Fret size

[Frank T.]

I play a Collings MF. I also have an "A" style Kentucky 150. I have the action on both as low as they can go without buzzing and I don’t play that hard. I find the Kentucky a lot easier to play, I believe, because the frets seem lower or not as wide as the Collings. I also seem to be able to play a lot faster on the Kentucky. I tried measuring their width and height but since they are so small it is difficult to do so. If anyone can shed some light on the differences on the frets I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi Frank,

First up (although this doesn't seem likely), The Kentucky action may be lower, if the Kentucky has a better setup and perfectly level frets, you would be able to get the strings lower without buzzing.

Do they have the same gauge of strings?

If this is not coming into play, then it really is neck shape, fingerboard radius and fret size at play.

As a general rule, higher frets are easier to fret because you are not pushing against the fretboard as much. So if your technique is adjusted, higher frets should be easier to play. What often happens though, is that the player doesn't contact the fingerboard, so they push harder and it feels like it is harder to fret.

Back to setup, the fret crown matters. A smaller contact point is easier to fret cleanly. This isn't so much the size as the peak. Work frets with flat spots are harder to fret cleanly.

[pops1]

It would also make a big difference in how hard it plays if the neck has any bow. If both are flat then other things would come into play, but if one has some bow it would effect how hard it is to push down the strings and how far you have to push them, especially around the 4-8 fret or so depending on how high up the neck you play, it could be harder higher too.