Fret

A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument.

This technique (commonly called "bending") is often used by electric guitarists of all genres, and is an important part of sitar playing.

John Starrett revived the idea in the late seventies on his innovative instrument, the Starrboard.

This is intended to allow a lighter touch for more precise fingering, while easing bends or vibratos (since there's no contact between the fingertips and the wooden surface of the fingerboard).

It has some popularity with musicians playing heavy metal music, although the concept can also be seen in ancient instruments such as the sitar.

Scalloped fretboards have not found widespread popularity because tonally accurate play requires a much lighter fretting hand than most guitarists can achieve, and often significantly heavier strings as well.

[2] It is also possible to find semi-fretted instruments; examples include the Malagasy kabosy and the Afghan Rubab.

Semi-fretted versions of guitars and other fretted string instruments, however, are usually one-off, custom adaptations made for players who want to combine elements of both types of sound.

One arrangement is for the frets to extend only part of the way along the neck so that the higher notes can be played with the smooth expression possible with a fretless fingerboard.

Instruments with straight frets like guitars require a special compensation on the saddle and nut.

Tied gut frets, used on instruments such as the lute or viol, wear quickly, and must be replaced regularly.

This causes a "buzzing" sound on the guitar that can range from a small annoyance, to severe enough to dampen the note and greatly reduce sustain.

Fret buzz can be caused by different things:[3] Fret buzz is evident in some famous recordings; an example is "Friends" by Led Zeppelin (although this example is undoubtedly caused by alternate open tunings that reduce string tension).

was discovered in 1907 in the Niya ruins in Xinjiang, China, a broken lute's neck with two gut frets intact.