EVO frets?

[Dogma]

Need to make a decision on a build:

EVO frets - pro/con, other thoughts on the subject?

Thanks!

[rick-slo]

Absolute yes for EVO. Stainless steel also great.

[Guitars44me]

I LOVE mine. Especially nice for Slide with low action! No divots, thanks very much!!!

I believe they are ALL John Kinnaird uses, and rightly so!

If I am having anything refretted I ask for EVO Gold frets. The bit of extra moolah upfront is a great investment down the line. Also a good selling point!

Same with the Gotoh 510 tuners.

Hope this helps

Paul

[redir]

It's good stuff. At first I didn't like it because of the color but I recommend it now to anyone I build a guitar for.

[Cocobolo Kid]

Yes, go for it. I have EVO fretwire on my two Baraniks, and they have held much better than traditional fretwire. I like the goldish color too when they are clean.

I like EVO so much that I had Ray Kraut get some for my 00 build, which should be done in a few weeks.

Stainless steel is much harder on tooling. I think EVO strikes a great balance between hardness/durability and the ability for the luthier to work with them.

[justonwo]

There really aren't any downsides with EVO. In my opinion, it's better than nickel in all regards. It never oxidizes, so the frets always feel silky and smooth (great for bending). It's very hard so fret wear is slow. The gold color doesn't really bother me, so that's not a consideration.

When it's possible for me to choose, I always elect EVO 55090.

[Dogma]

Thanks for the input thus far. If you don't mind my asking, how have those of you who have used the EVO paired it with tuners? My first-hit is that one has to go with gold. Anyone used another finish to good effect (aesthetic, obviously)?
I'll do an image search as well.

Thanks again!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Dogma

Thanks for the input thus far. If you don't mind my asking, how have those of you who have used the EVO paired it with tuners? My first-hit is that one has to go with gold. Anyone used another finish to good effect (aesthetic, obviously)?
I'll do an image search as well.

Thanks again!

The fret wire color doesn’t figure prominently enough to require matching with the other hardware. I don’t even consider it.

[Dogma]

Originally Posted by justonwo

The fret wire color doesn’t figure prominently enough to require matching with the other hardware. I don’t even consider it.

Thanks for this, it's helpful. I haven't seen it in "real life" and it seems to vary in photos so this is good to know.

[rick-slo]

I put EVO on this guitar. The gold color is somewhat subtle but does look very nice with a cedar top (also there are gold colored tuners).

[RoyBoy]

It varies in color based on how long it's been since it's been polished. When freshly polished it's almost silver in color. As it ages it turns to a more goldish color, about the same color as the strings.

I stumbled upon EVO gold as a luthier in the mandolin world. Bluegrass mandolin players are notoriously rough on frets and a steady gigging player can wear out standard frets in a year. I've heard claims of the lifespan of EVO Gold to be 4x that of nickel silver. I have a personal mandolin fretted with EVO in 2014 and it shows NO sign of wear. Not even the beginnings of notches.

EVO Gold is the only wire I put in my own instruments and recommend it to anyone seeking a refret. The materials cost is only about $10 more and for many players it is likely to last a lifetime. It also does not affect the tone which many claim SS does.

[srick]

Originally Posted by Dogma

Thanks for the input thus far. If you don't mind my asking, how have those of you who have used the EVO paired it with tuners? My first-hit is that one has to go with gold. Anyone used another finish to good effect (aesthetic, obviously)?
I'll do an image search as well.

Thanks again!

Dale Fairbanks is building a guitar for me at this very moment pairing EVO frets and these Rickard Tuners in polished brass
rickard-cyclone-high-ratio-tuning-pegs-for-guitar-with-black-knobs-set-of-6.jpg
The build process\progress can be followed here: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=583114

best,

Rick

[SprintBob]

Is there any disadvantage at all to EVO?

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Is there any disadvantage at all to EVO?

Not quite as durable as stainless steel but still very durable.

[iim7V7IM7]

I have Jescar EVO fret wire installed on all of my instruments.

Flat tops = .043” x .080”
Archtops = .047” x .095”
Electrics = .047” x .104”

Great stuff!