I have slight grooves in the seven-string I built three years ago, with Warmoth 6105 SS frets. It'll be another two years before I need to do a level, but SS frets do wear. The only way they wouldn't, is if you don't play very much. In that case, nickel frets don't wear either. :laughing7: If I'm playing only one guitar, with nickel frets, I have to level them every year. Sometimes one guitar will assume the position of "main" and receive a lion's share of the playing time. Many years back, I noticed that great guitarists (as opposed to rock stars) usually picked out ONE guitar and learned the intricacies of it's tones, rather than switching all the time - and it works! Those guys who play 12 guitars per concert? FASHION MAVENS..... :icon_scratch:
I average about four hours playing a day on guitar, seven or eight hours total counting pedal steel, bass & paperwork.
arty07:
I have the impression that there are two brands of stainless frets out there, but I don't know the original manufacturers... the SS frets on a tele neck I got from USA Custom seem to me to be harder, so far. But they needed to be polished, right out of the box - unlike the Warmoth, which only needed the ends hotdogged. (I don't mind....)
If the fret manufacturers really wanted to, they could make frets out of stainless tool steel hardened to Rockwell 65, you couldn't bend 'em, you couldn't work em and they'd kill your strings - but they wouldn't wear. :hello2:
I average about four hours playing a day on guitar, seven or eight hours total counting pedal steel, bass & paperwork.

I have the impression that there are two brands of stainless frets out there, but I don't know the original manufacturers... the SS frets on a tele neck I got from USA Custom seem to me to be harder, so far. But they needed to be polished, right out of the box - unlike the Warmoth, which only needed the ends hotdogged. (I don't mind....)
If the fret manufacturers really wanted to, they could make frets out of stainless tool steel hardened to Rockwell 65, you couldn't bend 'em, you couldn't work em and they'd kill your strings - but they wouldn't wear. :hello2: