Nickel plating

An electroplated layer of nickel, traditionally used to give hardware a warm silver-grey finish.

Nickel is deposited electrochemically and sits between bare steel and chrome in hardness and shine, with a softer lustre that owners of vintage instruments associate with older hardware. It appears on tuners, bridge plates, pickup covers and screws on instruments aiming for a period look, and industrially it is often the underlayer beneath chrome. As with any plating it is a protective and decorative treatment rather than a tonal one, though players often describe aged nickel as looking and feeling less sterile than chrome. It tarnishes and wears through wherever it is rubbed, and because nickel is a common skin allergen it is sometimes avoided on parts that sit against the player.

Example: Aged nickel tuners and covers give a reissue the warmer hardware look that makes it read as an older instrument.

typical use: Tuners, bridge plates, pickup covers and screws, especially on vintage-style instruments.

Nickel plating

See also