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Alnico '57 Humbucker Pickup Covers


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Hi there,

 

Without wanting to bore you with too much detail, I basically bought a 1997 Epi Supernova a while back and was looking to change the pickup covers, after the previous owner had left them in a bit of a state.

 

Wanting to make sure I got top notch stuff and not some cheap replacement, I headed over to the Rosetti website, who apparently sell geniune Epiphone and Gibson spares. The ones I ordered are here : http://www.rosetti.co.uk/Product/Epiphone-Humbucker-Pickup-Cover-50mm-Chrome

 

Anyway, I ordered two and after waiting a whole month for them, they arrived. I took the guitar down to my local music shop to get them fitted, as I know that they can be a bit fiddley to change if not done properly.

 

Unfortuntely, me being a bit thick, I neither double checked the spacing of the ones Rosetti sent me beforehand, nor did I realise that the two pickups would have slightly different pole widths due to the strings converging from the bridge. Turns out, upon receiving a phone call from the guy at the shop this morning, that there were two problems. The first is that Rosetti sent me two covers, neither of which have the correct 50mm spacing advertised, so fit neither pickup. Apparently, they're using American imperial measurements.

 

Had I actually been sent one with 50mm spacing, then the bridge pickup would fit just fine. I understand 50mm is pretty standard, so that doesn't worry me about sourcing one of the correct size. From the measurement the guy down at the shop has given me though, the neck pickup has a pole width of 46-47mm, obviously because the pole pieces run directly underneath the strings, which are getting closer as they travel away from the bridge.

 

As far as I know, the pickups on the guitar are still the standard 57 humbuckers they came with. So, the question is, does anybody know where I can get a chrome cover from that will fit the neck pickup? [confused]

 

Im in the UK by the way [cool]

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  • 1 year later...

Old threat, but I just need what you need,a metal pickup cover with 47 mm pole spacing for and japanese guitar. Thanks.

 

What I ended up doing in the end was just having the pickup covers rechromed, as it would appear that nowhere sells pickup covers with 47mm spacing. The finish ended up being just as good as the originals.

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Are you putting covers on Asian-made pickups? If so, get some better PU's and don't spend your money on covering the cheap ones. I've got more Epi's than just about anyone here, and I've upgraded the pickups on all of them, which has been a huge improvement in tones. Switched to American and European-made pickups. Much more definition, clarity and depth.

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Are you putting covers on Asian-made pickups? If so, get some better PU's and don't spend your money on covering the cheap ones. I've got more Epi's than just about anyone here, and I've upgraded the pickups on all of them, which has been a huge improvement in tones. Switched to American and European-made pickups. Much more definition, clarity and depth.

 

In my case, we´re talking about fernandes (burny) vh3 pickups, wich I found better than classic 57 (best gibson pups in my opinion), so they worth the search. Also there are many asian pickups as greco dry-z´s, burny vh1, vh3 and vh4, maxon etc there are very good paf clones. No comparision with epiphone pups.

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In my case, we´re talking about fernandes (burny) vh3 pickups, wich I found better than classic 57 (best gibson pups in my opinion), so they worth the search. Also there are many asian pickups as greco dry-z´s, burny vh1, vh3 and vh4, maxon etc there are very good paf clones. No comparision with epiphone pups.

Yes, I think those views were sweeping generalisations, not all Asian pickups are created equal, either are all US pups, or for that matter, those from any other part of the planet. Each pickup should be taken on it's own merits, not it's location of origin.

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does asian mean artec? i can't imagine they are sooo much better than epi?

There are Artec, Wilkinson,GFS, and those jcsk8 mentioned a few posts back, just for starters.

 

I have had some tremendous results with Wilkinson and GFS, and some re-branded Artec's from Guitar Heads pickups, and I know of many others who have also.

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Yes, I think those views were sweeping generalisations, not all Asian pickups are created equal, either are all US pups, or for that matter, those from any other part of the planet. Each pickup should be taken on it's own merits, not it's location of origin.

 

Technically anyone can make a PU. But certain PU makers have spent decades learning the tonal effects of winding patterns and tension (which are not the same throughout a PU), materials, magnets, etc. It's an art and there's a lot more to it than most people realize. There's a world of difference in a PU made by Seymour Duncan, Larry DiMarzio, Jason Lollar, or Lindy Fralin, versus a PU made in China or Korea for a mid-price import guitar. The better your amp, the more difference you'll hear. They're worth the extra money, and that's why those guys are in business. Most (not all) of the guys making high-quality PU's are in the USA and Europe. The 'merits' of stock Asian-made PU's are that they generate a signal, and that's about it.

 

This summer I bought a used Epi Korina '58 V. I plugged it in to test the electronics and wow! Amazing tone. Like nothing I've ever heard from a stock Epi. Clarity, depth, and definition. When I changed the strings I flipped over the PU's, and they were both DiMarzios; the seller forgot to mention that.

