Pick up covers

Jetfire

So can you add metal covers to any humbuckers? I have a Dimarzio Crunch lab and liquifire set which I want covering but I wasnt sure if it was possible or not.  I dont think Dimarzio offer them for sale as a covered set so I wondered if there was a technical reason for not doing it.

ICBM

You can, but firstly you will need to make sure the hole spacing matches the polepieces *exactly*, or they either won't go through, or worse they will seem to but kink the cover, which is surprisingly glaringly obvious... and secondly you will almost certainly need to have them wax potted, since non-potted covers are the biggest cause of pickup microphonics. Sticking the cover to the top of the bobbins with double-sided tape can help.

It would actually be simpler and probably better just to buy the same set of pickups with the covers factory-fitted, and sell the others.

Jetfire

And my problem is I dont think they do them with factory fitted covers

Fez

It's weird how things change, in the late 70's if we had the interweb we would all of been asking how to take the covers off. Just out of interest why do you want to put covers on?

Jetfire

Fez said:

It's weird how things change, in the late 70's if we had the interweb we would all of been asking how to take the covers off. Just out of interest why do you want to put covers on?

Because my top E gets caught under the edge of it during my face melting solos. 

guitarfishbay

Jetfire said:

Fez said:

It's weird how things change, in the late 70's if we had the interweb we would all of been asking how to take the covers off. Just out of interest why do you want to put covers on?

Because my top E gets caught under the edge of it during my face melting solos. 

Tape fixes that 

Fez

Hmm that might not do the pick up too much good. What is the guitar the pick ups are on? It might be worth lowering the pick ups a bit.

Jetfire

Ibanez RGA so direct body mount 

Henrytwang

Fitting metal covers will probably have some effect on the tone and could cause feedback problems. The tape idea looks good to me.

steamabacus

Plain black plastic covers (EMG-stylee) might be a solution if the main aim is to avoid snagging. They wont have the same microphonics issues as nickel covers, wont affect the tone and are pretty cheap.

Henrytwang

steamabacus said:

Plain black plastic covers (EMG-stylee) might be a solution if the main aim is to avoid snagging. They wont have the same microphonics issues as nickel covers, wont affect the tone and are pretty cheap.

I agree, guess I should have mentioned plastic covers in my comment.

Funkfingers

Jetfire said:

Dimarzio Crunch lab and Liquifire set which I want covering but I wasnt sure if it was possible or not.  I dont think Dimarzio offer them for sale as a covered set so I wondered if there was a technical reason for not doing it.

That pairing is/was the Petrucci signature set. Presumably, the pickups are coverless at the artiste's request. 

Jetfire said:

direct body mount 

Have you de-threaded the baseplate screw holes yet? Perhaps, it is not too late to sell or trade the offending pickups?

clarkefan

Is this maybe a technique problem rather than a hardware problem?  My guitar also has direct mount pickups, and playing this guitar, or Les Pauls with no-cover pickups, I've never once had a snag like this.

Funkfingers

The mounting method is irrelevant. The problem is that unprotected copper coils are vulnerable to the possibility of physical damage.

A heavy handed player might be able to displace the highest string far enough sideways to steer it beyond the edge of the pickup bobbin and, then, allow it to spring back into the side of the pickup. (An accident of this type is exactly how Seymour Duncan first got into rewinding.)

The Vai insulation tape solution is because of the Fernandes Sustainer inducer unit. For the OP, clear tape might be more acceptable.