Originally Posted by j-lie
i worked at a boat shop and i was a deckhand on a ship for a short time. if there isn't a buffer between aluminum and steel(grease, silicone, or spoke prep) the corosion of the aluminum will bond to the steel and fuse the metals. this is much worse of a problem in a marine environment like where i live. this is why you should grease your seatpost and your quill stems. i've heard of factory build wheelsets that don't use spoke prep fusing after a year or two of riding in rain.
brass doesn't corrode in the same way and will stand up better for a longer period of time. i've also heard they are less prone to threads stripping.
in addition they're cheaper and i don't really need to save weight.
I wasn't disagreeing with the statement, I was just curious as to the way it was stated. For what its worth, the difference in anodic index of brass to steel really isn't much better than aluminum to steel. You'll end up with galvanic corrosion either way.
I was under the impression brass was chosen over aluminum for strength concerns, but I haven't built enough wheels to comment on that personally.