What are "large frets" and how do they affect playability?

[FrDNicholas]

What does that term refer to? Is it the size of the fret wire? I don't think it could be the distance between frets because that would seem to affect intonation? Help me out here.

[onassis]

It's the size of the wire, how tall it is, distance off the fretboard to the top of the fret..Center of the fret is still the center of the fret, size of the fretwire doesn't affect intonation. Some people just like the feel of the taller frets.

[greg_tsam]

Size of the fret wire

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Others have already clarified what larger sized fretwire is. I'll just speak a little to how it affects the playability of a mandolin to me personally. Most of my recent mandolins had standard sized fretwires - skinny, short frets, and I believe some were even bar frets. I find that unless I am very precise with my fingering, it is difficult for me to note cleanly especially when playing up the neck. When I started playing a mandolin with larger sized frets, I found that it was much easier for me to fret those higher notes cleanly with an acceptable amount of sloppiness, and with less finger pressure. In the end I decided to go for the larger sized frets because of the ease of playing, even though it may mean that I won't be working as hard as I should to clean up my techniques. Just my own 2 cents of course.

[MacStevenXIII]

Larger frets, less pressure needed when fretting strings.

[Pete Martin]

Larger frets, less pressure needed when fretting strings.

I'll second this. It is easier for me to feel when the string comes into contact with the bigger/taller fret, thus I use a LOT less force to play. This is critical to me as I have tendenitis issues.

One only needs to push hard enough to get the fret to the string, not all the way to the fingerboard. Try to find the minimum pressure, most players are very surprised how little it really is. Frees up your left hand to do much more!

[Ed Goist]

Here is a wonderful article and chart by Cafe regular Paul Hostetter about fret size.
This should answer all your questions.

[Mandobart]

The only downside I've had with large frets was on an electric guitar using light strings. I tend to be a little heavy-handed (on the left hand), possibly from years of playing electric bass and 12-string guitar. You only want to press the string hard enough to fret the note cleanly. If you keep pressing until your finger contacts the fingerboard, the note gets bent about a quarter-tone sharp. So for me, I've had to learn to use a lighter touch with large frets. Its probably better to play lighter anyway, less fatigue and fret wear.

[mandobassman]

I had a Kentucky KM-850 re-fretted once and decided to go with larger frets, but in my case they were not taller, but wider, and had a more rounded profile. I believe they were Martin guitar frets that were installed. The original frets were skinny and tall and I actually wanted them shorter. The wider, shorter frets made a huge difference in playability for me. My fingers slid up and down the fret board much easier. My playing was much more fluid after that, and easier on my hands.

[OldSausage]

Just to give another perspective, I have spent a lot of time playing mandolins with both large and small frets. I have found no difference in playability for one or the other, but it takes me time to adjust to either if I'm used to playing the other kind. I would be perfectly happy with a mandolin that had either large or small frets. If you're having problems playing any instrument, it will be down to set up and not fret size in my opinion.

[sunburst]

Fret wire is available in various sizes, more variation in width than in height, and in fact, usually the 'larger' frets used on mandolins are 'standard' guitar frets and are often about the same height as the smaller 'mandolin' frets.
Playability is an individual thing. Some people like the playability of narrower frets, some like the playability of wider frets. A good fret job makes a difference. Level, well crowned frets are easier to play than worn, uneven, squared off (from milling), or anything other than level, well crowned frets, so there's more to playability than fret size.

[Cheryl Watson]

Both of my Kimbles have had Stew Mac banjo frets which are considered to be "large" mandolin frets and I had my Williamson re-fretted from the original standard mandolin frets to the larger ones because fretting is less of an effort for me. I think I have heard it said that some players find larger frets (or was it taller frets(?) to be difficult to slide around on, but I have never found that a problem, probably because they were excellent fret jobs, as John Hamlett stated above.