As a 'Player ' - a good test for well seated frets on a Good , resonant Guitar is - Fretted notes are as loud and full as open strings or very close. You want the frets to transmit vibration as well as the Nut in other words .
I found the slight friction increase of EVO over stainless useful for long sustain from finger Vibrato ..some stainless was a little too slick to get the notes to ring for 'legato ' type Playing.
I had this fret wire installed last week and love the feel, almost soapy? But most of all I hear slightly more lower mids in my sound and really like that little extra fullness.
I was the biggest fan of stainless steel, until I actually bought a guitar with them, haha. They do brighten the sound of the instrument even when plugged in. It’s not a bad thing, and it can be worked around, but I don’t think I would ever want them on an acoustic.
Just bought a Warmoth baritone conversion neck with EVO 6150 on it. This stuff slays. Where did you get those six foot hoops? I can only find pre-cut packages.
I’m a big fan of EVO wire! And my customers love it as well! I’ve one customer that has had me install EVO58118 in 27 guitars so far…!!! It’s really good stuff…😎
@@craig.encinitas $600…?!? What guitar is it…? SS isn’t much more difficulty than EVO. If no issues, I do bolt on for $300,up-charge $50 for a Set neck or thru, and up-charge of $50 for binding, and up-charge $50 for EVO or SS. I’m in the metro Detroit area.
Eric, I have a Taylor 710bce, ebony fret board, I find the Evo Gold does not sustain as well as stock frets which were redone by a local Luthier, great job he did, I just notice the difference immediately
Hello. Thanks for sharing this. I have an old 91 thin S series strat like Ibanez from Japan I love with a gotoh two point bridge and gotoh locking tuners. So, I'm thinking this evo fret wire would look great, and wear even longer. I'm a little hard on frets in the middle of the neck. I've never actually done a fret job, but I used to be a machinist, and it doesn't seem that difficult, especially for a bolt on non bound neck. Do you have to buy the wire already radiused like I hear you must do with stainless? I ask because my neck is radoused in mm's. 350 I think which is like 13. 3/4" roughly, and I don't see radius blocks to do fretboard at that radius, etc. ?
Want to do an EVO Gold refret and setup on my Brian May signature Jubilee Gold guitar? Those frets and the optima Gold strings 9-42, I use would look awesome.
I used Evo on my 9 string Gecko build and really like it. It looks great even with black hardware. My next build is an ES-335 copy that will have gold hardware and of course I will use the EVO.
@@zxcvbnm703, I'm totally sold on the EVO. They are about half the hardness of SS. Just approximating don't get your weights and measures book out. I find it not much more difficult to install than standard wire. SS is a huge pain in the butt and hard on tools. I also hear a brightness with SS that I don't like. EVO wears better than nickel silver but probably not as well as SS.
I am a retired auto mechanic (40+ years) I sure wish I would have trained as a luthier instead. Nice looking shop. Sure wish I could have had someone listen to tool damage issues. Is there any fret wire made from real gold?
Hello, i read that these frets where made for the purpose of being hypoallergenic, i have a nickel allergy. What strings would you use?? I love my stainless steel frets because i use steel wounded steel strings. steel strings that dont say are 100% steel on all strings usually have a nickel wounded low strings. That being said can i use the steel strings?? or is it too much for the frets
Stainless is the best. If done properly and polished to a mirror reflection. Smooth as glass, lasts longer than I’ll be around. The gold fret wire is nice playing too, just looks a bit weird. If it polished to a dark gold (like the gold hardware) it would be much more attractive. But it often looks like tarnished nickel. I don’t care for the appearance.
I have Evo Gold on a custom build. After 3 years still not completely sold. Upsides a plenty...downsides are few but these frets buzz easier than any of my other guitars. I have tried a number of different approaches and applications...still buzzy. Hardness plays into it I am guessing.
It does, I've had a D35 clone with evo gold for 15 years and I love it, but there is a little fret buzz, I just live with it although normally I hate buzz
Hello friend. Please tell me, I want to replace frets instead of nickel silver to put jescar evo gold. Guitar acoustics Taylor, I'm afraid to aggravate the sound, they say a lot of high overtones will appear on the Internet, and there are plenty of them on my guitar. I want bronze ones because they don't wear out, but I'm worried that the sound will spoil. Is it possible to put jescar evo gold on Taylor? They don't put them in their factory, so I doubt it.
I know there is a long debate on nickel vs stainless on how they sound. how does the gold evo frets sound compared to nickel and stainless? I'm in the camp where I can hear a difference even though subtle with nickel vs stainless.
Hey Gary, Honestly I have not noticed a difference, not to say there isn't one, but it hasn't been in my experience noticeable. Also, I have never tested this in any controlled manner, as in playing a guitar with nickel silver, then refretting that same instrument with evo and listening/feeling for a difference.
Im planning to refret my acoustic guitar, what's better in terms of comfort, playability, and overall improvement? I'm torn chossing medium size jescar stainless steel or evo gold. My stock frets are jumbo size and the feel is so rough when bending a string. You can feel the collision of the string and the fret which is very uncomfortable. Please help
Great review. I have them on one guitar. Have SS on some others. Can't choose which I like most. Almost the same fast response as the ss. But they are definitely a good choice for a guitar that needs that look, like older acoustics.
Hey all the asian guitar have fret wire with even softer metal composition than the nickel silver. All the people who spend big money upgrading their chibson and chinese kits ignore replacing frets. That should be #1 on the to do list.
Matching precisely would always be ideal, but an overradius also works just fine. The thing with evo gold, however, is that it doesn't bend easily, It breaks if you try to radius it in one of those fretwire benders that you build from the hardware store or buy from stewmac. That is why LMI sells it in pre-radiused coils at a radius that is overradiused for pretty much any radius a fretboard would have. I would imagine that in the factory, evo is bent while it is still hot, to prevent it from fracturing.
I have a taylor mini and i was replacing my ( first 5 frets) every 18 months as it would become unplayable and after 3 times i went to stainless steel problem solved right ,wrong i play a lot of open chords within weeks i was geting a diviot in my second fret at the 3rd string its proably been 6 month its still playable with a much larger diviot now go figure i have a seagul i have had for 30 years it has the original frets worn yes but still playable as a mater of fact i have 2 other acoustics just as old still playable. The only thing i can figure maybe the shorter scale has something to do with it i love the mini and i play it exclusively unless the Taylor is out of commission with bad frets any help would be appreciated
I thought that, too. I have been playing my son’s half size solid mahogany steel string acoustic guitar (basically a baby Taylor replica) for 11 years and it has gouges out of much of the fret wiring that you wouldn’t believe. I do play hard & use 12-54 gauge strings, but the fret wear is unreal, resulting in dead frets and poor intonation up the scale. I put it down to the shorter scale causing greater tension. I never actually looked, but now I’m comparing the thickness of the fret wire with a full size guitar, I see the half size has thinner/shallower fret wire. This is likely the cause of the wear. It is about to have a full refret with Evo Gold fretwire so I will discuss this with the luthier
Ι agree...nickel silver is too soft or as i say..pure crap....stainless steel fretwire is simply amazing but...iam using it on my solid body electric guitars so there is no question of tone change or anything like that...so its all benefits.If i was making acoustic instruments though i think i would avoid SS fretwire cause it would affect the tone of the instrument....evo gold is really a great all rounder.
As a 'Player ' - a good test for well seated frets on a Good , resonant Guitar is -
Fretted notes are as loud and full as open strings or very close.
You want the frets to transmit vibration as well as the Nut in other words .
I found the slight friction increase of EVO over stainless useful for long sustain from finger Vibrato ..some stainless was a little too slick to get the notes to ring for 'legato ' type Playing.
Love this wire. Found it fairly easy to file. Bends and vibrato are noticeably smoother on guitar now and have no wear after many years of playing.
Thanks for video, was gonna buy jescar stainless steel but I'm gonna try out the EVO gold for my first builds. Love your videos keep them coming!
Very happy to have found your channel, I look forward to exploring your content. Thanks. Subbed 👍
I had this fret wire installed last week and love the feel, almost soapy? But most of all I hear slightly more lower mids in my sound and really like that little extra fullness.
I was the biggest fan of stainless steel, until I actually bought a guitar with them, haha. They do brighten the sound of the instrument even when plugged in. It’s not a bad thing, and it can be worked around, but I don’t think I would ever want them on an acoustic.
Just bought a Warmoth baritone conversion neck with EVO 6150 on it. This stuff slays. Where did you get those six foot hoops? I can only find pre-cut packages.
I’m a big fan of EVO wire!
And my customers love it as well!
I’ve one customer that has had me install EVO58118 in 27 guitars so far…!!!
It’s really good stuff…😎
Thanks for this info.
