Can rod pole pieces on Fender style pickups be gold plated?
The Alnico rod magnet material can be plated with may types of plating such as nickel, black nickel, chrome and gold to name a few for cosmetic appearance. During the early 80’s Fender would gold plate some of their Alnico rod pole pieces to designate a certain grade of material. Gibson during the mid 50’s would gold plate the rectangular pole pieces on their P-90 style pickup often called the “Staple” pickup and used in the neck position of their black Les Paul Custom nicknamed the “Fretless Wonder”. I’ve seen DeArmond “Dynosonic” pickups with gold plated pole pieces that look beautiful on an old Gretsch 6120. Many adjustable pole pieces you see on instrument are or usually made from a ferrous material and plating helps keep them from rusting either from sweat or moisture in the air. The rod magnet polepieces can rust in time but not as fast as an un-plated ferrous screw. Plating helps keep the rust from destroying the cosmetic appearance of a beautiful piece of hardware.
