Hardware Conundrum now sorted!

[Noisyjon]

Hello All,
Here's the situation - I've got a right hand bass with a left hand neck on it.
The tuners are cheap cr@ppy ones and a couple are vibrating like mad with normal play.
Long story short they're not the ones I wanted on the bass so I'm going to swap them out for some matching lefty Hipshot tuners.

There's a set on eBay, for a good price, but they're gold ones. The bass is all chrome hardware at the mo.
I can't decide so please help me out here people.

Gold or Chrome - I like both of them so there's only one way to find out......FIGHT!!!

Cheers,
Jon

Edited February 5, 2011 by jonthebass

[Grand Wazoo]

[size=5][b]mother of mercy NOOOOO!![/b][/size]

unless the rest of the hardware is already gold, it'll look tacky.

[bubinga5]

Why not, you dont alway have to look like everyone else.. its unique.. what colour is the bass? when your famous it will be worth a fortune..

Edited January 21, 2011 by bubinga5

[Noisyjon]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1097992' date='Jan 21 2011, 07:26 PM']Why not, you dont alway have to look like everyone else.. its unique.. what colour is the bass? when your famous it will be worth a fortune.. [/quote]

LOL! It's the one in my avatar.

[Clarky]

Jon, [size=7]NO[/size]

I have seen this bass in the flesh and its a beauty. Gold will look like (as Mrs C says) "fur coat, no knickers"

Edited January 21, 2011 by Clarky

[EssentialTension]

It's up to you, but I wouldn't do it. NO.

[RhysP]

Mixing gold & chrome hardware will look sh*t.

If the price of the gold ones on Ebay is too good to miss, just give them a good going over with some Brasso & a rag - that'll get rid of the gold plating in no time.

[Noisyjon]

[quote name='Clarky' post='1098010' date='Jan 21 2011, 07:38 PM']Jon, [size=7]NO[/size]

I have seen this bass in the flesh and its a beauty. Gold will look like (as Mrs C says) "fur coat, no knickers"[/quote]


Love it Clarky!

[Noisyjon]

[quote name='RhysP' post='1098029' date='Jan 21 2011, 07:57 PM']Mixing gold & chrome hardware will look sh*t.

If the price of the gold ones on Ebay is too good to miss, just give them a good going over with some Brasso & a rag - that'll get rid of the gold plating in no time.[/quote]

I did wonder about something like this...

[bumnote]

I tried to put all gold hardware on my Tokai, but TBH I think it looked tacky, I ended up restoring all the chrome parts.

Some gold looks good, some looks cheap and brassy.

[Ou7shined]

Gold works best with either black or deep brown... so [size=5]NO[/size].

[jezzaboy]

If you put gold tuners on it, the next thing you know you`ll be wearing a camel hair coat and saying "Rodney, you plonker"!

Or mabye not.

Jez

[3below]

And eventually gold hardware looks dull, plating wears off or if unlucky peels off. Aged chrome / nickel (25 years on etc) just looks the business IMO.

[Noisyjon]

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1098078' date='Jan 21 2011, 08:41 PM']If you put gold tuners on it, the next thing you know you`ll be wearing a camel hair coat and saying "Rodney, you plonker"!

Or mabye not.

Jez[/quote]

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='3below' post='1098079' date='Jan 21 2011, 08:41 PM']And eventually gold hardware looks dull, plating wears off or if unlucky peels off. Aged chrome / nickel (25 years on etc) just looks the business IMO.[/quote]

Yep, gold hardware ages sooooo quickly, and to be base (not bass) we are talking collar and cuffs here

[Meenie]

Take a hacksaw and remove the headstock from the bass, put the removed headstock on a raft and sail it off down a fast flowing river.
Then take the gold tuners and bury them deep in the earth.

That way the two entities will never be as one and the human race can breathe a collective sigh of relief!

[henry norton]

Yeah a good hard polish with the Brasso will bring up the chrome plate underneath the gold a real treat. You might find a better price for Hipshot hardware on Ebay.com (as opposed to the .co.uk version - it's dependant on exchange rates, post and stuff like that but in my experience it usually worked out cheaper.

[Cat Burrito]

No! It's Friday night, you must have been drinking & you'll regret that in the morning!

[hillbilly deluxe]

Replace the 2 that are knackered with gold ones for that bling rap look.Fender will re-issue it.

Edited January 22, 2011 by hillbilly deluxe

[craigonbass]

Having seen the bass at the bash....NO

Craig

[Grand Wazoo]

I say, there's 1 YES and 27 NO's so far in your poll. I think the majority has spoken clearly.

Don't naff your bass up!

[Bassassin]

Mix & match finish hardware always looks sh!t. Besides, gold = tasteless, tacky & just plain naff anyway.

Jon.

[Daquifsta]

Is it likely that there will be chrome plating underneath the gold plating then? (I don't know the process: I've never gold plated anything myself) Because I would have thought it would just be the base metal under the gold, probably brass or something?

All that aside, hardware needs to match from one end to t'other, so back a (colour) horse and stick with it :-)

[JimBobTTD]

Although I voted no, I am seriously considering having gold string ferrules on the back of a chrome hardware bass. But nobody but me will ever see them, and not even I will see them when I'm playing.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I don't like gold hardware. I have a few basses with black hardware which I can live with, but you can't beat a nice shiny bit of chrome or the cool patina that builds up on nickel-plated.