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Jumbo frets

timandbob

By timandbob
in Epiphone Electrics

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charlie brown

charlie brown

Posted
Posted
I have been doing some reading and I saw the term "jumbo frets". What are jumbo frets and does my Epiphone Dot Deluxe have them? Thanks' date='

Steve[/quote']

 

Gibson used "jumbo" frets in the 50's and 60's...which was wider than

the current "medWide Fretwire

 

From the Stewart McDonald website:

 

Highest quality 18% nickel-silver fretwire

.100" or wider fretwire (original .098" Gibson "jumbo" fretwire from the late '50s is medium by modern standards), favored for string bending and used on many modern electric guitars and basses.

 

Fretwire is made in a variety of crown heights. Note that after the frets are installed and leveled, they can lose from .004" to .010" in height. High fretwire has a crown height of .045" or more. It may offer more note sustain due to its slightly greater mass, and more fret dressings are possible between refrettings. Low fretwire is often useful for partial refret jobs. Our fretwire tang is sized to fit a 0.023" (0.58mm) fret slot width.

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carverman

carverman

Posted
Posted

 

Gibson used "jumbo" frets in the 50's and 60's...which was wider than

the current "medWide Fretwire

 

From the Stewart McDonald website:

 

Highest quality 18% nickel-silver fretwire

.100" or wider fretwire (original .098" Gibson "jumbo" fretwire from the late '50s is medium by modern standards)' date=' favored for string bending and used on many modern electric guitars and basses.

 

Fretwire is made in a variety of crown heights. Note that after the frets are installed and leveled, they can lose from .004" to .010" in height. High fretwire has a crown height of .045" or more. It may offer more note sustain due to its slightly greater mass, and more fret dressings are possible between refrettings. Low fretwire is often useful for partial refret jobs. Our fretwire tang is sized to fit a 0.023" (0.58mm) fret slot width.

 

 

[/quote']

 

I used the Stew-Mac "jumbo frets"(#0154) on my first LP clone. I probably should have

tried the #0146 (wide and low).

IMO, the crown on these (#154) is too high. I had to do a lot of dressing/redressing and polishing

to get the action and fret height to where I liked it.

Someone compared these to"speed bumps"( a while ago on this forum), and this probably

would be a good description for them.

 

For my second effort, I used medium Stew-Mac frets (#0148) and this seems to be

the best compromise (at least for me) for my LP types as the narrower tang makes it

a lot easier to press into the fret grooves, and less dressing/conditioning is required.

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timandbob

timandbob

Posted
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Posted

Thanks all for the info. I just installed an earvana nut on my epi dot deluxe. They say that the nut is cut for jumbo frets. So, I think I will need to file down the slots a bit to make the strings lower in the nut. I need to reseat the nut anyway, so I'll take it off an do.

 

BTW, any other suggestions on the earvana nut would be appreciated.

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tulsaslim

tulsaslim

Posted
Posted

Absolutely hate 'em. In fact, I've got one of my guitars in the shop right now having the jumbo frets removed in replaced with the shortest, smallest, frets I can get. If I'm satisfied with the results, I've got 3 more that will get the same treatment.

 

It's like a dragstrip with speed bumps. Hate 'em.

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carverman

carverman

Posted
Posted
Absolutely hate 'em. In fact' date=' I've got one of my guitars in the shop right now having the jumbo frets removed in replaced with the shortest, smallest, frets I can get. If I'm satisfied with the results, I've got 3 more that will get the same treatment.

 

It's like a dragstrip with speed bumps. Hate 'em.[/quote']

 

i thought the LPs were called "fretless wonders" for a while. I wonder if they

were using the very low crown jumbos (stew-mac #0146= width .106/crown .036")

...or something else entirely. I have the medium #0148, (.084w/.039crown) now.

They seems to be working out ok for me., but wondering about ordering the extra height

on the #0152 .092w/.048 crown for my current project.

 

(The narrow fretwire they offer is .053width/.037 crown and they call it "banjo" fretwire.

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antwhi2001

antwhi2001

Posted
Posted

Jumbos are taller and fatter and take some getting used to. On the whole I don't like them but can handle them if I have to. There is an argument that string bends are easier.

 

If that nut was cut for jumbos, rather than deepening the slots I'd file a bit off the base to take it down evenly - but just a little at a time, it won't take much.

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brad1

brad1

Posted
Posted
Jumbo Frets come on a Gibson Les Paul Standard' date=' Epiphone uses medium frets.[/quote']

Not on all their guitars.

The prophecy line, including the LP, SG, and EM-2 all have jumbo frets. And several models have medium-jumbo.

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carverman

carverman

Posted
Posted
Got 'em on MIK Casino. The previous owner installed them. They feel pretty good...I like 'em.

 

If yours are the very low crown ones they are probably not too bad.

 

I have the Gibson Les Paul book by Robb Lawrence, (with lots of pictures) and it

mentions that the '56-'57 Gibson catalog advertised that the Les Paul Custom "fretless

wonder" has unique frets for the "lightest action ever developed on any guitar."

 

"It's debatable as to whether they were as popular (as Gibson claimed) during that

period. Some players did take advantage of the extremely low action and precise

fret levelling. Trying to bend notes was another story altogether.

Most jazz guitarists (Les Paul) weren't pushing a whole note, so it wasn't an issue."

 

The picture of '57 Goldtop shows quite narrow and low frets compared to the

ones in use today on the Epi LPs.

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ant7629

ant7629

Posted
Posted

The frets on my 2008 Gibby LP are huge. Its taking me a while to get used to them. Higher up the fret board, its great... they do make a difference when bending. But open chords can be a pain. Still getting used to pressing more lightly!

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Ricky Presto

Ricky Presto

Posted
Posted

 

If yours are the very low crown ones they are probably not too bad.

 

I have the Gibson Les Paul book by Robb Lawrence' date=' (with lots of pictures) and it

mentions that the '56-'57 Gibson catalog advertised that the Les Paul Custom "fretless

wonder" has unique frets for the "lightest action ever developed on any guitar."

 

"It's debatable as to whether they were as popular (as Gibson claimed) during that

period. Some players did take advantage of the extremely low action and precise

fret levelling. Trying to bend notes was another story altogether.

Most jazz guitarists (Les Paul) weren't pushing a whole note, so it wasn't an issue."

 

The picture of '57 Goldtop shows quite narrow and low frets compared to the

ones in use today on the Epi LPs. [/quote']

 

 

Mine are crowned nicely and are comfortable. I don't necessarily do a lot of bending, but when I do the frets feel good. The other thing is that I use .011s on my Casino, which aren't probably the best for bending. I'm more of a chord guy. I think also what is important is to have your frets properly leveled and crowned if necessary. Leveling can make your playing much easier and actually improve the tone somewhat.

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