Two techs have each quoted $600 for SS refret, and one mention that EVO Gold is as good and costs half the amount to refret.
@@craig.encinitas $600…?!?
What guitar is it…?
SS isn’t much more difficulty than EVO.
If no issues, I do bolt on for $300,up-charge $50 for a Set neck or thru, and up-charge of $50 for binding, and up-charge $50 for EVO or SS.
I’m in the metro Detroit area.
@@stewsim Gibson Les Paul 60’s Standard. But I’d like all my guitars done with SS when the time comes. I’m in San Diego, Ca.
Eric, I have a Taylor 710bce, ebony fret board, I find the Evo Gold does not sustain as well as stock frets which were redone by a local Luthier, great job he did, I just notice the difference immediately
Chances are it’s not the material, it’s that they weren’t glued in or weren’t seated right, probably rushed
Hello. Thanks for sharing this. I have an old 91 thin S series strat like Ibanez from Japan I love with a gotoh two point bridge and gotoh locking tuners. So, I'm thinking this evo fret wire would look great, and wear even longer. I'm a little hard on frets in the middle of the neck. I've never actually done a fret job, but I used to be a machinist, and it doesn't seem that difficult, especially for a bolt on non bound neck.
Do you have to buy the wire already radiused like I hear you must do with stainless? I ask because my neck is radoused in mm's. 350 I think which is like 13. 3/4" roughly, and I don't see radius blocks to do fretboard at that radius, etc. ?
I am going to try EVO Gold on the strength of this great video. I installed stainless steel on my Tele, wow! That is a mistake I won't repeat.
Do the gold frets and gold hardware eventually rust?
Want to do an EVO Gold refret and setup on my Brian May signature Jubilee Gold guitar? Those frets and the optima Gold strings 9-42, I use would look awesome.
It’s official, I am getting a refret with these.
I used Evo on my 9 string Gecko build and really like it. It looks great even with black hardware. My next build is an ES-335 copy that will have gold hardware and of course I will use the EVO.
Would you prefer stainless steel or evo gold on a smiger lg2 strat guitar? I have dent problems with nickel.
@@zxcvbnm703, I'm totally sold on the EVO. They are about half the hardness of SS. Just approximating don't get your weights and measures book out. I find it not much more difficult to install than standard wire. SS is a huge pain in the butt and hard on tools. I also hear a brightness with SS that I don't like. EVO wears better than nickel silver but probably not as well as SS.
@@jonahguitarguy Ok, thank you!
I am a retired auto mechanic (40+ years) I sure wish I would have trained as a luthier instead. Nice looking shop. Sure wish I could have had someone listen to tool damage issues. Is there any fret wire made from real gold?
Not that I know of. It would make for a poor fretwire though. Too soft
@@EricSchaeferGuitars Yes,too soft which would mean frequent replacement but very low reactivity with your skin.
Hello, i read that these frets where made for the purpose of being hypoallergenic, i have a nickel allergy. What strings would you use?? I love my stainless steel frets because i use steel wounded steel strings. steel strings that dont say are 100% steel on all strings usually have a nickel wounded low strings. That being said can i use the steel strings?? or is it too much for the frets
Currently having the same trouble and I'm gonna go with Stainless steel strings, I'll let you know how it goes
Stainless is the best. If done properly and polished to a mirror reflection. Smooth as glass, lasts longer than I’ll be around. The gold fret wire is nice playing too, just looks a bit weird. If it polished to a dark gold (like the gold hardware) it would be much more attractive. But it often looks like tarnished nickel. I don’t care for the appearance.
I have Evo Gold on a custom build. After 3 years still not completely sold. Upsides a plenty...downsides are few but these frets buzz easier than any of my other guitars. I have tried a number of different approaches and applications...still buzzy. Hardness plays into it I am guessing.
It does, I've had a D35 clone with evo gold for 15 years and I love it, but there is a little fret buzz, I just live with it although normally I hate buzz
Buzz doesn't come from the fretwire though.
Sounds like you need to give the truss rod a slight counterclockwise turn. I have Evo on my 335 and I love it
These seem really nice, i might try these out on a guitar
Thank you for the explanation, good job
Hello friend. Please tell me, I want to replace frets instead
of nickel silver to put jescar evo gold. Guitar acoustics Taylor, I'm afraid
to aggravate the sound, they say a lot of high overtones will appear on the Internet, and there
are plenty of them on my guitar. I want bronze ones because they don't
wear out, but I'm worried that the sound will spoil. Is it possible to put jescar evo gold on Taylor? They don't put them in their factory, so I doubt it.
