Frets like the great wall of China?
 
What's up with that?
 
I'm working on one of these today...
 

 
...and I am somewhat amazed to see that the frets feel like big squared off fences, and I mean a big fence... like the Great Wall of China or something.
 
Do people really like that sort of feel?

Some people do, some people don't. The 2015 models have very low frets, as allowed by a new PLEK program that provides for tighter fret dressing. Some people are complaining about them, but most guitarists seem to like having the better intonation that lower frets allow.

I put the tallest bass frets in guitars I have redone, so I prefer the deeper scallops for bending. I crown them though, so I would see a square top as "unfinished." It may also be done to hide fret-wear as a crowned fret becomes obvious quickly, especially if the frets are soft.

Yes, I've spent the past week playing two old Gibson acoustics, a 1949 LG-2, and a 1954 LG-2, that I have here on loan and they are dressed like "fretless wonders" so you can slide up and down the board without a second thought. The interesting thing about this is the fact that the LG-2 was more or less a student grade guitar. Oh my!!!
 
I own a 199? SG that has/had jumbos but I crowned the frets extensively so that they are smooth, round, and just plain sexy.
 
This Supreme was dropped off by a musician who wants me to make it lovable. He didn't articulate what he wanted more better, he just asked me to give it back when I thought it was sweet. The electronics seem pretty milk toast but there's nothing that needs maintenance.
 
I think the fact that the frets literally feel like cinder blocks as you move about the board seems remarkable.
 
I like playing different guitar setups to change things up and this sure fits the bill. :-)

Every time I get a Gibson with the patented "Speed Bump" frets, it goes straight to the shop. The PLEK machine is German precision, so the frets are very level and true, but it can be uncomfortable. I've heard of this style referred to as a school bus profile. Tall, square with a slightly curved top.

Hi John,
 That is very interesting. I don't get out enough, or surf the guitar forums, to have realized that this is an ongoing topic of discussion. My OP was just a reaction to the jolt that was running up my forearm as I slid down the fret board. I am fascinated by the effect it has had on my improvisational playing. When I play on a smoother fret job I can slide along easily and if I get lost I can use my *hearingtuition* to slide back into the harmony, but with these frets I am so busy dealing with the mechanics of hopping the speed bumps that my attempts at slide-n-search are stopping short and leaving me stranded in the weeds. I switched back to playing one of my guitars last night and it all came back to me and suddenly I could play guitar again.
 
 I'm having a hard time imagining how anyone would buy this guitar after a test play at a store. In fact, this guitar was originally provided to a touring artists through a take this guitar and try it out program, and it eventually was gifted to the artist's guitar tech who left it here with a local musician who shares a house with the tech. In other words, the guitar tech had better things to do than crown the frets on what amounts to just another fancy guitar. 
 
 I've been drawn in now. I'm gonna see what I can do to make this axe enjoyable.
 
 When I first read about PLEK it never occurred to me that it would just flatten the frets and not crown them. Wow.
 
 When I first read about PLEK it was described as an achievement of perfection so imagining that the machines could be updated with a new PLEK program for tighter tolerances was beyond my vision of what the term "perfection" would seem to describe. 
 
 I started crowning the frets last night. I use a work a little, restring and play little, work flow when I am going for the gold. 

Well, I think as much as you pay for that guitar, they put in heavy-duty frets (railroad ties bed). Skinny frets wear out faster, wider frets last longer, I think it is the way it goes.
So if it is Pleked, then I have no idea of what he would want you to do except check the intonation, and that kind of stuff. (lower playing action ?).
 
 

i've always preferred hand tuned frets,
even tho the strength of the PLEK system is obvious.....
 
i like medium frets..
but one of my favorite guitars, my old ibanez artist, has huge frets, but are very low and flat.......
with a 12" radius on an ebony neck, it feels ultra smooth.
 

ampfixer
Every time I get a Gibson with the patented "Speed Bump" frets, it goes straight to the shop. The PLEK machine is German precision, so the frets are very level and true, but it can be uncomfortable. I've heard of this style referred to as a school bus profile. Tall, square with a slightly curved top.

Check out a 2015 Les Paul sometime, it's quite different. Gibson introduced cryogenically frozen frets last year, which reduces fret wear by a huge factor. They wouldn't be able to do the low frets without it, because wear would become a major issue. I must say I'm learning a lot about all this stuff being at Gibson...for example all the frets are still ultimately polished by humans. PLEK only goes so far.

I can appreciate the physics of cryogenic metallurgy, but it seems like an exaggeration to explain that low frets and wear are a major issue dissuading guitar makers from using small fret wire. Lots of guitars come with tiny frets and sexy fret work. I don't have to look any further than the classic and original Les Paul, but I have a dozen or so other examples sitting here as well... including the 1949 and 1954 Gibsons acoustics that I mentioned previously.
 
 
You have me curious; What is the Cryogenic fret wire's hardness on the Vickers HV5-___ scale?