So I pulled out my Fender Strat out of it's case after about a year and found some signs of rust on the magnets on the pickups.

Will this affect the sound of the guitar?

Is there any way to get rid of it?


I feel bad because it was my first electric I ever owned and it has fallen out of favor for a new telecaster in the last year or so.

I dont see it being a big deal, RD. Shit, plug it in and see if it sounds alright.

You can probably use a small wire brush to remove the rust and then wipe the offending metal with a paper towel that you've sprayed some WD-40 on.

The rust won't do much, B. It's not something you wanna ignore though, for two reasons:

1. If left alone, it'll have its way with that ass. It will turn into something gross and funky, if you don't follow Bloor's advice and scrub it / coat it. A tiny bit is normal. Any more isn't.
2. The bigger issue is what let it form in the first place. You have that shit in a basement, don't you? That's what got the moisture content up enough to get the rust going. That's gonna start fucking with your finish, and then the integrity of your neck. Warpage. Tears. Get it under your bed and out of the damp basement.

Bloor is correct abt WD-40. It's only good for one thing: displacing moisture. A paper towel, shot with some '40, wipe it onto exposed metal, and then put the guitar away. Also, for a nice protective shine on the body, some car polish works GREAT. Once a year pull that bitch out, get her Windex-cleaned, then polished, wipe the strings down good (keep it strung and only 3/4-way tuned), then put her somewhere dark, temp-stable, and dry... like under the bed.

Sorry you asked?

I think it's now useless. I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands, and I'll even be a nice guy about it and let you pay for shipping.

(I've been gassing for a strat recently.)

I've hit a wall with my old 88 am std strat. I haven't found pickups for it that really talk to me. So it sits while the two tele's get all the action. Haven't played it out anywhere in years.

A new victoria amp will fix that problem.

Hell no Ky. Just what I needed.

You're right though. When i was working with Loog on the campaign trail I kept a lot of my stuff in my folks basement and that's where the moisture got in I'm sure.

I feel like my long lost child has come home and I've neglected her for far too long. She will be cleaned and restrung this week.

The reason it fell out of favor was because I've been playing a Thinline Tele through a Hot Rod Deville. I just love it on channel 1 with a clean sound. so choice.

Advertise that enough and you may come back from LooGAR's wedding to discover that Busty and the Cap'n made a "detour" by your place on the way back to 'sconsin.

Which is haha funny until you realize that I mentioned Busty aka a dude who would do it.

teles hell yes

Oh yes. Yes it will.

Get thine ass up here already. Make with the swappage.

Meanwhile, I know what I want for pickups in the strat, but as little as I play out I have a hard time justifying the cost. Plus I only play twangy stuff these days, and the tele plus cannot be fucked with in that regard.