Brand New TVJ Gretsch gold plated hardware question.
Ok; here's the deal: In '63 I bought a Country Gent. Then; about ten years later, I sold it cause I thought I was failing IT! The gold plating was fading right away! Now; right here, right here on this site, we can all buy some of the most highly respected pups in the industry. We can also buy some dandy new wiring harnesses and all the associated hardware to dress them up. My question is: Can we buy new pups and knobs and fittings with gold plating right here and expect them to last more than ten short years? ....at my age "I" may not last more than ten years!(?) But maybe my kids will enjoy a pretty guitar after I'm gone!:P But anyway; yeah; can we expect this pretty gold stuff to last longer than that disappointing stuff that Gretsch put on their guitars back in the 60s? ....I put moderately priced gold plated tuning machines on the classical guitar I built back in the '80s and they still look brand new even today, so I know that not all guitar parts are inherently doomed to premature failure. 8)

Probably, but I'm not sure. I've got a Gibson Gem from 96, and most of the gold from the parts is very faded or rubbed off entirely. I actually like the look, but I can understand wanting a Gretsch to look awesome. That said, on knobs and pickup covers, it'd probably be ok for a while. Especially 2007/2008 parts, they're better made now.

Yup; should be OK at that. I did a bit of research, and it seems that the best bet is to never touch this stuff! Yeah; really fragile finish! But that's the key....if ya want it to last; leave it alone. I've had gold tuning machines on my classical that I've played everyday for the last twenty years and the gold looks just great. But then again I only touch the tuners' buttons and never the gold mounting plates. .......I did swab them once about five years ago with a soft dry Q-tip to get rid of some dust, and they didn't seem to mind at all. OK; so I'll go with the Gold and just be cool about it! 8)