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I'm trying to get a soprano uke done before Christmas. I don't have any fretwire for a uke, and I'm hoping to find some thin and also softer wire. I was thinking either brass or nickle fretwire that is softer than the usual 18% would be better for the nylon strung uke. As far as size I don't have an exact preference, but I figure it should be a thinner than the .080" width that is the thinnest I have.

Does anyone know where to find fretwire suitable for a soprano ukulele, or does anyone have any they could sell me? All I really need is enough for one soprano ukulele and I'm hoping to find this ASAP.

Thanks everyone, and happy holidays.

Jonas baker

what about Mandolin fret wire ?

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On the four I've made, I've used the thin .053 mando wire from stewmac.com http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Stewart-MacDonald_Fretwire/Narrow_Fretwire.html It seems to work ok. They ship pretty quick.

That's what I use as well.

custom pearl inlay has the fretwire

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I use uber thin mando frets

Lmi has wire. But I'm learning that it's really soft. I tried using a tang nipper on it and it just kinks the wire.

Thank you all for the tips, I'll check out those sources.

Micahmed, you mention the LMI wire is very soft, I was actually looking for softer wire because I figured with the nylon strings the softer wire would be a benefit, and I believe a lot of classical guitar builders use softer fret wire for this reason. Maybe it doesn't matter at all? I never thought about the softer wire being harder to snip with the tang nipper...

Jonas

....sounds like you destroyed your nipper on SS wire or something.... maybe the wife borrow them to cut mosaic tile?

I have used, and most newer ukes use med. I made 1 concert with SM small. It was ok. More classy looking. Very diff feel from med if yer not used to it. Also, tang niper did'nt like it. Not sure why you would want softer.

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Pat

You need a tang nipper with a smaller notch in it for that tiny wire. Otherwise it tips crooked before you ever get a bite, and crimps it while cutting.

You can trim the tang with flush cut nippers rather than the special tang nipper tool, but those tend to leave a larger burr that takes more filing to smooth out.

I don't get the need for soft wire for nylon strings. I can see how you can get away with softer wire, but not why you would seek it out.

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Softer wire would not be a plus. I learned on a friend's cheap guitar that had brass frets. Even with nylon strings the frets had grooves worn in them relatively quickly. The 18% nickel wire is still pretty soft compared to stainless steel, but is fine for nylon strings. Mandolin wire is just ukulele wire by a different name