Yorgle Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 I would like to change out the chrome covers on my Wildkat p90s for cream plastic covers, but it appears to me that the chrome covers are attached by soldering them to the mounting tabs on the pickup. Un-soldering them is no big deal, but how do I attach the new plastic covers? If anyone has done this and can give me some advice, I'd appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 (edited) The dog ears should have some tabs, that lay against the body. The covers will "capture" the tabs, when the mounting screws go back in. I put a small piece of adhesive-backed felt on the body side of the tab, just to provide a little cushion. That's it, unless you need to shim, in which case, you'd place the tabs on top of the shim. I went from chrome to cream, then black on my Casino. Really changes the look, kinda like a woman changing her hair color..... Edited December 10, 2018 by tweed2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Thanks. That's simpler than I thought it would be, but now looking at your pictures, I'm having second thoughts about cream. Black sure looks sharp against the maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 (edited) The issue that I had with cream, is that I wanted to match the pick guard, switch tip and knobs to the covers. There is no standard "cream" color, so the pieces didn't match. Maybe I'm OCD, but that bugged the heck out of me. But, black is black. Edited December 10, 2018 by tweed2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 The issue that I had with cream, is that I wanted to match the pick guard, switch tip and knobs to the covers. There is no standard "cream" color, so the pieces didn't match. Maybe I'm OCD, but that bugged the heck out of me. But, black is black. My reason is primarily to see what, if any, affect the plastic covers have on the sound of the pickups, and figured that cream would match the switch tip on my Wildkat, but now I'm leaning toward ordering both cream and black, just in case the cream doesn't match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winkydee Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 On 12/10/2018 at 3:28 PM, tweed2 said: The dog ears should have some tabs, that lay against the body. The covers will "capture" the tabs, when the mounting screws go back in. I put a small piece of adhesive-backed felt on the body side of the tab, just to provide a little cushion. That's it, unless you need to shim, in which case, you'd place the tabs on top of the shim. I went from chrome to cream, then black on my Casino. Really changes the look, kinda like a woman changing her hair color..... Hey Tweed! I'm wondering where you got the covers to work on that Casino? The neck being shallow and the bridge being tall. thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 On December 10, 2018 at 11:58 AM, Yorgle said: I would like to change out the chrome covers on my Wildkat p90s for cream plastic covers, but it appears to me that the chrome covers are attached by soldering them to the mounting tabs on the pickup. Un-soldering them is no big deal, but how do I attach the new plastic covers? If anyone has done this and can give me some advice, I'd appreciate it. Are the chrome Covers soldered to the mounting tabs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 They are on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 2 hours ago, Yorgle said: They are on mine. If you have Plastic & want Chrome what is the Procedure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 The metal covers need to be soldered to the pickup baseplates to be grounded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 I'd like to try this myself. It sounds like removing the Pickups are required in order to do the soldering... Does anyone know if there's a YouTube How To for this? Thanks LL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 (edited) Note he did not mention soldering the tabs to the cover, theoretically if you make a good solid contact be the tabs or chassis to the cover the cover would be grounded. Edited December 17, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 2 hours ago, mihcmac said: Note he did not mention soldering the tabs to the cover, theoretically if you make a good solid contact be the tabs or chassis to the cover the cover would be grounded. Do you think that also applies to installing Chrome Dogear Covers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 (edited) "Note he did not mention soldering the tabs to the cover, theoretically if you make a good solid contact be the tabs or chassis to the cover the cover would be grounded."-- that's true but only if they are tightened down firmly, which in the case of the metal covers, tends to cause the sharp edges of the covers to dig into the finish. Soldering them is the best way to guarantee a good ground and no vibration, but you'll probably need a 40watt iron- the typical 25watt from Walmart most likely isn't going to work. Edited December 17, 2020 by Yorgle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Yorgle said: "Note he did not mention soldering the tabs to the cover, theoretically if you make a good solid contact be the tabs or chassis to the cover the cover would be grounded."-- that's true but only if they are tightened down firmly, which in the case of the metal covers, tends to cause the sharp edges of the covers to dig into the finish. Soldering them is the best way to guarantee a good ground and no vibration, but you'll probably need a 40watt iron- the typical 25watt from Walmart most likely isn't going to work. Yes, very good accurate information Yorgle. The video did not show soldering the tabs but did show good disassembly assembly converting a Gibson P90 to a Surface Mount P90 like what would be used on a Casino or other Hollow or Semi-Hollow Body guitars. So if you are just replacing cream or black dogear cover with chrome on a surface mount P90, it would be best to solder the tabs to the cover. Solid Body guitars with dogear covers do not usually have tabs as they pushed up in place against the cover by a piece of foam. Edited December 17, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 I have a 50th Anniversary 1961 RI Epi Casino w/ Tremotone. It has black Dogear P90's. I would like to put Chrome Dogear Covers on it. I want it to be reversible in case I want to change it back at some point. Is complete removal of the Pickup necessary? Or can it be done without taking the whole thing apart? I can't find any YouTubes for this... Thanks LL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Larsongs said: I have a 50th Anniversary 1961 RI Epi Casino w/ Tremotone. It has black Dogear P90's. I would like to put Chrome Dogear Covers on it. I want it to be reversible in case I want to change it back at some point. Is complete removal of the Pickup necessary? Or can it be done without taking the whole thing apart? I can't find any YouTubes for this... Thanks LL The casino being a a surface mount, if you remove the screws on the dogears it should lift out, at that point you should see how the cover is attached to P90. No need to disconnect from the wiring harness. The bridge cover would normally be taller than the neck cover with the P90 recessed farther inside the cover, needing to to have the tabs soldered to the cover to hold it in position. Or at least use spacers under the tabs to help it make contact with the cover and hold it in position. I found a decent shot of a Casino with its P90's lifted out so you can see the soldering on the tabs. Edited December 18, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Aaahhh... Thanks so much.. I couldn't find any good Pics.. I recently got the Chrome Covers.. I may have to get the higher heat rated Soldering Iron.. I've got one but not sure if it will do the job.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevo58 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 The metal covers act as a huge heat sink, making it very difficult to unsolder the tabs. I doubt if a 40-watt iron will work. My Ersa electronically-controlled solder station, at 450C, couldn’t do it. A 100-watt gun might do it, or a gas flame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 The trick is you gotta get the solder really hot really fast with a high powered gun or torch. While prying the tabs away from the cover to separate. Also when attaching the P90 tabs to a new cover, the bridge cover is normally deeper which may require the P90 tabs to be bent to fit all the way in fully seated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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