Jumbo Frets?

[BigElectricCat]

I've been playing every guitar I can lay my hands on in my quest for a new axe.

I have settled on a Strat. I am about to play every Strat available in Seoul, including some 80s made in Japan ones.

I've been reading a bit about Jumbo Frets. It is claimed they make bending and vibrato 'easier'.

As someone who has been known to pull the odd sour note, I was wondering if Jumbo Frets provide any real world benefits to an average gigging player. If so what are they, and what are the drawbacks?

Of course I know it all depends on how the instrument plays and feels in my hands but I'd like a bit of input from other players.

Cheers,

Tony

[zenguitar]

Nothing special about Jumbo frets. They are just wider than most.

Superficially, they can feel easier for some people, but it really is a matter of whatever feels right for you is right. The potential downside is that there is more scope for intonation problems as they wear down.

Regardless of fret size, the best way to get smooth string bending and vibrato is to work on your technique, keep the fretboard and frets clean, and to give the frets a polish a few times a year.

Andy

[Frisonic]

Hi Cat,

I don't know if you'd call it 'jumbo' frets as such but my 335 has a significantly bigger fretboard than either my thinline tele or my duo jet. Some might say bad idea to have different sized fretboards/necks as it can confuse muscle memory. I haven't really found it a problem. It was just an accident of chance and personally I don't think I throw any more bum notes than I did before (too many to notice). What I have noticed is that playing the 335 sometimes helps to 'open up' my left hand when I've practiced on it a lot (I play right handed guitars). This can result in seemingly moving faster around the more compact fretboards afterwards. I also get a sense that its easier to dig in for expression on the bigger fretboard, whilst I seem to pull chords off the regular ones more convincingly.

Maybe I would say I feel the bigger fretboard might be more 'articulate' whilst the regular ones seem somehow faster/tighter. But this is a highly personal view and to be honest there is very little in it. Once I'm into either I just play it.

Enjoy working your way around Seoul's strat offerings and good luck in finding your next guitar. You'll know it when you play it!

[bequick_x]

It's not just the fret that makes it easier or harder to bend. It depends on the 'camber' of the fretboard which is known as the 'fingerboard radius'. Another factor is how high the action is on the strings (the height of between the strings and the fingerboard).

I find it harder on guitars with larger fingerboard radius' (flatter necks) such as the Ibanex Rg's to bend accurately and play double stops (bending 2 strings at once). Again, It takes practice to get used to these guitars more that others but I found that the more 'bluesy' things on guitar felt more accurate on guitars such Strats and Les Pauls with a medium action.

Hope that helps, thanks

[. . . Delete This User . . .]

I'd have to say that there ARE special aspects to the Jumbo fret..... proper jumbo frets.....

jumbo frets, are kind of a halfway house between normal frets and a scalloped finger board...

the extra height means it's possible to have a light touch , and cleanly fret a note, without hitting the fingerboard timber, thus making it possible, in theory, to bend without dragging on the board.... thus the "easier" claim

however, it's a whole skill set in itself having THAT light a touch technique.... which is NOT easy to acquire.

in a similar vein, the extra height gives more dimensional freedom in terms of vibrato technique., a truly 3 dimensional approach is always possible, but there is wider scope for it's application when there's more vertical movement to play with...

both of these factors also apply, but more so , to the scalloped fret board

again, learning to make use of this is something that is not an instantaneous thing.... it takes much practice to develop the feel and precision to make it work FOR you, rather than you having to work around it...

and they do require, arguably, more care in the longer term..... the crowning of the frets is critical to accurate intonation , so when you see big fat flat areas.... on the top of the frets of a used instrument, walk away unless you're prepared to have the thing levelled and re-crowned.... which will vary in price depending on geographic location, and how severe the job is.... it may even lead to a partial refret.... in any event, it'll be a damn sight more than a regular set up. .......

(needless to say, as a not very reformed shred head, both jumbo frets and scalloped boards have figured fairly heavily in my past..... however, these days i largely go for more traditional medium-ish frets..... and no scallops.)

(Sorry Andy, we wandered blindly in to my former field of speciality...... )

[zenguitar]

Sorry Andy, we wandered blindly in to my former field of speciality......

No worries Max... I resisted the temptation to talk about the benefits of being able to get your finger behind the string like that It's the difference between dragging a string and pushing or pulling it, once you 'get it' it's so much easier and more responsive.

And you are right of course. What you and I understand as Jumbo Frets includes the fret height, tall as well as wide. But in the market place the term has been diluted to mean wide frets which is what I took the OP to mean when he mentioned hearing that jumbo frets are easier to play.

