Black satin cover finish question

[Modular1]

Anyone else have this finish on any of their BKPs? Last year around september i bought some war pigs in the black satin finish and last month it started flaking off in a couple of areas around the pole pieces. A bit gutted because i didnt want a battle worn look to them. Its not covered by the warranty either even though it's not wear.

just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with this finish?

(Quick addition to my original post here. This isn't a dig or a shite stir to Tim or BKP. I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem)

[schantist]

Same here, those particular covers are quite susceptible to battle wear.

[lyonk55]

Got some on mine too. The Floyd doesn't help either: mine are wearing where the strings hit them from changing the tension when swapping strings.

[Doadman]

Sounds like it's a common problem. I'd have thought a warranty would have covered that as what's the point in having black covers if they're going to wear away that easily? I'm not aware of Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickups having such a problem so I have no idea why it would affect Bare Knuckle when their quality is generally vastly superior. I was thinking of getting either burnt chrome or black covers on mine so that's made up my mind - burnt chrome it is.

[Alex]

Sounds like it's a common problem. I'd have thought a warranty would have covered that as what's the point in having black covers if they're going to wear away that easily? I'm not aware of Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickups having such a problem so I have no idea why it would affect Bare Knuckle when their quality is generally vastly superior. I was thinking of getting either burnt chrome or black covers on mine so that's made up my mind - burnt chrome it is.

DM and SD don't offer "satin black covers".

I noticed that on my battleworn HD there is a bit of rust on the screws. Granted, the guitar's been in the gigbag for half a year without playing.

That said, I think of it as part of "natural aging". Of course the picture posted does not look too nice.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Yes - have encountered that myself a few times.
Sadly some paints will de-laminate from metal surfaces and just peel off
I used to have some black chrome covers but havent had any for years like that - they have all been painted black in recent times.
Don't know why that is.....
I'm not sure if the process for black chroming covers  conflicts with the European RoHS requirements - I've been told was one reason that Gotoh stopped making black hardware for european market

[Doadman]

DM and SD don't offer "satin black covers".

I noticed that on my battleworn HD there is a bit of rust on the screws. Granted, the guitar's been in the gigbag for half a year without playing.

Perhaps they don't but I think the point is that DM and SD don't offer any sort of cover that deteriorates in this way. Surely, if they can't be made to a high enough standard to last, then don't sell them in the first place because if you do, nobody wins. I confess, much as I have complete loyalty to BKP, I have some sympathy with Modular1 in this case. BKP aren't cheap and while you're certainly paying for a superior sounding product, you're also paying for a generally high quality, hand-made product and if you're doing that, you don't expect it to start to fall apart through no fault of your own and not be covered under the warranty! Things wear out, fair enough, but I think it's reasonable to expect something like this to last more than a year.

I would have thought that if BKP find that this sort of finish is prone to failure (the comments here suggest it is) then it should be withdrawn from sale and people like modular1 should be offered an alternative cover under warranty. There's clearly no point in putting new satin black covers on if they're just going to fail again. This is the first time I've ever heard of BKP having customer service that is anything other than exceptional and that's a shame because the product, the company and the people behind it are better than that.

[Deadstar]

Dunno if someone could suggest to Tim to look at the process for the colour, never seen a black satin cover in real life, how is it done? is it just black paint sprayed or dipped into polished nickel/chrome covers?

Could try it over raw nickel, would that not provide a 'grabbier' surface, then coat it with something like Testors dull coat to keep the satin look finish and protect it from damage. Just an idea.

[gwEm]

this is not good styles is it... :(

[Doadman]

But credit to BKP; this thread is hardly flattering about them but it's not been pulled and of course, we've only heard one side of the story. Someone from BKP may yet make a comment that sheds more light on the issue. The position that 'appears' to be taken by them certainly doesn't sound like the BKP I know and love.

[Modular1]

But credit to BKP; this thread is hardly flattering about them but it's not been pulled and of course, we've only heard one side of the story. Someone from BKP may yet make a comment that sheds more light on the issue. The position that 'appears' to be taken by them certainly doesn't sound like the BKP I know and love.

- if it were a month old then fair enough but 12 months + I would consider that wear and tear.

its just over a year old now and its been on a guitar hanger for at least 6 months of that. i only ever play riffs in drop-c tuning on it so its not as if its had a plectrum battering it in that area.

[Doadman]

OK, I guess that BKP have had their say and that would appear to be an end of the matter but I'd have to say that on this issue I disagree with them and that's never happened before. I've generally only used open poled pickups so the only covered pickups I've ever played on a guitar before were some cheap stock pickups on a cheap guitar. It took a battering over a couple of years by me and then a few more years abuse by my sons who both experimented with playing it and when it was sold on to a friend after that there was no damage at all on the pickup covers. He moved it on a few years later and there was still no damage to the pickup covers, though the rest of the guitar was certainly showing signs of wear. The guitar probably cost about the same as one Bare Knuckle humbucker yet apparently the covers were able to last better than this satin black cover. Over the years I've come across plenty of guitarists with covered pickups (non-BKP) who have experienced no problems at all. Unfortunately, as that's my only experience with covered pickups it's all I can base my opinion on so I would therefore have to take the view that it's not just wear and tear. I accept that somebody with more experience of covered pickups will have a far more informed opinion than mine and I was perhaps just lucky but the fact that others on this forum have experienced the same problem with these particular covers and not others in the range would seem to confirm that it's not just wear and tear. I know I certainly won't be getting satin black covers on mine, which is one of the choices I was interested in. I think I'll stick to either burnt chrome or open poled.

At the end of the day it's a judgement call as to when something becomes fair wear and tear and I imagine Tim must have had reasons for the decision he made. I know that high quality customer care means a lot to BKP and he must have known that this decision may cost you as a customer and the potential custom of those you have contact with so I'm damn sure it wasn't a decision he made lightly. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience and, as I've already indicated, I do have a lot of sympathy for your situation but it certainly wouldn't put me off using Bare Knuckle pickups as they're such a great product with such excellent backup but I'll grant you I wouldn't use this cover now.

[Void_555]

Hi!

I have bought a black satin coverd Aftermath Pickup two weeks ago.
Played it on one rehersal and it shows exactly the same kind of problems.

The black satin is cracking where the plectrum hits the pickup from time to time.

I use other covered pickups and never had a problem with it.

My next BKP will not be a black one I think. Maybe these guys should think about getting it removed from the shop.
I have to say that I didnīt contacted Tim because Iīm way to lazy to get the AM removed from my guitar to replace it with another cover.

[gueorgues]

It is painted - you can't expect from paint to be as hard lasting as chrome for example. There is no way paint could hold on to pick scratching. Maybe if it was sand-sprayed it would be more resistant but surely it would cost more.
Nobody offers that many cover options on the market - I am happy with my BKP.

[Transcend]

i have a black satin aftermath and it doesnt feel painted at all more powder coated and it is really solid.

mine is a no visible pole piece option.