Nickel plating vs. Chrome

[Back in Black]

Ride Eternal!
Shiny and CHROME!
View attachment 207756

Mediocre!

Byrne was a cool guy...passed shortly after Fury Road!

He was as grizzled without makeup as he was made-up!

I was home on R&R from Saudi Arabia, in late 1981, my wife...then my girl-friend, took me to see Road Warrior in Toronto...

I knew then and there that I had the right girl...

Best,

BIB.

 

[TobyB]

Offering a subdued version of it (i.e. Fortus or whatever) is completely missing the point. That's ok, but people should at least understand the context of history.

FWIW, a "less gaudy" version of the Falcon has always existed. It's called the Country Club or Country Gentleman.

I really like the RF Black Falcon... it has the body size, bracing, pickups, wiring, hard-tail, etc. that I wanted... and none of the brash excesses of the White Falcon's which aren't something I would want to live with, let alone pay for. Even the Country's are on the gaudy side ... When it comes to a deeper body and a Bigsby, the BS Smoke is a better choice for my ears, eyes and fingers. I would offer that, rather than "missing the point", the RF's are bringing a level of refinement to the table?

 

[Highnumbers]

I really like the RF Black Falcon... it has the body size, bracing, pickups, wiring, hard-tail, etc. that I wanted... and none of the brash excesses of the White Falcon's which aren't something I would want to live with, let alone pay for. Even the Country's are on the gaudy side ... When it comes to a deeper body and a Bigsby, the BS Smoke is a better choice for my ears, eyes and fingers. I would offer that, rather than "missing the point", the RF's are bringing a level of refinement to the table?

I hear you, but "refinement" is the exact opposite of the intent with the White Falcon, as Jimmy Webster envisioned it in 1954.

If you enjoy a subdued, refined version of the Falcon, by all means those options now exist for you. But understand very clearly that the White Falcon was designed in 1954 as a SHOW guitar to dazzle attendees of the 1954 NAMM show with every level of extravagance that Gretsch was capable of putting into an electric guitar at that time. Period literature even cited how "cost was never a consideration in the design of this guitar" and Gretsch backed that up by making every inch of the White Falcon packed with ornate engravings, gold sparkle bindings, resplendent gold plating and more. On every possible level, the goal of this guitar was to be NOT refined or subdued in any way, but the exact opposite. It wasn't even intended to be a production model, just a one-off demonstration of Gretsch's grandiosity.

However people choose to disregard history these days is their own prerogative. But they should at least understand these things through the context of history.

 

[cielski]

I used to find anything gold tacky. When I got married I even chose white gold (18k is usually 75% gold and the rest is nickel and zinc). Years later I held a real .9999 fine gold coin in my hand at a coin shop. Totally changed my opinion on gold. It’s really beautiful in its pure form. I don’t even mind it on instruments anymore. I’ve wondered if some of todays thoughts of tackiness on it has developed because most people are totally disconnected from not owning or ever touching real gold. There was a higher appreciation for it and the yellow color when it was actually used as money long ago.

The tactile sensations from pure gold are amazing. You really don't want to put it down once it's in your hand. Possibly explains gold decor everywhere---even toilets.

 

[G-Point]

Warm nickel plating looks much better. The only problem - it is a little bit allergic. Concerning metals I like non-magnetic, not corroding stainless steel, especially in the case of screws. But the best metal alloy (concerning affects on pickup tone) is so named German-silver (the best pickup base plates and covers are made of it). I would be very happy to find German-silver pickup height and pickup frame screws.

 

[Byron]

I found that the gold comes off Really easy with metal.polish. It's quite a cool effect, you get rid of it or just leave a bit of a bloom. Which is what I did with my excellent Supro vistatones

 

[Maguchi]

Nickel plating vs. Chrome

Yes

 

[Stingray70]

Between nickel and chrome I have a slight preference for chrome if it's high quality chrome plating.. Quality chrome is extremely hard, durable and looks great in my opinion. Cheap chrome plating looks terrible, even when new..

I don't like the look of nickel quite as well as chrome when new. Unlike most, I honestly don't really care for the look of aged nickel's "patina." The most important thing though, whether crome or nickel, is that everything match..

BTW, I also don't really like gold plating because, while it looks good when new, it wears too quickly and then it looks really worn, worse than nickel...

 

[albertgen]

Guys, just wanted to start a discussion about both types of plating. What do you like about either, or for that matter what don’t you like and why.
I like the fact that chrome holds its shine where the nickel plating might dull after it comes into contact with hand sweat.
Bonus points for picture comparisons.

I like the chrome, just because it is shiny!

 

[JB5410]

I don't have a strong preference. I previously had a G5657T with nickel, and I liked the way it looked. Now I have a G5410T with chrome, and I like the way it looks. I agree with the other post said that the main thing I dislike is mismatching nickel with chrome, but then someone posted 'mismatched' photos, and honestly I could hardly tell the difference. If my chrome hardware doesn't age well, then maybe I'll replace it with black nickel?