Fret height influencing guitar playibility

[picoman]

Hi folks!
Well the tile say it all.
Does the metal fret height have an impact on how easy is to play the guitar (freting, bending, vibrating...)?
IM asking this couse I have a gorgeous old Takamine guitar and one crapy new Fender acoustic guitar.
The Takamine sound is unbelivable vs Fender sound wich is realy nothing special.
The frets on Takamine are worn out (guitar is 18 years old and frets have never been replaced)
I can ROCK the hell out of the FENDER guitar (when I play solos) but TAKAMINE is hard to play like hell.
The tension and action of the neck , strings are all the same on both guitars.
Title question.

 

[ARandall]

Yes it sure can.

For some, their touch and playing style makes small frets and tall frets immaterial to the outcome. Others need to be able to grab 'under' the string for bends and vibrato. Pushing the string on low frets can be quite a bit harder using this style as there is less confidence, or you feel like you are resisted by pushing into the fretboard itself.

 

[drew365]

I sold a really nice CS Clapton Strat because I couldn't get used to the tiny vintage frets. Bending was just weird on that guitar. I know he manages just fine, but I never felt comfortable on it.
On the other hand, I have a nice Carvin with jumbo stainless steel frets, and if I'm not careful I pull notes sharp by pressing too hard.
So, I found that medium jumbo is just right for me.
To answer your question, yes, I think that fret height can make a big difference in how well you can play a particular guitar.

 

[SteveC]

I used to HATE small frets. Actually, I still do hate small frets. I can't play on them. Chording is a chore and bending is next to impossible (for me).

I have an 81 LPC that didn't have tall frets to being with. After almost 30 years, it just became unplayable for me. So I had Greg put 6100's on it. I loved it. Over time, however, I realized that they are too tall.


The frets on my 13 R9 (no idea what size they are) are just about perfect.


So, yea… for me, size matters

 

[picoman]

So, yea… for me, size matters

SOunds like me wife talking

Agree with you all.
These small frets give a realy hard time.

 

[nutsauce]

Medium jumbo works best for me also. My first Tele had small frets and I struggled with it. One of my current guitars has jumbo frets which don't really bother me until I'm sliding from one fret to another and feel like my fingers are hitting speed bumps.

 

[chrisuk]

Just had the same conversation about my '85 strat.

It is getting new frets - the old ones could be levelled but after playing 4 guitars in the workshop I prefer higher frets.

 

[scooter500]

I prefer small frets b/c that's what I first played, but decided to learn to play / appreciate the new stuff, so have the stock mediums on my epi and the stock unusually tall gold colored ones on my LP supreme. The relief is kinda big on the supreme too, but am leaving that alone for now, because might find it beneficial once I work up to heavy strings. IMO that after playing time with a guitar that the fret size probably doesn't really matter.

 

[grayd8]

It's a trade off. My Les Paul has higher frets than my tele. My tele's is easier to play chords and fingerpick, but bends are a bitch. Bends on the Les Paul are effortless.