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Corrosion on EVO seems to be pretty variable. Despite a finishing process that saw P400/P600/P800/1200 Imperial wet/dry and machine buff (sewn 8" medium wheel and med/fin compound) to mirror-like shine, we saw everything between the dull brown of old brass frets and more of what Mr. Breakstone showed on the Martin with factory-installed EVO after a few months out in the wild. I suspect this may be the usual sort of combination of intention, habit, and happenstance: atmospheric acidity courtesy of geographic location, perspiration pH and player pre- and post-play routine (hands washed, fretboard wipe-down, etc.), base level of sheen, player left hand use, phase of moon, variation in local acceleration due to gravity and the three body problem, and a few other things which I have forgotten.

Corrosion of EVO wire versus nickel silver and stainless was most certainly a topic of conversation at Greenridge, along with all the other stuff seen on customer guitars that seemed to defy rational explanation. The discussion usually came down to head-scratching and authorization of a medicinal spirit ration.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

The demise of EVO wire is a boon to the guitar repair trade. With a little bit of persuasion a client can be convinced the "ping" of stainless is unbearable and their only choice is nickel silver, with the resultant need for fret dressings and - not so eventual - replacement. The "Major Appliance Trade" has learned this lesson, and rather than producing appliances that will last 30 years as they once did, they have convinced people that replacing refrigerators, ranges, washer/dryers, and heat pumps on a 6 to ten year (or less) cycle is normal.
When are guitar makers and repair shops going to start selling extended warrantees so the buyer can prepay for service they may not need? Lets get with the program people!

Woodie I appreciate your posts a great deal and wanted to thank you for them! Dave and I never thought of the medicinal spirit ration but that's a very good idea! We did have a student who is an OLFer bring us some moonshine and I did finish it off but it took me a year to do so

So... a player I know near Miami claims Rick Turner used ceramic frets a couple times on some guitars. Anyone have a source on that story? I did a quick search and got returns on ceramic flatware and StewMac stainless fretwire.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Rick Turner and ceramic frets are mentioned in this old Mandolin Cafe thread: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-10809.html
"I think ceramic frets are for He Who Has Everything and still needs more. They are literally a high-tech and high-fired ceramic, preshaped and end-dressed for a specific board. Contact Rick Turner at Renaissance Guitars here in Santa Cruz, he's been doing a few guitars with them, so he actually has developed the tooling for installing them (you can't pound them into a slot with a hammer)."

Also: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/328193
"When I visited Rick Turner in his shop, he showed me a guitar he had just flawlessly fretted with white ceramic material. ( similar material to ceramic honing rods ) It would without doubt be the longest wearing, but I don't know where he gets it. And it must be very difficult to work with. "

Aha! Paydirt: https://www.fleamarketmusic.com/bulletin/bulletin-nonpop.asp?BulletinID=20280
"Posted By: Rick Turner Date: 9/12/2007 8:13:23 AM
I work with a guy from England who developed the ceramic frets. I've put them in two instruments, and they're great. The issue right now is cost. We really need to get a major manufacturer interested so the quantities can justify the tooling costs.

I'll have one of the prototypes at the NAMM show in January if any of you are coming and want to see."

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Excellent! Food for thought.

The big problem I see with ceramic frets is dressing the fret ends after installation. Diamond files?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I had a customer last year who asked me to help him with some spontaneous corrosion issues on a custom telecaster he’d just commissioned from an EU maker. No matter how rigorously he cleaned the instrument after play, upon opening the case for his next session he’d find corroded frets and humbucker covers. Other metal parts of the instrument were unaffected. Some experimentation revealed the problem - off-gassing from the oil varnish finish in the tight confines of the case was causing the tarnishing of nickel components (hb covers, frets) but it had no effect on chrome components (bridge, tuners, control plate). A stainless refret and swap to chrome covers was the solution.

jfmckenna referenced Cryowire. It sounds like the hardness is between standard wire and stainless. I saw something on youtube that said it was 4 times harder than standard wire. It's supposed to be easy to work. Perhaps it has the qualities that Evo has... (without the gold color and corrosion issues). Are there any thoughts about Cryowire?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

On corrosion in the case, not unusual to see Gretsch guitars of a certain age come in with extensive hardware corrosion due to out-gassing of nitric acid from the cellulose nitrate binding. Once that starts, the only remedy is removal of the destabilized cellulose nitrate materials and rebinding, plus possible replacement of the hardware if the plating damage is beyond just the cosmetic.

With EVO, there would need to be a similar acidic vapor or metallic salts + moisture issue, as the material - originally developed to provide a gold-toned eyeglass frame material for those with nickel allergies - is supposed to be fairly corrosion-resistant in constant skin contact situations.

On cryo-treated fret wire... I hesitate to imagine the sheer joy involved in leveling, crowning, and polishing stuff that is harder and tougher than stainless wire. One or two jumbo SS high/wide 118 x 57 refrets per month is my current personal joy limit... any more than that threatens to push me into uncharted territory with regard to my relationship with the sublime. Normal humans are not properly equipped to deal with that much positive emotional energy .

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Hey Hesh did you guys use that sewing machine tester to test Cryowire?

Both cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate release acids as they break down, and are considered by museum conservators as 'toxic' to collections. They have to be isolated to avoid future damage to other objects.

Are people still using that kind of stuff, or are modern materials better?

No it sounds like a fad to me that won't last. I also don't understand what problem cryo wire is trying to solve when the stainless frets on some of mine will never wear out for players like me. I mean stainless when it comes to wear can wear out but it's not common and a refret never killed anyone....

Wallet fattening.

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Peter Havriluk

They are advertising it as being tougher without any extra work. I was assuming they were comparing that to regular fret wire and not stainless.

Pat

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Pat