Removing Dot Humbucker Covers?

[twodice]

I am thinking of removing the humbucker covers on my cherry dot. I want to do this purely for cosmetic resons. However, does it change the sound and how do go about taking them off? Also, once they are off, is it a simple case of putting them back on if I want?

 

Post pics of your guitars with open coil pickups, because that would be great

 

Thanks, Ross.

 

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[jonnyg]

I did this quite a few years ago (when it first became fashionable) and all it involved at that time was unsoldering the cover from the base, removing the pickup screws, taking the cover off and putting the screws back in. I think it's more difficult now as the majority of pickups are waxed so when you get the cover off you probably have to remove the wax somehow. Some people say they can hear a tone difference and some people say they don't. In my case, I couldn't hear any difference so, for me, it was pretty much a waste of time.

 

jg

[animalfarm]

I personally don't notice any difference in sound.

For the answer to your question, I went to the

"Do it Yourself" STICKY in the Lounge, scrolled down to

"Guitar Tech Tip Archives", then clicked on the link to

Projectguitar.com. (one of the first places I go for answers!).

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, sometimes

you have to look a bit.... This link involves changing out a

pickup bar magnet, BUT also addresses removing pickup cover.

 

You'll be interested in steps 2 thru 6:

 

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/barmagswap.htm

 

 

Forget about De-soldering, the average home rig doesn't have

the Horsepower to QUICKLY melt the factory solder joints, you'll

end up with the heat transferring to pup and melting wax inside.

I did the pup cover removal experiment on a set left over from a

project - IRONMAN himself put those solder joints on at factory...

 

Once cover is off, you'll need a plastic scraping device to remove wax

from top of pup, maybe a bit of heat from hairdryer to soften wax, and

clean rags to wipe off wax. And PATIENCE.

 

And be sure to dress appropriately. Good luck!

 

[jonnyg]

Sorry to say I have to disagree in part with animalfarm's reply. If you're prepared to do this sort of work you should really be prepared to buy the correct tools. In the great scheme of things a decent soldering iron is a very small outlay compared to the price of other things you'd buy for your guitar and I've found they cost a good deal less than a half decent pickup. It's well to remember that you need a good sized iron (power wise) to solder earth wires to the backs of pots etc. Oh yeah, don't forget that if or when you want to put the cover back on, you have to put all the wax back in and solder the cover back on.

[animalfarm]

EDIT: Just added BOTH methods into the "DIY" Sticky

for future reference. Thanks jonnyg!

 

That's the great thing about Forums, we can discuss

different viewpoints! As jonnyg has suggested, there

IS the de-solder method. To allow viewing of an alternate

method, I submit the following!

(didn't work for me - my soldering iron must s*ck, but it sure

does solder up dem electronic components!):

 

Actual link (for full page viewing):

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

[gl297]

epi humbuckers are a dime a dozen on ebay, save yourself the hassle and keep the originals the way they are incase you ever want to put them back on and/or sell the guitar OR for a far more important reason: 30 years from now the owner of the guitar is going to say "all original except for the pickups" :-(

 

I tried this once and it was a royal pain in the a**, definitely wasn't worth the bother.

[animalfarm]

epi humbuckers are a dime a dozen on ebay' date=' save yourself the hassle and keep the originals the way they are incase you ever want to put them back on and/or sell the guitar OR for a far more important reason: 30 years from now the owner of the guitar is going to say "all original except for the pickups" :-(

 

I tried this once and it was a royal pain in the a**, definitely wasn't worth the bother.

 

[/quote']

 

Agreed. I've snagged sets of EPI LP pups for as low as $18.00 a

SET on Ebay for projects....

[twodice]

to everyone who replied: Thank you so much!

 

Ebay looks the way to go.

 

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