I'm sure we all go into Guitar Center on occasion. Love them or hate them, they can be convenient for a few things. Many of you probably know about "Guitar Center Garage," their tech service, where they will change pickups, level/crown/polish, etc. Where I lived previously, in Redlands, CA, I never could find an independent tech/luthier for things that I do not do myself, like fret work. The local Guitar Center, in San Bernardino, had a tech (Dustin) who was a pretty good guy and did decent work. I've seen a bit better work, but his work is leagues beyond what I would be able to do, so I had him do my level/crown/polishes on any new necks I got from W.
Of note, I love the feel of stainless steel frets. Properly polished, bends seem to have a lot less friction than with nickel frets. Their long life, to me, is a bonus. But life expectancy is not the reason I choose them for my builds. From what I understand, however, they are a bear to work with when filing, shaping, polishing, etc. One would expect that, since the stainless steel is much harder than nickel.
That said, now that we have relocated to Sacramento, I went to check out the local Guitar Center the other day. I found their GC Garage, introduced myself to the tech, and told him I was new to town. To be kind, he wasn't the warmest individual. I mentioned that I have done some hobby builds with Warmoth parts and that I have a couple still in need of level/crown/polish, and setup/intonation. Then, I asked him how he likes working with stainless steel frets. You'd have thought I just insulted his mother! He went from being cold to aggressive, saying, "I've never worked with them and I never will! There is no reason to ever use stainless steel frets! Regular frets are designed to wear out over time and be replaced! It protects your neck! People who need stainless steel frets don't know how to play their guitars! If they're wearing out frets, they're playing too hard and need to learn how to play!"
Inside, I'm thinking "wtf?" Outside, I just smiled and said, "Alright, thank you for your time."
Obviously, everything he said was off, but regular frets"protect your neck?" Seriously? :dontknow:
Needless to say, I'll be looking into some of the techs recommended to me in the "Find a Guitar Tech" subforum.
Of note, I love the feel of stainless steel frets. Properly polished, bends seem to have a lot less friction than with nickel frets. Their long life, to me, is a bonus. But life expectancy is not the reason I choose them for my builds. From what I understand, however, they are a bear to work with when filing, shaping, polishing, etc. One would expect that, since the stainless steel is much harder than nickel.
That said, now that we have relocated to Sacramento, I went to check out the local Guitar Center the other day. I found their GC Garage, introduced myself to the tech, and told him I was new to town. To be kind, he wasn't the warmest individual. I mentioned that I have done some hobby builds with Warmoth parts and that I have a couple still in need of level/crown/polish, and setup/intonation. Then, I asked him how he likes working with stainless steel frets. You'd have thought I just insulted his mother! He went from being cold to aggressive, saying, "I've never worked with them and I never will! There is no reason to ever use stainless steel frets! Regular frets are designed to wear out over time and be replaced! It protects your neck! People who need stainless steel frets don't know how to play their guitars! If they're wearing out frets, they're playing too hard and need to learn how to play!"
Inside, I'm thinking "wtf?" Outside, I just smiled and said, "Alright, thank you for your time."
Obviously, everything he said was off, but regular frets"protect your neck?" Seriously? :dontknow:
Needless to say, I'll be looking into some of the techs recommended to me in the "Find a Guitar Tech" subforum.