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I recently bought a used flamenco in mint condition. The fret wire is approx. .044" high. Due to a crooked, uneven index finger barring is very difficult for me. I have high frets on my classicals, .058" high and .118" wide. If I put these frets on my flamenco would it devalue the guitar or make it more difficult to sell? Anything less than .110" x .055 wouldn't be much help to me. Thank you for your thoughts.
RE: Another fret wire question (in reply to oc chuck)
Ricardo and others will tell you that frets are a consumable on a guitar, I agree. If you love the guitar, get the work done well by a good luthier and I feel confident it won't devalue it. If the frets are tall they can always be taken down and recrowned in the future by a new owner.
BUT, you may need new nut and bridge bones if you do this. Make sure you keep the old ones in case the frets need taking back down at some point.
I assume you've looked into various barre techniques to try to overcome your difficulties?
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RE: Another fret wire question (in reply to oc chuck)
Frets affect intonation (high fret gives more control to bend the string if you want to", not action really). If you have problem barring any guitar, lower the BRIDGE SADDLE. that is why they are adjustable. Unless neck angle is severe .... then you might need to plane the fingerboard to lower the strings.
I see people complain about action, and then next complain about string buzz. It is a see saw that the player needs to balance to find the Goldilocks zone.
Posts: 15418
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Another fret wire question (in reply to silddx)
quote:
ORIGINAL: silddx
Interested to know how high and wide frets help you overcome your barre difficulties.
as with electric guitar, high and wide frets allows more INTONATION CONTROL, which is something most acoustic players think is magically achieve with the guitar construction, NOT with the fingers. Scalloping the fingerboard is like SUPER tall frets, so you can push and shape the pitch as you want. (imaging you fret an Eb and by bending and pushing you can make it sound like F#).
If you have a normal classical guitar, and have worn the frets in spots, and you have a Luther install taller frets, that is the same as LOWERING THE ACTION over the fingerboard. The guitar will buzz more, and playing will feel easier. But your playing intonation will be more sensitive at the same time. This is due to having more room to play beneath the string (as if you had scalloped the fingerboard). I really don't think this what flamenco or classical player want or need. We use the bone saddle to deal with the action. Nylon strings are already very pliable vs steel. I could imagine how introducing tall and wide frets to a flamenco guitar will make the player sound out of tune with himself unless he is super careful.
RE: Another fret wire question (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
I could imagine how introducing tall and wide frets to a flamenco guitar will make the player sound out of tune with himself unless he is super careful.
Well that's what I was thinking, and if there is a physical problem with barre, then isn't it likely that the player will press harder and pull some notes sharp?
I have seen a few videos with pro classical guitarists who have said that the barre is a moving thing rather than a static position trying to hold all the strings down at the same time, they roll their barre finger a bit to get the notes in the passage clean.
_____________________________
The early bird catches the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese.
RE: Another fret wire question (in reply to silddx)
If I lay my finger on a flat surface there are significant gaps under the joints. The higher frets allow me to barre without undue pressure. I have .058 high frets on my classicals and they help a lot. Believe me, I know a barre is not "a one size fits all" position. I can adjust the nut and saddle as needed. I've tried some flamenco on my high fret classical and think I can keep the intonation problem to a minimum. 🤞
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