets-are-consumables

It’s also just common sense. Every material wears, even diamond. For an extreme example, if you use stainless steel strings, your strings are just as hard as your frets. Still better than nickel-silver, where the frets are softer than the plain strings, but there’s no way you believe that stainless steel doesn’t wear at all

Ok so even so, getting 100x the life out of them is far worth it

 

[Tree]

Quality usa built guitars all with stainless. Impeccable fret jobs

Ahhhh. Well Kiesel targets a largely different audience.

Honestly, I’ve never opted for or played stainless equipped Kiesels. Be it my own order, or otherwise. It’s an option, for sure, but I doubt most orders they get even pick it.