Fret Fret A fret is a raised element on the neck of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On most modern western fretted instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard. On some historical instruments and non-European instruments, frets are made of pieces of string tied around the neck. Frets divide the neck into fixed segments at intervals related to a musical framework. On instruments such as guitars, each fret represents one semitone in the standard western system, in which one octave is divided into twelve semitones. "Fret" is often used as a
Vibrato systems for guitar An advantage or disadvantage, depending on taste, is string resonance audible at several fret positions where a simple relation exists between the length to the fret and the string length behind the bridge (for instance 48:12 = 4:1). At those positions, a high overtone rises in volume. This becomes clearer with an over-driven guitar sound. The overtone might sound odd, but it still has a harmonic relation to the note, so is not out of tune related to the open string. For staccato playing, it can be annoying. Muting the strings behind the bridge with felt or other material solves