Jescar fret wire??????

[William F.Eden]

Has any one out there used the gold fret wire by these people and if so what did you think of it? And how did it stand up to ware?. I had a coustomer asking for it to-day and had never heard of it befor.Bill........

[Ron Frazier]

I dont know how hard or soft it is. There is thousands of old Kays and Harmony guitars out there and I have never seen one that needed refretting. I would remove brass frets from a old neck when I need some so never used any of the roll I have.

 

Ron

[Paul Hostetter]

I surmised it was said in jest.

[Ron Frazier]

No kidding .  I just removed the neck from a old Kay f hole, removed the fingerboard,  installed a truss rod,  reset the neck, glued it back to the body, leved the frets and it playes good . It was saved and it was a keep sake, other wise it needed to be scraped. It isn't worth what I charged but to it but the customer was well pleased.

 

Ron

[Murray MacLeod]

worth noting that so called nickel-silver frets are nothing but brass, with the addition of some nickel. 

[Paul Hostetter]

Not true. Brass is an alloy of mostly copper with about 10-20% zinc. Nickel silver (or German silver or whatever common name you choose to stick on it) is 80-something percent copper alloyed with nickel as the predominant other metal. And while we're at it, bronze is basically an alloy of copper and tin. These are all major differences in physical qualities of the alloys. 

[Murray MacLeod]

There is waaaaay more variation in the proportions of copper and zinc in all the different types of  brass, and waaaaaay more variation in the proportions of copper, zinc, and nickel in all the different types of nickel silver than is generally appreciated.

Nickel silver is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel, (in multi-varying  proportions according to the requirements of the manufacturer)  hence my contention that it is nothing but brass with the addition of some nickel.

Je repose ma valise ...

 

[Paul Hostetter]

Your range of appreciation is admirable, but not much in line with the reality of metallurgy, at least as it applies to fretwire and string wrap alloys. To reinterate:

Brass     Bronze

[Murray MacLeod]

Love the picture, Paul, I am definitely going to steal that for further (unattributed)  use.

 

Have I ever worked in a metal foundry ? Answer = NO

 

Have you ever worked in a metal foundry ?  Answer = NO

 

Do I get my info off the internet ? Answer = YES

 

Do you get your info  off the internet ? Answer = YES  

 

So , in the absence of hitherto undisclosed information, nickel silver is still brass with a bit of nickel thrown in

 

.

[Russell Vance]

Just so you both don't end up scratching each other's eyes out just prior to the season of peace on earth and goodwill to all luthiers and men - you are both technically correct and arguing (which is probably poor sport on this forum) about a couple of split hairs is not worth the angst.  

Nickel silver is sometimes considered a subset of brass (according to broad definition) but, as nickel silver does not necessarily have to contain zinc (to still be called nickel silver) it can also not be a brass alloy.  In the application to frets as we know them now, nickel silver may be called a "brass" but as the discussion started about straight definition both of our esteemed and erstwhile colleagues were correct, sort of.  Merry Xmas and Buddhist blessings to you all.

[Paul Hostetter]

Actually, Murray, you've overstepped once again and you're beginning to try my patience. As a part of my BFA, I worked in a bronze foundry for five years, pouring little things like centrifugally cast jewelry up to life bronzes. I have a lot of experience with metals, including gold and iron as well. I also spent a lot of time with the late Jim Rickard, the guy who pretty much put D'Addario on the map, talking shop about things like alloys. 

PS:

Brass types

• Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc, and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification in many environments.
• Aich's alloy typically contains 60.66% copper, 36.58% zinc, 1.02% tin, and 1.74% iron. Designed for use in marine service owing to its corrosion resistance, hardness and toughness. A characteristic application is to the protection of ships' bottoms, but more modern methods of cathodic protection have rendered its use less common. Its appearance resembles that of gold.^[37]
• Alpha brasses with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold, and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only one phase, with face-centered cubiccrystal structure.
• Prince's metal or Prince Rupert's metal is a type of alpha brass containing 75% copper and 25% zinc. Due to its beautiful yellow color, it is used as an imitation of gold.^[38] The alloy was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
• Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35–45% zinc and is suited for hot working. It contains both α and β' phase; the β'-phase is body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than α. Alpha-beta brasses are usually worked hot.
• Aluminium brass contains aluminium, which improves its corrosion resistance. It is used for seawater service^[39] and also in Euro coins (Nordic gold).
• Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium and is used for boiler fireboxes.
• Beta brasses, with 45–50% zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.
• Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties. Used for ammunition cases.
• Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for cold working.
• DZR brass is dezincification resistant brass with a small percentage of arsenic.
• Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. An alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc, gilding metal is typically used for ammunition "jackets", e.g. full metal jacket bullets.
• High brass contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength and is used for springs, screws, and rivets.
• Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent machinability.
• Lead-free brass as defined by California Assembly Bill AB 1953 contains "not more than 0.25 percent lead content".^[12]
• Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden color and excellent ductility; it is used for flexible metal hoses and metal bellows.
• Manganese brass is a brass most notably used in making golden dollar coins in the United States. It contains roughly 70% copper, 29% zinc, and 1.3% manganese.^[40]
• Muntz metal is about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron, used as a lining on boats.
• Nickel brass is composed of 70% copper, 24.5% zinc and 5.5% nickel used to make pound coins in the pound sterling currency.
• Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is 40% zinc and 1% tin.
• Nordic gold, used in 10, 20 and 50 cts euro coins, contains 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.
• Red brass is both an American term for the copper-zinc-tin alloy known as gunmetal, and an alloy which is considered both a brass and a bronze. It typically contains 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc.^[41][42] Red brass is also an alternative name for copper alloy C23000, which is composed of 14–16% zinc, 0.05% iron and lead, and the remainder copper.^[43] It may also refer to ounce metal, another copper-zinc-tin alloy.
• Rich low brass (Tombac) is 15% zinc. It is often used in jewelry applications.
• Tonval brass (also called CW617N or CZ122 or OT58) is a copper-lead-zinc alloy. It is not recommended for seawater use, being susceptible to dezincification.^[44]
• White brass contains more than 50% zinc and is too brittle for general use. The term may also refer to certain types of nickel silver alloys as well as Cu-Zn-Sn alloys with high proportions (typically 40%+) of tin and/or zinc, as well as predominantly zinc casting alloys with copper additive.
• Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.

Nickel silver is not brass by any respectable definition. Please avoid making baseless assumptions about me, and my experience.

[Mike Kolb]

that's fine, gentlemen.... take it outside.

[harrison phipps]

Just used the Jescar gold wine on a new Honduran Rosewood guitar made for a bluegrass style player.  It is harder than the usual 18% nickle wire, you can feel it when cutting the wire with my Stew Mac nippers and when you tap it in the fingerboard.  It is not as hard on tools, it leaves no marks in the nippers like SS can.  I think it will last better for this player as she plays a lot & usually in the lower positions.