Crystal guitar frets

[randy will never die]

While surfing on YouTube I found a new (2011) NAMM interview

This new company put quarts crystal guitar frets into a guiar

Here's the vid

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=H5ttG3tsvRw


Here's the company's website
http://www.crystalfrets.com/


Let me know what you think

[rice_pudding]

Interesting, but I'm more than a little sceptical

While I don't claim to fully understand the way a guitar makes its sounds, this seems a little odd. It's the vibration of the wood that gives a guitar its character, which in turn is why the neck joint and bridge are important (in transferring the vibration presumably).

What I wanted to do is not have two things vibrating. I wanted the string to vibrate and nothing else

If that is the basis for the frets, I'm a tad confused. If only the string vibrates then you probably would get much better sustain. But it seems like the wood would have less of a role in the tone. If the only means of transfering vibrations is via the air to the body, then the neck would surely be completely redundant, and that would raise questions over the ideal spec of the fingerboard too (rosewood vs maple). And even if everything is vibrating... surely it would all vibrate the same frequency, so who cares????

If the strings are retaining more vibration, they should sustain more - energy has to go somewhere. But I think the company is overstating the value of their product. The only other frame of reference I can offer for tone is with slides. Glass and ceramic is warmer than chrome and brass. Is quartz more similar to glass? Damned if I know.

I sure would like the try an instrument with these frets

Rob