Pickup covers with no pole holes??

[NickCormier]

Hm. So I wanna find a cheap gold pickup cover for a F-spaced Duncan Distortion.. and its becoming quite a challenge to keep it under $15..


I found one on ebay that is a cover with no holes for the pole pieces,
http://cgi.ebay.ca/TOG-HUMBUCKING-PI...QQcmdZViewItem

Could someone explain to me the pros/cons of having no holes for a pu cover as opposed to having the poles showing? And if you have any idea where to find F-Spaced gold covers that aren't "vintage les paul 1960 $300" ones.. Would be great, thanks.

[MikeS]

A holeless cover simply denies you the ability to adjust the screw poles, which would be an issue if you had string balance problems.

I know www.guitarpartsresource.com carries holed and holeless covers in an assortment of colors, but they are sold in pairs and cost around $30 for the pair. More than you want to spend, I know, but also be wary of bargain basement priced plated parts. Sometimes the plating can be nothing short of terrible.

[NickCormier]

So it doesnt like hinder the reception of the magnets at all or anything? Just stops the adjustment?

In other words, Pickup A with pole pieces showing and Pickup B without pole pieces showing do EXACTLY the same in terms of output/effectiveness?

[MikeS]

Exactly? No. I'd expect some difference, just like putting a traditional cover on a pickup with exposed bobbins can make minor changes to the tone, only I expect a cover with holes and one without to be almost identical in tone, I wouldn't be surprised if it'll change the tone ever so slightly. I can't say how audible it would be, but I wouldn't expect that the difference would be any more than negligible. Impossible to know for sure without trying both.