Which type evo gold do you use as standard as I presume you can get it in all widths/heights?
I know there is a long debate on nickel vs stainless on how they sound. how does the gold evo frets sound compared to nickel and stainless? I'm in the camp where I can hear a difference even though subtle with nickel vs stainless.
Hey Gary,
Honestly I have not noticed a difference, not to say there isn't one, but it hasn't been in my experience noticeable. Also, I have never tested this in any controlled manner, as in playing a guitar with nickel silver, then refretting that same instrument with evo and listening/feeling for a difference.
Im planning to refret my acoustic guitar, what's better in terms of comfort, playability, and overall improvement? I'm torn chossing medium size jescar stainless steel or evo gold. My stock frets are jumbo size and the feel is so rough when bending a string. You can feel the collision of the string and the fret which is very uncomfortable. Please help
where ya getting the evo gold now that LMI is closed and ya bought the last two coils that they had good score .
EVO is discontinued
Great review. I have them on one guitar. Have SS on some others. Can't choose which I like most. Almost the same fast response as the ss.
But they are definitely a good choice for a guitar that needs that look, like older acoustics.
Which one lasts longer in your opinion?
@@kiezersosay49 SS I would say but I haven't worn out any of them yet. EVO is somewhere between Nickel and SS.
Stainless Steel may be overkill, but it’s the best option for someone who wants silver frets but want frets that’s harder than nickel.
Where can I get those fret wire from?
Hey all the asian guitar have fret wire with even softer metal composition than the nickel silver. All the people who spend big money upgrading their chibson and chinese kits ignore replacing frets. That should be #1 on the to do list.
Was hoping to see a working guitar with these
Do you over radius the fret just like a standard fret, or do you match the radius of the fret to the fingerboard precisely?
Matching precisely would always be ideal, but an overradius also works just fine. The thing with evo gold, however, is that it doesn't bend easily, It breaks if you try to radius it in one of those fretwire benders that you build from the hardware store or buy from stewmac. That is why LMI sells it in pre-radiused coils at a radius that is overradiused for pretty much any radius a fretboard would have. I would imagine that in the factory, evo is bent while it is still hot, to prevent it from fracturing.
I'll be answering your question in further detail in an upcoming video: ruclips.net/video/dpiqBqrU5ig/видео.html
So what if you want Evo Gold hardness, but in a silver color? Is there a comparable product?
not that I know of. There's stainless steel, but that is significantly harder.
I have a taylor mini and i was replacing my ( first 5 frets) every 18 months as it would become unplayable and after 3 times i went to stainless steel problem solved right ,wrong i play a lot of open chords within weeks i was geting a diviot in my second fret at the 3rd string its proably been 6 month its still playable with a much larger diviot now go figure i have a seagul i have had for 30 years it has the original frets worn yes but still playable as a mater of fact i have 2 other acoustics just as old still playable. The only thing i can figure maybe the shorter scale has something to do with it i love the mini and i play it exclusively unless the Taylor is out of commission with bad frets any help would be appreciated
I thought that, too.
I have been playing my son’s half size solid mahogany steel string acoustic guitar (basically a baby Taylor replica) for 11 years and it has gouges out of much of the fret wiring that you wouldn’t believe. I do play hard & use 12-54 gauge strings, but the fret wear is unreal, resulting in dead frets and poor intonation up the scale.
I put it down to the shorter scale causing greater tension. I never actually looked, but now I’m comparing the thickness of the fret wire with a full size guitar, I see the half size has thinner/shallower fret wire. This is likely the cause of the wear.
It is about to have a full refret with Evo Gold fretwire so I will discuss this with the luthier
Stops talking about the gold color at 2:48
LMAO!
Thanks!
Ι agree...nickel silver is too soft or as i say..pure crap....stainless steel fretwire is simply amazing but...iam using it on my solid body electric guitars so there is no question of tone change or anything like that...so its all benefits.If i was making acoustic instruments though i think i would avoid SS fretwire cause it would affect the tone of the instrument....evo gold is really a great all rounder.
you didn't mention brass fret wire
The only down point in stainless frets is you had to work on it and it can destroy your tools
The best!
Stainless frets = fret for life
Wow, you do move your hands while talking…
sponsered by ibanez..