Pitting and Rust

[GDub]

I'm an old timer on the good ol' G&LDP, but I rarely post anymore (as opposed to daily for nearly 10 years) and I check in very infrequently. I only mention this because I'm about to complain about G&L quality--something I'm not sure I've ever done except for the ASAT jack (has that been fixed yet? ;^). Anyway, I have 4 G&Ls--a '98 ASAT Special, a '99 Legacy, an '02 S-500 and a recent SC-2. I play (gig with) the Legacy and SC-2 the most, but on all 4 the chrome parts are pitting. On the Legacy the rear plate screws are totally rusting... Mojo, I know, and it doesn't effect playability, but... I have a Danelectro that I've had for 7 years that rarely gets put in a case and gets played ALL the time, and its chrome parts are still rust and pit free. Anyone else have pitting parts?

--GDub

[zapcosongs]

Great to see you post here again gw. I miss you.

If I had any pitting problem with my parts, I might just keep it to myself ;+)

Seriously, I don't gig and I don't play any of my electric guitars more than 50 hours or so per year, so maybe that's why my bits still glisten so...

Do you have your dual citizenship yet?

Please let me know when you might visit your good friends in the Baltimore area. Would love to treat you to a National Bohemian and a decent crab cake someday.... - ed

[darwinohm]

Couple of thoughts GDub and good to see your posting. The G&Ls you are describing were built before the metric change and I would believe are American built and plated parts. I am wondering if the SF area could be a factor in this. Cooler, wet and potentially salt in the air. I have never had a corrosion problem but have seen used Fender products with the same issues. I have seen string height screws in the saddles completely rusted in and have wondered if it is an environmental issue or possibly acidic residue from a player. It is a good question and lets see if anyone else had experienced this. -- Darwin

[Philby]

Hi GDub,

Only 2 of my guitars show any corrosion, a 1985 MIJ Fender strat and my 1995 USA built S-500. They both have heavily pitted saddles, bridge and saddle screws.

What do they have in common? Well, I bought the strat second hand from a guy in Japan and the S-500 from a guy in Sydney who had spent the last 10 years in Hong Kong. Japan, Sydney and Hong Kong are all very humid and I'm certain that had a lot to do with the amount of visible corrosion on both instruments. The S-500 was also covered in a layer of oily grime that couldn't have been good for it, but cleaned off most surfaces pretty easily.

[Craig]

I'm an old timer on the good ol' G&LDP, but I rarely post anymore (as opposed to daily for nearly 10 years) and I check in very infrequently. I only mention this because I'm about to complain about G&L quality--something I'm not sure I've ever done except for the ASAT jack (has that been fixed yet? ;^). Anyway, I have 4 G&Ls--a '98 ASAT Special, a '99 Legacy, an '02 S-500 and a recent SC-2. I play (gig with) the Legacy and SC-2 the most, but on all 4 the chrome parts are pitting. On the Legacy the rear plate screws are totally rusting... Mojo, I know, and it doesn't effect playability, but... I have a Danelectro that I've had for 7 years that rarely gets put in a case and gets played ALL the time, and its chrome parts are still rust and pit free. Anyone else have pitting parts?

--GDub

Hey GDub,

Nice to hear from ya, even if it's a complaint.

you might take your S-500 and SC-2 to a local G&L dealer (with receipts) and show them the corrosion and pitting.
The dealer should be able to help you get replacements parts under warranty. After a week or two, I will compile any other
posts regarding this issue and pass it on to the factory. If you (and any one else) can send me or post photos of this pitting
and rusting, I'll include them when I pass this info on to the factory.

Oh, and yes, G&L is making a change to the ASAT output jacks. See this post: Hey G&L: it's time to update the ASAT input jack.
But of course, you already knew that.

Hope this helps.