Re: Where can I find matte finish nickel covered SD pickups?
1) Purchase an SH-1 with Nickel cover.
2) Install the pickup immediately.
3) Make no effort whatsoever to polish the metal cover. Ever!
4) Wait.
If i can't find what i want i was planning on doing just that actually. It won't end up looking like what I'm describing though. If i just get a shiny nickel cover and let it age, it will still have a bit of shine to it but just have an uneven tarnished look. It's not the same look. The matte cover will age too, but differently.
I understand that most people would probably not care for these details so long as the pickup works and sounds good. I was just curious if i could locate one of these, and try it on a custom built guitar for a unique look I'm going for.
Buy the 59, screw the pole pieces into the pickup farther so they don't get scratched, get some 600-800 grit sandpaper and sand the cover and it'll be matte looking.
If i do that it'll just look scratched. All of the DIY ways I've seen people do, with this kind of technique, just ends up looking like a badly scratched pickup to me. Though perhaps with something more like 1000-1200 grit. It has to be insanely fine grain to not be perceived as scratches.
I just don't know if i feel like trying it, not liking the results, and end up wasting money on a pickup no one will want to re-buy from me. I already have a brand new '59 for sale that no one want's to buy haha
Duncan doesn't offer raw, no-plating covers.
Actually it turns out that they do. Like Frankfalbo mentioned, Antiquity are unplated. You can also find the option for "raw" covers in the custom shop website, when you go to build your own pickup.
Antiquity cover is unplated. I think what you're looking for would be an Antiquity cover that's been sanded, but neither aged nor buffed. I love that look. It would probably have to be a custom shop order.
I believe you are correct. Just an even looking matte finish. Basically a brand new pickup but without any shine at all. The original one i saw was indeed a floor custom shop, i guess i should've bought it when i had the chance.
I used to get all my custom pickups from a guy here on the forums, i believe his name was Martinsixstrings, but he doesn't seem to be around anymore. Do we have anyone here that can get custom shop pickups? I would do it locally but any talk of custom orders seems to confuse shops around here. It just seemed much simpler to just get them from people on here.