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Technically anyone can make a PU. But certain PU makers have spent decades learning the tonal effects of winding patterns and tension (which are not the same throughout a PU), materials, magnets, etc. It's an art and there's a lot more to it than most people realize. There's a world of difference in a PU made by Seymour Duncan, Larry DiMarzio, Jason Lollar, or Lindy Fralin, versus a PU made in China or Korea for a mid-price import guitar. The better your amp, the more difference you'll hear. They're worth the extra money, and that's why those guys are in business. Most (not all) of the guys making high-quality PU's are in the USA and Europe. The 'merits' of stock Asian-made PU's are that they generate a signal, and that's about it.

 

This summer I bought a used Epi Korina '58 V. I plugged it in to test the electronics and wow! Amazing tone. Like nothing I've ever heard from a stock Epi. Clarity, depth, and definition. When I changed the strings I flipped over the PU's, and they were both DiMarzios; the seller forgot to mention that.

I'm not lacking a range of guitars, from a vast price range, and from most eras, to test my views, there's a link to some of it in my sig, and my amplification needs are also being met quite well, listed in my sig.

 

Additionally I have heard very detailed and glowing reviews from many that I consider a very credible source, such as Neil above.

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The newew asian pickups aren´t good as some old ones. I prefer Seymours, Burtsbuckers, Classics 57 to any new asian pup. But the old generation have some stars. Fernandes made an stellar pickup called VH-1. Those original are rare, expensive and excelent. The newer VH-1 aren´t on pair. Later came VH-2, VH-3 and VH-4, variations of the original, with different outputs. From 80 to 85 alike.

Also there is the famous Dry-Z´s. Made by greco on lates 70, early 80 they are exceptional paf clones. The only I´ve saw around were priced at 500 US dollars.

I love mine VH-3´s to death. Clarity and definition, harmonics, double tones, midrange honk, etc. Last week a producer played the guitar and said "There is a chorus pedal on?". No, just the pups.

For that reason I didn´t want to change them, but as I can see, could be impossible to find some nre covers. Maybe used, if I have luck.

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The thing is the generalisation doesn't hold water on so many fronts. America isn't the only country that has well made pickups, or hand wound boutiques either, NZ, Oz, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain all have boutique pickups, as probably does any developed country, to say that only the US can do it correctly is a total load of bunkum. As is the sweeping generalisation that all Asian pickups are sub par.

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The thing is the generalisation doesn't hold water on so many fronts. America isn't the only country that has well made pickups, or hand wound boutiques either, NZ, Oz, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain all have boutique pickups, as probably does any developed country, to say that only the US can do it correctly is a total load of bunkum. As is the sweeping generalisation that all Asian pickups are sub par.

 

Like I said 'American and European-made'PU's. Slow down and read the posts, your responses will make more sense that way. The large and boutique American and European PU winders have spent decades learning how to wind and make PU's. Those are carefully-guarded trade secrets. That level of research hasn't happened in most other countries, and certainly isn't happening with the stock PU's used in imported mid-price and entry-level guitars from Asia.

 

When you take apart a Seymour Duncan HB, there's very little wax (I've taken apart dozens). When you take apart a stock Epi HB, they're full of wax, they look like a bar of soap. That's not good for tone. Listen to an American-made PAF, and listen to an Epi '57 Classic. Not in the same league for tone quality. No one would spend the extra money if they were. Players spend $100 or $200 for one PU, because they sound so much better than a $20 PU. But, play an Epi HB thru a solid state amp with lots of distortion and effects, and you won't hear much difference. We all decide what's an acceptable tone for ourselves.

 

Buy whatever you want, but the fact is that making PU's that produce great tones is an rarified art, and the majority (but not all, as I said before) of those artists live in the USA and Europe. A few are in Australia, and other places.

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Like I said 'American and European-made'PU's. Slow down and read the posts, your responses will make more sense that way. The large and boutique American and European PU winders have spent decades learning how to wind and make PU's.

Australia and NZ are nowhere near Europe.

 

I've done a great deal of pickup upgrades too, I'm not adverse to trying to make something the best it can be, given my budgetary restrictions at present, I'm a pensioner, money matters to me, so it does come down to bang for buck much of the time, and there are good options to be had from all parts of the world, if you know where to look. Reading reviews and opinions from trusted sources is a good (the best IMO) way to ferret out some of these options.

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I'm not adverse to trying to make something the best it can be, given my budgetary restrictions at present, I'm a pensioner, money matters to me, so it does come down to bang for buck much of the time,

 

I'm still a working man so I have a bunch of mid-price import guitars and dozens of models of PU's from a variety of manufacturers (Duncan, DiMarzio, Gibson, Rio Grande, Fralin, Lollar, Gunsher, Schaller, Carvin, etc). In every case, the upgraded PU's gave me significantly better tones. I understand money can be an issue, been there myself. I buy most of my PU's used (for about half price).

