Another Kritz invention.
They are made from an alloy of metal (silver & nickel) and are via CNC technology with molds, all placed simultaneously and glued under pressure. In this way, the interface of the frets with the string is perfectly even everywhere. Subsequent filing of frets is therefore almost no longer necessary. The guitar can be adjusted super low. A pasty epoxy adhesive seals cavities under the fret and provides a stable and hard contact between fret and fingerboard. This is extremely important for the purity of the string vibrations. The Smilefrets make barré chords very easy. The slightly rounded shape of the Smilefrets allows the finger bottom (which is also rounded) to print better on the frets. So they allow an easier string impression (Barré chords) with the index finger. The guitar therefore plays very smoothly.
- More space (diagonally) between two frets = easier/cleaner chord playing.
- Easier bend-up’s in both directions: up to 5 semitones.
- Easier feeling on the fingerboard because the curved frets follow the natural finger movements.
- More space for soloing and for chords, even on the highest part of the fingerboard.
- The only guitar on which you can play pure and perfect chords above the 12th fret.
- Easier bottlenecking, due to the angle (5А or 10А) of the frets under the G-B-E strings.
- Intonation compensation (K.I.C.) for sweeter high-end sounds
- Even the fretslots are NC-milled and have no empty spaces under the fret wire.
This generates a more solid fingerboard which results in more sustain.
The Smilefrets (TM) are available in 5А or 10А. This is the angle between a Smilefret (TM) and a straight fret at the fingerboard border. You only need a few minutes to get used to the difference between Smile- and straight frets
