Rabs Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hello, Im new to the forums even though ive been visiting the site for many years now (and make comments on the guitar pages).. I had a question that i thought may be served best on the forums. I have a 2008 Standard and am thinking about removing the pickup covers as I prefer the look (and I think it may sound a bit snappier without them). Has anyone done this? Is it advisable? Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Cheers, Rabs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZuWa Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hello, Im new to the forums even though ive been visiting the site for many years now (and make comments on the guitar pages).. I had a question that i thought may be served best on the forums. I have a 2008 Standard and am thinking about removing the pickup covers as I prefer the look (and I think it may sound a bit snappier without them). Has anyone done this? Is it advisable? Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Cheers, Rabs... I've never done it but I have played guitars with humbuckers without covers. They can be more subject to outside interference, and some people do say they sound "snappier" or a little bit more lively. The jury is out on that. You have to either remove the solder that holds the cover on or use something like a Dremel tool to cut through it. Are the pickups you have "potted"? That means that there is wax or epoxy filling all of the air gaps between the cover and the coils. That would be a much larger undertaking and I'd suggest at that point buying pickups without covers to try out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hi there and thanks for the reply. Well I have a 2002 LP Classic (the one in my picture)that has uncovered pups and I totally love the sound of it but it has totally different pickups and a solid body. The 2008 has Busrtbucker pros and a chambered body.. So I just wondered if anyone else on here had tried it with the Burstbuckers that may well be designed to have covers and not perfrom so well without them?? And I havent taken them out to check yet... Thought id seek some advice first (if I do it maybe I will post some pics up of the process if anyones interested) Cheers. I've never done it but I have played guitars with humbuckers without covers. They can be more subject to outside interference, and some people do say they sound "snappier" or a little bit more lively. The jury is out on that. You have to either remove the solder that holds the cover on or use something like a Dremel tool to cut through it. Are the pickups you have "potted"? That means that there is wax or epoxy filling all of the air gaps between the cover and the coils. That would be a much larger undertaking and I'd suggest at that point buying pickups with covers to try out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I have taken off covers before... IMHO it will not affect the sound.... It will just look different... If you use a soldering iron, it will have to be a relatively powerful one... Those 10 dollar stick soldering irons will not work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild_Rose Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Someone from Seymour Duncan said that they do not affect pickup tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat-o-steve Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I added pickup covers to my SG Special. It took just a tiny bit of "harshness" out of the tone, which I like! It does help with interference problems to keep the covers on. As for removing the covers, pull the pickups out, heat the 2 soldered spots on the back of each pickup with a soldering iron to melt the solder, then quickly run a razor blade through the solder between the pickup and the cover. Then simply pull the covers off! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malchik Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 If they have been potted with epoxy he's going to have a sticky mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP4Me Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 strat-o-steve, how difficult was it to add pickup covers? Did you have to add wax? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks for the info man :) I will work up the corage to do it at some point I think... Im not usually one for modding guitars much beyond changing the action and the thought of molesting the natural state of such an expensive guitar, well it makes me think more than twice about it (even though I know this isnt exactly a mod or that difficult, but still :) ) I have taken off covers before... IMHO it will not affect the sound.... It will just look different... If you use a soldering iron, it will have to be a relatively powerful one... Those 10 dollar stick soldering irons will not work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat-o-steve Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 strat-o-steve, how difficult was it to add pickup covers? Did you have to add wax? Nope. In fact your stock pickups have already been wax potted! All you have to do is make sure you get the pickup cover on tight, with clamps. You also may have to scrape away a tad of the plating on the cover and the base of the pickup to get a good solder, but not if you have a good, high watt iron.(soldering them on grounds them properly). You can watch some very good videos on Youtube ;) In fact, the hardest part of the whole process was mounting the pickups back into the pickguard due to the springs on the adjustment screws lol. BTW, I did it to my SG Special. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 If they have been potted with epoxy he's going to have a sticky mess. Gibson hasn't potted anything in Epoxy since the 80's. If it's a Burst Bucker pro it will be wax potted though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 You could try just turning the treble knob of your amp up 2%... It is true that with a covered p-up a situation develops where 'stray capacitance' is created and where certain upper-frequencies may leak from the coils to the p-up cover and go to earth, killing-off these frequencies. The value of this capacitance is, however, very small indeed. I'm sure this difference in frequency response can be measured with sensitive electrician's equipment but to the average human ear? And in a live band setting? You must be kidding. IMHO There will be no percievable difference in final tone to all intents and purposes. The practice of removing the covers became popular in the mid-'60s when amp design was far less sophisticated than it is today and, it has been suggested, players wanted more clarity than was available to them at the time from the amps of the time. The improvements in moden amp design negates any need for their removal and, IMHO, this aspect - the choice of amp used - will make 10 times more difference than just uncovering a p-up. If, however, you prefer the look of them uncovered that's a different matter - but don't expect a sea-change in tonal clarity because it ain't gonna happen. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 True, switching from a 10' cord to a 6' cord would more than make up any change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 strat-o-steve, how difficult was it to add pickup covers? Did you have to add wax? Adding wax to quality pickups is not need, nor is a good idea........ Regular Gibby Burstbuckers aren't potted..........Pros are............... Removing ear wax will improve tone..Removing pickup wax won't........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishIStillHadThatOne Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Sorry if someone already said this but what i have done a few times is take a small screwdriver and pry EASILY between the pick up and cover and the solder will break loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP4Me Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks Steve, I will watch some videos on youtube and see if I can handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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