StewMac Medium Fretwire

I used this with the StewMac fretboards with great results. No slippage and no pops-outs. No epoxy is necessary. Works great.

I ordered fret wire for a job but forgot it takes two sticks of wire to do one fret board for steel string 21 frets. A reminder on the form might be nice

Seems good so far. Yet to see how long it lasts though.

This wire went in smoothly (using the jaws 2 and flat brass whodicky) and seated well. I have had no lifting after a month--and much playing-- so all is well. However, the wire's profile is a little pointy on the top edge, so it chews through strings pretty quickly.

From what I've seen in the comparisons I've done, this gauge of wire is very close to that which can be found on many classical/flamenco guitars. What I have also noticed is that experienced luthiers sometimes seem to know that the wire is "sharp" and will purposefully flatten it off on frets 2 thru 7 to minimize string wear. Also, if your fingerboard happens to be perfectly flat under tension (which is how I prefer it), the small amount sanded off the tops of frets 2-7 lessens the inevitable fret buzz that occurs in that area.

If you think in terms of the string vibrating in a circular motion, and add the fact that the further you go up the fret, the higher the action gets, you'll see that this particular fret area should be the only section that needs minor reduction. After about the 7-9th fret, buzz should no longer be a problem, even with low action. If it is, you probably have an arc in the fingerboard.

I've always used either Dunlop or German made wire. I had a refret for a customer - and felt that the sizes available to me were not right...the customers 62 reissue tele needed a vintage size wire with a little more height and width. This wire worked out perfectly. The wire is very good value and nice that it is packaged airtight - especially as here in Melbourne the salt air tends to corrode metal quicker than other cities I've lived in.

Had an old 1980's ovation come in for it's second re fret. The frets went in with no problem at all. I was happy to find the exact match.

I like the medium fretwire and rosewood finger board I used on this neck made out of cherry. Thought I would give it a try on this curly maple body finished with Colortone blue dye. Thanks stewmac for your always great service and great products

I pre-grind fret ends, so it's important that I over-bend the fretwire by a precise amount in relation to the fretboard of the guitar at hand. Different 2' lengths of fretwire from the same tube of stew-mac fretwire would bend to different radii when sent through the fret-bender at the same setting. This meant that I over-bent and thus wasted a lot of fretwire and time. The problem is that Stew Mac gave me multiple batches (like yarn "dye lots") of fretwire in the same tube. I think that this isn't a problem for most folks but it's problematic for me. Also, the wire was pretty dirty requiring a good cleaning.

After I purchased one of your fret saws (I had been filing down coping saw blades to the right size) I never had any trouble getting the medium fret wire to stay put on a fret board.

Installed this fret wire on two 000 guitars. Just the right size and is well made. No installation problems.