 

Example, I just got an Epi Dot in natural with a fat 1950's-type neck (one-piece mahogany!). I put in a pair Seymour Duncan Seths (SH-55). There are no Asian-made Epi PU's that are going to hcome anywhere near that level of tone quality. I bought both the guitar and PU's used, so for $400 out-of-pocket (the cost of a new Dot by itself) I have a guitar that compares favorably tone-wise with a $3,000 Gibson 335. To me, that's the way to do it. I love Epi's, great value, and I may have than anybody here, but the weak link is always the PU's. Not a problem for me, as I do my own wiring. Every time I'm on stage I get compliments on my tones, with any of my Epi's, and I usually have the cheapest guitar in the place (but with the best PU's!).

 

I just want players to know that you can spend several hundred dollars on a guitar, and still be able to get on equal footing tone-wise with high-end American-made guitars costing 5 or 10 times as much as yours, if you put in high-quality PU's, and select PU models that make sense for the kind of music you're playing. I walk in jams getting funny looks because of my Epi's, and when I walk off stage, they're shaking my hand and buying me drinks.

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I just want players to know that you can spend several hundred dollars on a guitar, and still be able to get on equal footing tone-wise with high-end American-made guitars costing 5 or 10 times as much as yours, if you put in high-quality PU's, and select PU models that make sense for the kind of music you're playing. I walk in jams getting funny looks because of my Epi's, and when I walk off stage, they're shaking my hand and buying me drinks.

I have at least 10 guitars wit SDs, and probably the same number again with many of the other brands you mentioned initially in your post above, the same number again with GFS and similar upper end Asian brands, so I'm aware of their performance. One thing I should clear up, I have very little regard for the pups Epi use, the ones usually seen described as Alnico Classic, I've heard however the new ProBucker they have used to replace them have been getting a much better wrap from those who have tried/bought so equipped guitars

 

My most recent pickup upgrades used Kent Armstrong, GFS and Guitar Heads pickups, when buying pickups it's not all about price, if I want something more expensive than the money on hand, I will save for it, the biggest conflict for me is the need to have something yesterday and my ability to hold out and save, it's a battle I wage constantly, LOL.

 

My favourite pastime has become turning sow's ears into silk purses, as long as you start with a structurally sound instrument, you can, depending on the work you put in, turn something that cost under $1,000 into something that plays and sounds as good as something that costs several thousand dollars, or extremely close to it. I must say, I get more satisfaction doing that than actually playing the buggers.

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I'm still a working man so I have a bunch of mid-price import guitars and dozens of models of PU's from a variety of manufacturers (Duncan, DiMarzio, Gibson, Rio Grande, Fralin, Lollar, Gunsher, Schaller, Carvin, etc). In every case, the upgraded PU's gave me significantly better tones. I understand money can be an issue, been there myself. I buy most of my PU's used (for about half price).

 

Example, I just got an Epi Dot in natural with a fat 1950's-type neck (one-piece mahogany!). I put in a pair Seymour Duncan Seths (SH-55). There are no Asian-made Epi PU's that are going to hcome anywhere near that level of tone quality. I bought both the guitar and PU's used, so for $400 out-of-pocket (the cost of a new Dot by itself) I have a guitar that compares favorably tone-wise with a $3,000 Gibson 335. To me, that's the way to do it. I love Epi's, great value, and I may have than anybody here, but the weak link is always the PU's. Not a problem for me, as I do my own wiring. Every time I'm on stage I get compliments on my tones, with any of my Epi's, and I usually have the cheapest guitar in the place (but with the best PU's!).

 

I just want players to know that you can spend several hundred dollars on a guitar, and still be able to get on equal footing tone-wise with high-end American-made guitars costing 5 or 10 times as much as yours, if you put in high-quality PU's, and select PU models that make sense for the kind of music you're playing. I walk in jams getting funny looks because of my Epi's, and when I walk off stage, they're shaking my hand and buying me drinks.

 

As I stated before. Older asian pafs repros are awesome. None Seth lovers, or duncans, or dimarzio, etc. will be on pair with first generation vh-1 and dry-s, if you have an opportunity to try any do it.

Tha las statement I agree. Any decent build guitar like epiphone, agile, vintages v100 with a decent par of pups and new wiring and pots will be very close to the higher ends for MUCH less money.

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My favourite pastime has become turning sow's ears into silk purses, as long as you start with a structurally sound instrument, you can, depending on the work you put in, turn something that cost under $1,000 into something that plays and sounds as good as something that costs several thousand dollars, or extremely close to it. I must say, I get more satisfaction doing that than actually playing the buggers.

 

I do the same thing. Buy a used mid-price import, usually an Epi, put in used American-made PU's, do a good set up, and they sound an awful lot like Gibsons. Do all the work myself. Great sounding and playing guitar for several hundred dollars...can't beat it. I'll impress people with my playing, not the name on the headstock, which is what really matters.

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