Frets. Jumbo?

[4 Strings]

What's the deal with frets? Fender use big 'Jumbo' size, my MM Sabre has thin frets (not sure what you'd call those, I suppose in Americaspeak they'd have to be 'Regular'.

Does jumbo mean tall or fat? Should basses use jumbo only?

Why fat frets? Do they last longer? Are they supposed to sound different? Do they just feel different?

Why thin frets? Are they smoother to touch? Look more elegant? Cheaper? For banjos?

Is there a middle option? Is this the best or worst of both worlds?

There's the 'Dunlop' fret size chart, but what does this mean in practice?
[attachment=138316:frets_sizes.jpg]

[Fat Rich]

Hey, who you calling Jumbo?

I can't say I really noticed the difference going between the two fret sizes, but it's a big thing for guitarists who bend strings and it totally changes the feel.

In theory big frets should last longer, but it probably depends more on the material used and the material the strings are made of. Stainless steel strings seem to eat frets much quicker.

I'd be surprised if many bass players have a strong preference, but this is Basschat and anything is possible!

Edited July 4, 2013 by Fat Rich

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1372957919' post='2132175']
Hey, who you calling Jumbo?

I can't say I really noticed the difference going between the two fret sizes, but it's a big thing for guitarists who bend strings and it totally changes the feel.

In theory big frets should last longer, but it probably depends more on the material used and the material the strings are made of. Stainless steel strings seem to eat frets much quicker.

I'd be surprised if many bass players have a strong preference, but this is Basschat and anything is possible!
[/quote]

I suppose I should avoid references to the whether the cap fits or not!

[White Cloud]

A local bassist got super excited once with the super thin frets on my old Lakland Daryll Jones bass....I hadn't even noticed. I don't get excited over frets and honestly couldn't explain the difference.

[CamdenRob]

I've often wondered this... sometimes I see frets described as 'medium jumbo' what on earth does that mean?

[Jellyfish]

Can't speak much for others, but my Dingwall (and almost all Dingwall's) has really thin [b]banjo [/b]frets. And I love them.

[molan]

I generally prefer thinner frets and have recently been playing two near identical basses back to back - one has 'jumbo' and the other very thin (but not quite mandolin).

I've just found I can play faster and more fluidly on the thin fretted bass and there's virtually no other difference between them.

[Myke]

I know Leland Sklar uses Banjo ones. I think they make his slides sound smoother? Not sure how that works but that's what I heard. Less resistance I assume?

[Kev]

Can't say i have ever noticed either!

[Grissle]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1372972635' post='2132433']
I know Leland Sklar uses Banjo ones. I think they make his slides sound smoother? Not sure how that works but that's what I heard. Less resistance I assume?
[/quote]
Actually they're Mandolin frets, and they're very small and give almost a fretless feel and require very little finger pressure to fret.

[KiOgon]

'Vintage Frets' every time for me, makes a huge difference to the feel of a neck, I can't see the need for anything bigger. I'm pretty sure the bigger they are the easier for machines to fit with less attention by hand to finish, so cheaper production.

Jumbo = big speed bumps, IMO there's no way a neck with Jumbo Frets can be described as - fast & I reckon the smaller the frets the lighter the touch needed. Also easier to get a fast low action IME & the less the string bends over the fret the better the intonation.

Proper frets are measured in good old fashioned Imperial Inches too, none of your modern foreign metric mm $h1t

Edited July 5, 2013 by KiOgon

[Myke]

[quote name='Grissle' timestamp='1372989463' post='2132595']
Actually they're Mandolin frets, and they're very small and give almost a fretless feel and require very little finger pressure to fret.
[/quote]

Ah, my mistake. Thank you for the correction

[Graham]

I have thin frets on my Lakland Duck Dunn, which I think of vintage and bigger ones - jumbo I'd have said on my G&L L2000, I find I do prefer the frets on the G&L and make the odd fretting error sometimes I wouldn't have made if the fret was bigger.

It's far from the end of the world though and doesn't stop the Lakland being my go to bass.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I favour big frets. It's just that they're what most of my basses seem to come with. I have a feeling that my crazy Yamaha Attitude 10th Anniversary has thinner frets as you go up the 'board... Jumbos by the headstock, banjos towards the bridge. N nice bass. Bleedin' weird, though.

[stingrayPete1977]

never really noticed, same as nut width, board radius, scale length etc, I pick it up and play it then if I like it I buy it and gig it

[dave_bass5]

Another lover of the vintage style frets. Lakland use them (i believe they are banjo frets) and this was the big draw to me. I was amazed to find them on my Squiers. I definitely notice a difference doing between med-Jumbo and vintage, although i wouldn't say its a problem for me.

[Lozz196]

Most of my Precisions have/had modern jumbo sized ones, but have had a few with vintage sized, no preferences really, but for slides etc the vintage ones do make things easier.

[4 Strings]

Seems like there's little difference in the touch.

My Sabre has thin frets (converted from fretless at some stage in its career) my Stingray has jumbo. I notice other things to differentiate the difference between the basses.

Would the general conclusion, apart from dave bass5's experiences, be that things like fret wear will be more important?

Anyone used SS frets?