I was up early today because my blocked nose needed some attention. I couldn't sleep thereafter so I decided to re-string my Fender ST-72 but there was something amiss with the 5-way pickup selector switch because it didn't notch into place when in use. True enough, as seen above, corrosion had virtually consumed it. *Ewwww....*
By virtue of this occurrence, do we deem Fender's ST-72 a lousy piece of work because the parts deteriorated over time? Simple answer: NO...
Mechanical parts do give way over time as they are exposed to the elements but how could an internal component be subjected to such decay? When we play our instruments (more so when you are in active performance), sweating is inevitable so the traces of moisture made its way into the residence of these internal components (through slots & gaps + some of us actually spray our polish fluid directly onto our instruments- you are actually forcing moisture through those gaps/ slots). This deterioration is expedited by the fact that some of us don't even bother to wipe down our instruments after play. In addition to this, we bring our instruments to venues with varying temperatures (indoors vs outdoors/ warm vs air-conditioned) so elementary Science tells us that condensation would take place & this is something beyond our control. It is therefore a healthy practice to service our instruments when the time comes especially so when we come across tell-tale signs of deterioration.
3 comments:
Perhaps a little Philips spray and lots of TLC might do the trick. The contacts still look solid.
no amount of spray could cure the notchless deterioration- it didn't click into position so it's as good as gone...
Subversion, you have a good point there. I guess I'm the type that always hopes against hope that a component can be saved.
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