# Pickup cover?



## MkWolfire (Oct 14, 2016)

i was thinking about putting pickup covers on my lp's hummbucker, is there a certain material to use or not to use. And also, ive saw quite a few tutorials, so put masking tape on the middle of the humbucker, put some silicone dot on the masking tape, put the cover on, get it tight and solder it. For the silicone, what do i use?


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I have a few suggestions for you to consider...

Be very sure you get the correct size of cover for your pickup. Some pickup manufacturers have slightly different external dimensions and the distances between the holes in the cover are different. I just went through this about a week ago trying to put a cover on a Seymour Duncan pickup.

I have not used masking tape and silicone, although I have heard of it being used. I can't imagine that the type of silicone will matter that much. I use a strip of two sided foam tape placed down the middle of the pickup. Try to find the "thinnest" tape possible. You might find that you don't need to solder with the tape...it holds VERY well. Warning..it can be a bit of a pain to get the cover off with this stuff (if you decide to remove it in future).

BTW..I read that someone actually used "bubble gum" to hold the cover on...LOL

How much soldering have you done? Soldering pickup covers can be frustrating as the pickup acts as a heat sink and "pulls" the heat away from the solder "joint". IMO, you will need an iron of 40 watts power or more and you need to try and get the soldering done as quickly as possible (which is always very important when soldering) so that you don't "cook" the pickup.
It has been claimed that using soldering "guns" for this purpose can damage the magnets in the pickups.
This is what I'm referring to when I mention soldering "gun".









Let us know how it goes.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

I have seen a hot melt glue gun used where you would normally solder. It is easy to remove with a an Exacto knife, should you change your mind.


----------



## MkWolfire (Oct 14, 2016)

greco said:


> I have a few suggestions for you to consider...
> 
> Be very sure you get the correct size of cover for your pickup. Some pickup manufacturers have slightly different external dimensions and the distances between the holes in the cover are different. I just went through this about a week ago trying to put a cover on a Seymour Duncan pickup.
> 
> ...


About soldering, ive done just 1 thing with it and it was to connect 2 wires together. How do i do this? Take the heated iron, put it where you want to solder and the apply the "metal" sorry, i dont know what it is in english well, in french we call it : étain.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I would suggest you watch a few YouTube videos about soldering and try doing some practice soldering. 

You will also need to be sure you have the correct *soudure* *(*French) for electrical soldering.


----------



## MkWolfire (Oct 14, 2016)

greco said:


> I would suggest you watch a few YouTube videos about soldering and try doing some practice soldering.
> 
> You will also need to be sure you have the correct *soudure* *(*French) for electrical soldering.


Thank you for the tips, but for the foam tape, what happen if there is no foam tape? And what is the job of the tape


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Basically, the tape is acting like the silicone. However, the tape it is totally able to be controlled with regards to where it is located and not "ooze" /spread all over.
If you have nothing between the pickup and the cover, it can microphonic and will squeal. 
This will explain. BTW, interesting that he uses putty instead of silicone or tape.
Ryan's Guitars: Stopping Microphonic Squeals and Feedback on Covered Pickups

In addition, read up on the concept of "potting" pickups that are microphonic

The tape will actually hold the cover onto the pickup without having to solder the cover to the pickup.


----------



## MkWolfire (Oct 14, 2016)

greco said:


> Basically, the tape is acting like the silicone. However, the tape it is totally able to be controlled with regards to where it is located and not "ooze" /spread all over.
> If you have nothing between the pickup and the cover, it can microphonic and will squeal.
> This will explain. BTW, interesting that he uses putty instead of silicone or tape.
> Ryan's Guitars: Stopping Microphonic Squeals and Feedback on Covered Pickups
> ...


Oh interesting, no soldering if foam tape hmmm


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

MkWolfire said:


> Oh interesting, no soldering if foam tape hmmm


It has worked OK for me. Just get the thinnest foam tape you can find and it must have adhesive on BOTH sides.
This is something similar to what I bought. I cut the pieces to fit.









You might want to wait and see what others say before you try this.


----------



## Jamdog (Mar 9, 2016)

Can any pickup be covered? 

Also, is there metallic single coil covers to have matching HSS pickups?


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Folks that are more deeply involved in pickup theory, design, and manufacturing, ill tell you that the materials of the pickup cover make a difference; at least when it comes to better performing PAF types. Same thing with respect to the base. I don't understand the role of alloy composition when it comes to eddy currents and such. I just note that folks much smarter and better informed than I believe it matters. IN fact here is a recent thread on the matter: Mitigating eddy current losses in pickup covers, and other metal parts

If they aremedium-quality HBs, and your concern is less about tone than about cosmetics, have at it. If there is something in particular you like about your pickups' tone, however, you probably want to do a bit of reading first.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Jamdog said:


> Can any pickup be covered?
> 
> Also, is there metallic single coil covers to have matching HSS pickups?


I would say "Yes" to both of those questions.
However, I am sure that there are some pickups that would be difficult to cover AND/OR it would be advised not to cover them for a specific reason....e.g., what @mhammer writes about above


----------



## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

I don't think I saw anyone mention that soldering the cover on also grounds the cover...... I skimmed through quickly and may have missed that though.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Ayr Guitars said:


> ....soldering the cover on also grounds the cover......


It is essential to have the cover grounded? Nothing that I have read ever indicated the need to have the cover grounded in any way. Interesting.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've seen pickups where the cover is essentially secured by filling the gap between coils and cover with wax. I can't speak to what the impact on tone was, but they exist. My sense is that where soldering does occur, it's really more to secure the cover and stop it from vibrating than to provide some sort of complete Faraday cage around the coils. After all, the pickups are hum-rejecting to start with.


----------



## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

mhammer - the grounding of the pickup cover is to prevent static noise, not 60 cycle hum.


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

gtone said:


> mhammer - the grounding of the pickup cover is to prevent static noise, not 60 cycle hum.


Tele neck pickup covers are grounded too.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

cboutilier said:


> Tele neck pickup covers are grounded too.


I remembered that after I posted earlier. 

This is becoming more fascinating to me...However, I don't get out near as much as it appears I should!


----------



## Jamdog (Mar 9, 2016)

Does covers affect tone? 

I mean, the current is nil inside a conductor, won't these act as farradays cage? What's the audible impact?


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Jamdog said:


> Does covers affect tone?


Try Googling that...You will have a lifetime's worth of enjoyable, exciting reading.


----------



## Jamdog (Mar 9, 2016)

greco said:


> Try Googling that...You will have a lifetime's worth of enjoyable, exciting reading.


So... The answer vary from people to people?


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Jamdog said:


> So... The answer vary from people to people?


Yes...It can be a bit of a rabbit hole topic.


----------



## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

Make sure you have the correct spacing covers ( I've swapped out the 498t & 490r from my 50's tribute Gold top les paul & the bridge pickup has a 52mm spacing ..WTF) 
Nickel or chrome plated covers you will have to remove the plating in the area where you will want to solder the base to the cover with sandpaper ,Sand to the copper flash coat .this will make a good solder connection .
& bend you edges inwards to make them closer to the base plate . so if you not using wax .tape the top of the slug coil & add a dab of silicone ,Have you pole screws raised to help position the cover .
try these couple of videos


----------

