MartyGrass Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Apparently these pup covers are only cosmetic (I say "only" realizing the finish stain is in the same category). How much do they filter out frequencies and reduce output? I don't think plastic interferes, does it? Thanks.
H Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 They can also act as a shield for external electrical interference in the same way cavity paint/foil does. More applicable to P90s and other single coils perhaps?
smurph1 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I've had a few guitars with uncovered pickups, but I really prefer covered ones..just gives the guitar a little more "classy" look..My 2 cents..Can't really say if the covers change the tone or not..
mars_hall Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I will attempt to give an explanation based on my understanding... The shield will spread the magnetic field ever so slightly and the differences you may or may not be able to hear can easily be masked by your amplifier's front-end, depending on the degree to which you are cranking it. Spreading the field means the lobes through which the strings moves is now less concentrated than would be provided at the same distance by a non-covered pickup. Remember what you have seen happen with a bar magnet and a string of paper clips. The field spreads and is weakened as it is drawn away from the original source. The effect will be that the sensitivity to higher frequencies will be lowered much in the same way that a HB is less sensitive to higher frequencies than say a single coil. On a related note, when you are raising and lowering pickups, you are also changing the width of the lobe through which the string moves and experience a similar effect. The further you extend the pole pieces out of the bobbin, the less difference the cover makes as the lobe is reshaped and focused. No one will be able to give you a quantitative answer to this question because there are just too many variables at work here. Can I tell a difference? Maybe.. Can I describe the difference adequately? No... Are the tradeoffs worth it? You should judge on an individual basis. Some guitars just look better covered.
NoNameBand Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I was always under the impression that uncovered pups are slightly brighter than covered ones.
Steiner Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I will attempt to give an explanation based on my understanding... The shield will spread the magnetic field ever so slightly and the differences you may or may not be able to hear can easily be masked by your amplifier's front-end, depending on the degree to which you are cranking it. Spreading the field means the lobes through which the strings moves is now less concentrated than would be provided at the same distance by a non-covered pickup. Remember what you have seen happen with a bar magnet and a string of paper clips. The field spreads and is weakened as it is drawn away from the original source. The effect will be that the sensitivity to higher frequencies will be lowered much in the same way that a HB is less sensitive to higher frequencies than say a single coil. On a related note, when you are raising and lowering pickups, you are also changing the width of the lobe through which the string moves and experience a similar effect. The further you extend the pole pieces out of the bobbin, the less difference the cover makes as the lobe is reshaped and focused. No one will be able to give you a quantitative answer to this question because there are just too many variables at work here. Can I tell a difference? Maybe.. Can I describe the difference adequately? No... Are the tradeoffs worth it? You should judge on an individual basis. Some guitars just look better covered. Bravo! Well done.
schundog Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I prefer the "look" of covered pickups, although my only 2 without covers, my Les Paul Classic and PRS Singlecut, are both very "punchy," if you know what I mean. Here's an article from Sweetwater that addresses it, probably not as well as Mars Hall did, but here it is, anyway.. http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/techtips/d--02/01/2006
Kuz Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I personally hate the look of uncovered Humbuckers, but then again I like vintage looking equipment.
Kuz Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I personally hate the look of uncovered Humbuckers, but then again I like vintage looking equipment.
bolero Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 you can say that again!! I can't tell an audible difference; I choose based on cosmetics of the particular gtr didn't Eric Clapton start this whole thing off by removing his pup covers, back in the day?
111518 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I agree that this is mostly a matter of style, with perhaps a small measure of tonal difference, as mars_hall (as usual) well explains. The received wisdom ("old guitar player's tale) was that uncovered pickups were brighter and "rock-ier" --remember the Gibson "dirty fingers" pickups, that were uncovered from the factory? I think the advent of the after-market pickup world also had an influence, since the early pickups were almost universally sold without covers, and tended to be creme or zebra coiled, when most factory pickups were black. DiMarzio's, etc., were marketed to be seen. The couple of guitars I still own from my first round of playing back in the late70s/80s show the style that I followed in those days: no cover on the back pickup, cause that's what you used for the bright, rock stuff, cover on the front. I think I was inspired to do this because my most influential teacher, who became a friend when we both worked at the same shop, played a '59 dot neck 335 that had an uncovered original PAF zebra in the back, and I thought --maybe still think-- that guitar was the single cool-est instrument I've ever encountered. Teenager see, teenager do. I wouldn't bother to remove rear covers now, but neither am I inspired to go back and restore the covers to my old warhorses. It is a "look."
MartyGrass Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 That 355 brings back memories. I could have done without the Varitone though. I left it wide open. My teacher had a Johnny Smith. Last year, which is many years later, I finally bought one also. His was a Gibson, mine is a Heritage. Different body depth and pup, both with Johnny's signature. I like mine better. Seriously.
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