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Curved Fret Wire on a flat fingerboard?

Has anyone tried to use the fret wire that has a curve in it for a profiled fingerboard and put it on a CBG with a flat fingerboard?

I have a dark mahogany box with gold lettering that looks great with gold/brass hardware and I was thinking about using gold/brass colored frets. BUT I can only seem to find flat fret wire in low crown, all the medium and tall fret wire seems to be silver, or curved.

So I either use silver colored frets or I turn to y'all and ask how well using curved frets on a flat fretboard has worked out???????

or do you know someplace other than Amazon or our esteemed sponsor of this site that might have the straight gold tone fret wire in tall or medium crown height?

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on October 12, 2015 at 4:53am

Curved fretwire is simply how it comes from the manufacturer, as it is often supplied in coils. Don't worry, just install it in a flat 'board, and the curve will tend to help keep the ends down as you are hammering it in.

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Permalink Reply by JL on October 13, 2015 at 12:39am

the ones I ordered from our esteemed sponsor came as 8 strips that were straight as a ruler

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on October 12, 2015 at 1:20pm

As John says,i find curved wire easier to install,and if your slots are good,it tends to 'grab' more securely

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Permalink Reply by JL on October 13, 2015 at 12:37am

Ok, I'll give it a try, I guess the worst that can happen is that I need the help of superglue, lol

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Permalink Reply by JL on October 13, 2015 at 1:34am

ordered from our esteemed sponsor. This build is a 2 string with a narrow neck so I may be getting my feathers ruffled for nothing....

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on October 13, 2015 at 1:58am

I find the curved much easier to install, the flat tends to roll over as you press it in. AS long as the fret slots are the right size, it holds just great on a flat board.

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on October 13, 2015 at 5:29am

Handy hint to help stopping the fretwire "rolling over" as you install it - DON'T cut it to the neck width before installing...use an over-long piece of fretwire and you can hold the excess as you hammer it in which helps it keep it square to the 'board, then trim to width after it has been hammered in..and repeat.