![]() ![]() It does, however, influence the overall sonic stew of guitars of that era, which is always the product of many different ingredients.įret gauge might have a bigger impact on playing feel than on tone for many guitarists. Not likely, largely because so many other factors also affect its tone – body woods, set-neck construction, scale length, pickups – and the impact of narrow-gauge frets doesn’t outweigh any of them. Does a ’57 goldtop with PAFs sound thin or wimpy thanks to its narrow fret wire? Narrow frets shouldn’t be too hard to bend on, unless they are badly worn down, and they also leave a little more finger room on the fretboardīut narrower frets were also used on Gibson Les Pauls prior to 1959, so their characteristics apply to these guitars as well. If you’re thinking these are all characteristics of the classic Fender sound, you’d be right - or they are, at least, until you change those vintage frets to jumbo. From this, you tend to get a sharper tone, possibly with increased intonation accuracy, plus enhanced overtone clarity in some cases, which could be heard as a little more “shimmer.” Since they present a finer break point at the neck end of the strings’ speaking length, narrower vintage-gauge frets are generally more precise in their noting accuracy. Be aware, however, that the phenomenon can work against some sonic goals too. Unless it is very precisely shaped, and frequently dressed, the broad crown of that jumbo fret can “blur” your note ever so slightly, which might even be part of the sonic appeal for some players – the way, for example, a tweed Deluxe is a little blurrier or hairier at most volume settings than a blackface Deluxe.
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