Service
Department:
Guitar Steels
Shubb-Pearse and Robert Randolph Steels
As of Jan.1, 2012 all of our guitar steels are made of solid stainless steel. So for these newer bars, there are no plating issues... because of course, there is no plating. Also, being made of stainless steel, they are very hard, so they should not be prone to nicking or scratching unless abused. So for this present generation of SP and RR steels, there is really nothing required in the way of service or support.
For older SP and RR steels (prior to 2012)
These pre-2012 bars are made of brass and chrome plated. They are guaranteed against bad plating,* but not against normal
wear or damage. If you
drop one on a concrete or tile floor, it will get a ding. If
you put it into a case compartment, or in your pocket, along with other
stuff, it will get scratched or dinged.
Chrome is a hard surface, but it won't last forever; eventually
it will begin to wear. This is normal and expected, after years of constant
abrasion. We can't guarantee against wear; in fact, we can practically
guarantee that the chrome will wear down eventually. But that
doesn't necessarily mean that the bar is unusable. If the plating wears
down smoothly and evenly, you might not notice any difference in the
sound or feel of the bar, and continue to use it long after the brass
begins to peek through.
* Bad Plating.
Very rarely, plating doesn't take properly to a surface. Plating professionals
don't always know why. There are many variables. We inspect carefully
for this, and can almost always visually spot bad plating and reject
it. But we can't apply an abrasion test without damaging good bars,
so it is possible that — very rarely —
a bar could go out of our shop with bad plating. Bad plating will show
up right away. It will peel and come off as either flakes or sparkly
dust after using it for just a short while. Minutes, not weeks. And
it's not subtle. Bad plating isn't something you'd think you might have,
you'd know it.
If you've gotten a Shubb-Pearse or Robert Randolph steel
with bad plating, we will replace it with a new, stainless steel bar. Please download and print our
repair request
form.
Trade-in policy
When we upgraded our bars to stainless steel at the beginning of 2012, many of our pre-2012 chrome plated bars remained on dealers' shelves. If you purchased one of these after Jan. 1, 2012, and if you would prefer to have the new stainless steel bar instead, we will swap it out for just the cost of postage. Contact us to let us know.
GS guitar steels
The metal on a GS is stainless steel. It's very
hard, but it is possible to ding if you drop it or otherwise abuse it.
And the wood can chip or break if it is dropped, or carried loose in
a case compartment or pocket with other stuff. They're not guaranteed
against this sort of wear or damage.
If the metal part should ever separate from the wooden
part, we'll fix it for you. So far, we've never had this happen to one,
but if it ever does, we'll fix it. repair
request form.