Nylon frets

I just recently pulled the frets out of one of my old, beat-up, electric
guitars. The Doty JI Primer mentions the use of mono-filament nylon as
temporary frets (for relative ease of experimentation with different
tunings). Two questions: (1) Will the mono-filament nylon work as a fret
for an electric guitar? (2) If so, where would one find mono-filament
nylon to do this kind of thing with?

Thanks,

Jon Southwood
noj@cedar-rapids.net

Jon Southwood wrote:

> From: "Jon Southwood" <noj@cedar-rapids.net>
>
> I just recently pulled the frets out of one of my old, beat-up, electric
> guitars. The Doty JI Primer mentions the use of mono-filament nylon as
> temporary frets (for relative ease of experimentation with different
> tunings). Two questions: (1) Will the mono-filament nylon work as a fret
> for an electric guitar?

Probably.

> (2) If so, where would one find mono-filament
> nylon to do this kind of thing with?

Fishing gear shop. [it's fishing line]

> --

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David Beardsley wrote:

>
> > (2) If so, where would one find mono-filament
> > nylon to do this kind of thing with?
>
> Fishing gear shop. [it's fishing line]

Duh. Thanks. I guess I never quite thought about fishing line in that
way (or really at all...)

Cheers,

Jon Southwood
noj@cedar-rapids.net

Jon Southwood wrote:

> From: Jon Southwood <noj@cedar-rapids.net>
>
> David Beardsley wrote:
>
> >
> > > (2) If so, where would one find mono-filament
> > > nylon to do this kind of thing with?
> >
> > Fishing gear shop. [it's fishing line]
>
> Duh. Thanks. I guess I never quite thought about fishing line in that
> way (or really at all...)

I think there's a special knot too, but I don't knowwhat it is. A friend of
mine (not too local) has a nice
collection of mid-eastern lutes and offered to show
me, I should take him up on it. I'd like to try it
on a bass. :)

--
* D a v i d B e a r d s l e y
* xouoxno@virtulink.com
*
* J u x t a p o s i t i o n N e t R a d i o
* M E L A v i r t u a l d r e a m house monitor
*
* http://www.virtulink.com/immp/lookhere.htm

From: David Beardsley wrote:

> I think there's a special knot too, but I don't knowwhat it is.

Seems like the turtle knot ought to work nicely. It's a
self-tightening knot that gets tighter as the line is
stressed, yet is still relatively easy to untie. It's
explained with diagrams in the little leaflets that are
included with most packages of monofilament line. Warning:
new non-mono type fishing lines are very popular right now
(Spiderwire, Fusion, etc.). Be sure the package you get
states that it is monofiliment line. Seems like a heavy and
thick grade (often stated in terms of "pound test" where
greater number is thicker) should work better than thin
line, though you might need thinner for the upper frets. If
you break it, it means you almost caught one that was at
least half the rated weight of your line!

David Finnamore

P. S. Tip for the non-sportsman: Wear a ball cap when you
visit the sporting goods dept. You'll stick out less. If
someone asks you what's working, just say, "I ain't had much
luck lately, how 'bout chew?" then nod thoughtfully at their
response. Under no circumstances should you divulge your
true motive! 8-)>

On Sat, 7 Aug 1999, David J. Finnamore wrote:

> P. S. Tip for the non-sportsman: Wear a ball cap when you
> visit the sporting goods dept. You'll stick out less. If
> someone asks you what's working, just say, "I ain't had much
> luck lately, how 'bout chew?" then nod thoughtfully at their
> response. Under no circumstances should you divulge your
> true motive! 8-)>

Reminds me of the time I had to go to a hardware store to buy various
items with which to 'prepare' a piano (remember 'prepared pianos'? must
have been a 60's thing, or maybe 50's, but I was doing this around 1980
when the concept still hadn't percolated into the public consciousness.)
"I need a 3" long bolt. How thick? I dunno, doesn't say, can I have
several different thicknesses, see which one sounds the best? What's it
for? Uh, a piano... no, the legs are attached fine. It's for the inside."

My local fishing store gives out free classy bumper stickers: 'I got crabs
at Buczko's Fishing Goods Store'.

Judy

Judith Conrad wrote:

> Reminds me of the time I had to go to a hardware store to buy various
> items with which to 'prepare' a piano (remember 'prepared pianos'? must
> have been a 60's thing, or maybe 50's, but I was doing this around 1980
> when the concept still hadn't percolated into the public consciousness.)
> "I need a 3" long bolt. How thick? I dunno, doesn't say, can I have
> several different thicknesses, see which one sounds the best? What's it
> for? Uh, a piano... no, the legs are attached fine. It's for the inside."

The same thing happened to me when I walked over to
the hardware store in town a few years ago to pick up
alligator clips for my guitar. The guy behind the counter
didn't believe my story about prepaired guitar. He gave me
a real serious expression.

--
* D a v i d B e a r d s l e y
* xouoxno@virtulink.com
*
* J u x t a p o s i t i o n N e t R a d i o
* M E L A v i r t u a l d r e a m house monitor
*
* http://www.virtulink.com/immp/lookhere.htm

> From: Judith Conrad <jconrad@sunspot.tiac.net>
>
> My local fishing store gives out free classy bumper stickers:
> 'I got crabs
> at Buczko's Fishing Goods Store'.

You lucky duck! Free stickers?

In making my glass organ, I made several trips to some cheap glass stores
near Boston with a little cup of water (for wetting my finger) and an
electronic tuner. I was having a blast playing every glass in the store,
labeling those that were close to the pitches I was looking for, and
returning those that weren't. I completely lost all track of time. After
about an hour and a half of trying out glasses, the lady at the counter came
over to me and very politely said, "I'm off on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Maybe you could come back and continue your shopping then?"

---
Glen Peterson
30 Elm Street
North Andover, MA 01845
(978) 975-1527