Per customer request, we are now proud to offer stainless steel Zero Glide frets! These frets basically do not wear out. This means they require no maintenance and never need to be replaced. Not only that, the stainless frets improve performance for tuning and bends. These frets are specially designed with an offset tang for our Zero Glide nut system. Comes in a pack of 3.
Available in Medium (.038"), Jumbo (.051"), and Super Jumbo (.058"), or an assorted pack of each size.
I bought the mandolin version and fitted it to my Gibson. There's a lot of extra material to remove, but the result was great. Easier tuning (the old nut had tight slots for the A strings), better intonation. Later I used one of the extra frets in the package to fix a tenor guitar. For that, I simply filed the necessary ledges in the existing nut and widened the string slots. It would be nice if Stew-Mac would also sell the offset tang frets separately, for retrofitting to an existing nut.
Wow, what an innovation! This product eliminates the critical process of nut filing completely disappear to be replaced by a zero fret which enhances the sound of your guitar. It is not without some challenges in installation, but once completed your guitar just sounds and plays better.
I purchased a '97 Squier Vista MusicMaster Bass locally. The stock plastic nut needed replacing or filing. I had already pulled the nut off of the MusicMaster and had all measurements noted before replacing the stock nut temporarily. The Zero Glide ZS-17F Precision Bass Precision Bass model specs matched up with the MusicMaster specs. Cool. After my Zero Glide arrived I pulled the stock nut and lightly sanded the nut slot on the fretboard with fine sandpaper to remove any debris or adhesive residue used on the stock nut. Next I slid the Zero Glide nut onto the fretboard. Nice snug fit. The width of the Zero Glide was perfect. My next step was to make sure that the top / flat surface of the nut was flush with the fretboard. This is crucial to allowing the fret to seat correctly on both the fretboard and the zero fret nut. On my MusicMaster this required a very thin shim under the Zero Glide nut. Once the nut was seated properly it was just a matter of selecting which of the fret sizes provided is required for the instrument. In my case this was the longest installation step time-wise. Once you have selected the proper fret, mark the fret and cut with the proper tool. Examine the cut end of the and correct any imperfections due to cutting on the tang of the fret by filing. A small bench top vise with padded jaws and high quality file makes this step a snap. Installation time in my case : - shimming me the nut, less than 10 minutes - selecting the correct fret size, 45 minutes - all filing on the fret ends and top corners of the nut, less than 15 minutes I'm very pleased with the results. The open string notes sound like fretted notes of course, and I was able to achieve noticeably lower action without fret buzz after a setup. I'm especially pleased with the improved note definition of the open E and A strings. I did not check the intonation with the stock nut on the 1st five or so frets before I installed the Zero Glide, but the intonation is fine on the lower frets. My order was processed and shipped promptly and Gold Tone customer service is excellent. Thanks for a great product !
I put this on one guitar i built and promptly bought another for another guitar. Awesome product. Use them!