installing a pickup cover

[eric22rr]

I just installed a '59 in the neck position of my Gibson LP Studio. The factory pickup had the cover soldered to it. Is this usual? When I install a new pickup cover, will I need to solder it to the pickup too? If not, what is the installation like?

Thanks

[Benjy_26]

Yes, you will have to solder the cover to the pickups baseplate. You might also want to pot the pickup in wax after covering it.

[Voxman]

WHAT!!!! do you pot your pickups in vax AFTER covering them?????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?

[Erlend_G]

That's like wiping your arse before taking a crap

[Benjy_26]

WHAT!!!! do you pot your pickups in vax AFTER covering them?????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?

Yep. As does Gibson, Dimarzio, Duncan, Rio Grande, et. al.

[ErikH]

You don't HAVE to pot them after putting a cover on. It helps but not totally necessary. The Seth is covered and it's not wax potted. If the pickup coils are already potted, just make sure it's on there tight. Take a look at the pics in the Brobucker sticky thread Scott posted. There's one or two in there of MJ soldering the covers on. You can see how they are clamped down before soldering. Youn can easily get away with putting some double-sided sticky tape inside the cover where the slug coil would meet the cover to help hold it down and fill in that little gap and then clamp and solder it on.

[Lewguitar]

Wax potting is best...but you can also just put a piece of 1/2" masking tape inside the cover in the area where the non-adjustable slug polepieces will press against. Put it inside the cover...not on the coils.

Then clamp the cover tightly over the bobbins. I use a C clamp or Vice Grips Clamp that has the metal contact points covered in felt so it doesn't scratch the cover.

Solder into place and remove the clamp.

Should work fine.

I've done the masking tape trick to quite a number of pickups and I've never had a problem with squeeling or microphonics.

Lew

[Benjy_26]

All of the pickups I've covered at home have not been potted and I've had 0 problems (even with a Custom). I only mentioned the potting because some people like to run a TON more gain than I.

[Lewguitar]

All of the pickups I've covered at home have not been potted and I've had 0 problems (even with a Custom). I only mentioned the potting because some people like to run a TON more gain than I.

I think the "fear of squeeling" is, like most fears, paranoia. Sure: it happens sometimes...but it's not the huge issue people make it out to be and it's mostly when you're playing really loud with a lot of gain and facing your amp.

I've never had the problem onstage with my back to amp.

Lew