THOUGHTS

What Are Frets Made Of? (And Why It Actually Matters)

August 8, 2025 • Dan Holtz, Lakeside Guitar

Material Girl

If you've ever wondered what material those metal strips across your fretboard are actually made of, you're not alone. Most players just accept them as part of the guitar without thinking much about it. So, let's dig into the metallurgy behind your bends.

The vast majority of guitars have nickel silver frets. Despite the name, there isn't actually any silver in there. It's an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc that just happens to have a silvery appearance. It's more of a nickname, I guess.

You may find pure nickel frets on some vintage instruments. It often lends a darker tone. And, more recently, stainless steel is trending. It has a brighter tone. Some boutique builders like to experiment with other materials like pure gold or synthetics, but these are rare exceptions. StewMac sells a "cryo" fret wire that is frozen at subzero temperatures for hardness. Go figure!

Rock Lobster

But, why is nickel silver the prevailing choice? Well, it's uniquely positioned on the hardness scale to be both easy on your strings, and durable enough to last years. Or even decades.

And, when you do need fret work, it's soft enough to be reshaped and polished efficiently. Essentially, nickel silver frets keep manufacturing and maintenance costs reasonable.

The high cost of working with stainless stell and other extra hard materials is why you only seem to find them on guitar priced into the $1,000's. And, be prepared to spend more on maintenance as well. They chew up tools, and take more time. Of course, they will last significantly longer than nickel silver.

For most players, especially those who aren't touring constantly or playing 4+ hours daily, nickel silver still remains the practical choice. The performance-to-cost ratio just makes sense, and the feel and sound are comfortable and familiar.

Don't You... Forget About Me

For those of us rocking regular frets, it's important to get that they aren't a "set it and forget it" component. Frets are constantly eroding and flattening from play. They are collecting funk, gunk and oxidation. It's just that fret wear develops so slowly, it's like boiling a frog. You keep adjusting to the ever-worsening conditions.

Plus, fret maintenance isn't just about instrument longevity – it directly affects your intonation, playability, and tone. Worn frets can make a great guitar buzzy, flat and just a bummer to play.

Fret Polishing
The most basic maintenance! Removes oxidation, grime, and minor pits & scratches that build up over time. It's like detailing your car – everything just works better when it's clean & shiny. I do a simple but effective top surface polish with every 50 Point Pro Setup.

Fret Leveling
We all tend to play in the same keys and patterns a lot, and so wear can develop more in those high traffic areas. This creates an high/low spot effect that produces buzz in random places. Leveling means carefully sanding all frets to the same height with a precisions straight-edge, a radius block, or other specialized leveling tools.

Fret Crowning
If your frets look flat on the top, that ain't good for your tone. Lack of crowning leads to buzz, intonation issues, and that annoying "dead" sound on certain notes. It's all about string contact, and it should be minimal and right at the peak of a rounded hump. 

Fret End Dressing
Dude, frets are metal. They get sharp edges when they are filed. Dressing is the process of "bullnosing" the fret ends and filing down the exposed edges inside the fingerboard. Rough fret ends are uncomfortable, and they can actually cut your hand if you are playing... uh.. aggressively.

Partial Fret Replacment
It makes absolutely no sense to shave valuable metal off the majority of your frets to accommodate one or just a few very low frets. Better to pull 'em and lay down some new wire. Then you level those DOWN to the higher majority. It's a bit of a job, but it's worth saving each precious 1/1000th of an inch of height.

Complete Fret Replacement
This is kinda' the nuclear option – removing every, single fret and installing new ones. While this is "major surgery," at some point it becomes the only answer. Plus, it yields the benefit of giving your luthier access to the naked fingerboard to be patched, radius-sanded and burnished. Don't overlook the impact of the fingerboard condition on your playing and tone, also!

I Can See Clearly Now

Look for grooves worn into the fret tops, especially under the unwound strings and closer to the nut. Divots, flat spots, or frets that look noticeably different heights all indicate problems.

If bends feel rough or grabby, if you're getting buzzes that weren't there before, or if the action feels inconsistent across the neck, your frets might be the culprit.

And, your ears don't lie! If notes sound dead, won't sustain properly, or have intonation issues, despite proper setup, this often points to fret problems. If your tuner shows you're in tune but chords sound off, worn frets could be throwing your intonation out of whack.

The timeline varies wildly based on your playing style, string choice, and climate. A weekend warrior might go decades on original frets, while a touring professional might need major fretwork every few years.

Good Vibrations

Frets are the unsung heroes of playability. They're doing a lot of work behind the scenes, and when they're not in good shape, everything else suffers. The good news is that proper maintenance can keep your guitar feeling and sounding its best for years.

Whether you're dealing with nickel silver, stainless steel, or any other fret material, regular attention to these details will pay dividends in your playing experience. Your guitar will thank you, and more importantly, your music will thank you.

Don't wait until problems become obvious – a little preventive care goes a long way in the world of fretwork.