Andy

[onesecondglance]

it's possible to [...] cleanly fret a note, without hitting the fingerboard timber...

this is clearly some next level kinda [ ****** ]. i never even imagined that you could get a note to sound without touching the wood?

[Frisonic]

I'd have to say that there ARE special aspects to the Jumbo fret..... proper jumbo frets.....

jumbo frets, are kind of a halfway house between normal frets and a scalloped finger board...

the extra height means it's possible to have a light touch , and cleanly fret a note, without hitting the fingerboard timber, thus making it possible, in theory, to bend without dragging on the board.... thus the "easier" claim

however, it's a whole skill set in itself having THAT light a touch technique.... which is NOT easy to acquire.

in a similar vein, the extra height gives more dimensional freedom in terms of vibrato technique., a truly 3 dimensional approach is always possible, but there is wider scope for it's application when there's more vertical movement to play with...

both of these factors also apply, but more so , to the scalloped fret board

again, learning to make use of this is something that is not an instantaneous thing.... it takes much practice to develop the feel and precision to make it work FOR you, rather than you having to work around it...

and they do require, arguably, more care in the longer term..... the crowning of the frets is critical to accurate intonation , so when you see big fat flat areas.... on the top of the frets of a used instrument, walk away unless you're prepared to have the thing levelled and re-crowned.... which will vary in price depending on geographic location, and how severe the job is.... it may even lead to a partial refret.... in any event, it'll be a damn sight more than a regular set up. .......

(needless to say, as a not very reformed shred head, both jumbo frets and scalloped boards have figured fairly heavily in my past..... however, these days i largely go for more traditional medium-ish frets..... and no scallops.)

(Sorry Andy, we wandered blindly in to my former field of speciality...... )

Highly informative and all news to me. I had to do some googling after I read that to understand that my previous post was complete rubbish! Who knew? I've got to track down a real jumbo fretted guitar and play it now. Could be a staeping stone to rudimentary sitar. Always wanted to play the sitar.

[. . . Delete This User . . .]

a number of pointy headstock 80's shred fest guitars had them.....

i think i've owned most of them

[ryan mead]

I have settled on a Strat. I am about to play every Strat available in Seoul, including some 80s made in Japan ones.

Hey Tony,

A bit OT as far as jumbo frets are concerned, but the guy who bought the (Indonesia-made!) G&L Strat off Craigslist a few months back finally brought it around on the weekend. We didn't do the A/B test in earnest as we'd been planning (our wives were present, we were drinking, etc.), so no clips to upload, but subjectively I will say there was precious little to separate it from my '99 US-made Fender.

His was strung with 9s, mine 10s, his had a maple fretboard, mine rosewood, and his pickups were very quiet at first, but I quickly fixed them by raising them closer to the strings. There was no (drunkenly) appreciable difference in volume once the pickups were the same height.

I thought his was voiced a bit "twangier", but that might be down to the strings.

Anyways, hope these ramblings help a bit. I really was impressed by the G&L.

[The Korff]

They make turbo-fast legato diddly bits easier, IMO. (Like the charcoal briquette, I too am an Ibanez fan.)

Cheers!

Chris

[Stu Pendous Music]

When referring to "jumbo frets" I'm guessing you mean taller (and also wider?). When trying all of these different guitars, I'm sure you have discovered the different neck shapes, profiles, and fingerboard radii. I'm certain that you are or will be using thin or light gauge strings (10s,9s,8s). Consider the fact that most of the the guitars that we so revere and hold with such extreme esteem were designed during an era where "medium" gauge strings were the standard. Medium gauge strings usually consisted of a .012 or .013 high E and anywhere from a .052 to a .056 low E; furthermore, the standard set had a wound G, usually ranging from .026 to .028, and usually--but not always--flatwound...WOW! What we have come to call vintage style frets went in step with what was par-for-the-course back then. The more modern approach of using a taller and possibly/probably wider fret would work better with thinner/lighter strings versus the vintage standard of thicker/heavier strings. Personally, I don't see any reason to us modern jumbo frets, but then again I'm addicted to my .056 low E! The jumbo fret will allow your strings to be as close to the frets as possible while being higher off the fingerboard; lower, or more "vintage" frets will allow the strings to be closer to the fingerboard while still remaining as close to the fret s possible. Since you mentioned that you are going to go for a Stratocaster, I would suggest that you keep the sting gauges in mind if you are going to purchase one with a vintage style tremolo/vibrato unit.

Hope this helps!
Stu