The neck pickup relic doesn't look the same... Do you have a shot of the serial number? I've got one... Could compare. WOuld be really cool to realise I've got your old axe. It really is special.
Trust me... it's the same. I can even tell you how the pickup covers got to be like that...:mrgreen: I also know where you bought it from, and I was there that day when you came to pick it up, and another earlier day when you went to try it.
When I bought it from G77, there was no such mark. The nickel covers were shiny... then I waited a bit to remove that annoying SD sticker, which leaves that rectangular mark on the pickups themselves. THEN, my rhythm guitarist played it a few times in our jam sessions (I've honestly only played it ONCE in a studio, and a few minutes at home).
I never cleaned the pickups. They were sitting in the case in my closet for months at a time. One day, when I took it out, for some reason, the nickel had aged like that. It's as if everytime I wiped the pickups once in a while, only that area gets the exposure, and is more prone to corrosion. Weird. I tried to clean that corrosion off, bit it's tough. I think needs polishing...
BTW, that's not a relic effect. It's a REAL aging effect...:twisted:
But that guitar is light, and very very bright and responsive. It's not muddy. Not even acoustically. It's got a really nice woody tone to it.
P.S. watch that strap knob near the neck. It's got a tendancy to come loose... Unless you've already glued it down?:mrgreen: