Pickup cover change x2 and a revelation!

stickyfiddle

So the last couple of weekends has seen minor changes in a couple of guitars. 

The LP Custom lost its pickup covers, and gained a set of Faber locking bridge & tailpiece. It also got a full fret level, which means it now places as nicely as it looks and sounds even better. And the reflector knobs are just plain nicer than the old top hats it had before.



Then the ES-330 got plastic pickup covers and a riser for the bridge pickup. I've "relic-ed" the new covers a little bit to match the VOS finish, which basically just meant a careful bit of sandpaper and micromesh to get them worn or "sheeny" in appropriate places, combined with a few gentle whacks from assorted tools to make them look a bit more lived-in.

The upshot is this thing now SINGS. It was already a good guitar, but it's really fantastic now. Anyone with a nickel-cover ES-330 should consider this change immediately. I now finally feel like a *get* P90s in a way I didn't before. 

The only issue is that I was intending to sell the 330 when I got the LP. Now I'm feeling the other way around. One has to go so I have a decision to make...

ICBM

Only one more thing to take off the LP Custom and it will be perfect!




That's a very hard decision. Both are great, and very different. It all comes down to what sort of music you play and which you feel more comfortable with, probably.

peteri

P90 pickup height makes all the difference, get the height right - and I'm sorry, apart from the noise - I'd take one any day over a humbucker.

Interesting on the covers, might try that - thanks

peteri

Oh and where did you get the covers from?

clarkefan

Peteri is right about about P90s and height, I heard the same thing on a guitar I used to have, very sensitive to height.  The higher the better if I remember right  

I can believe the plastic replacements would make a difference,  next step might be to find the paper thin covers the original old Les Pauls came with, they would tear if you looked at them funny.

Oh and that Custom looks stunning just as it is

ICBM

Plastic pickup covers definitely make a real difference, it's not just to do with height - or more accurately, it's metal ones that do... they alter the magnetic field of the pickup and add capacitance, both of which take off top-end and soften/thicken the tone.

springhead

I think P90 height is important, with the screws lowered into the pickup. As they use bar magnets and a wide flat coil the proximity to the strings doesn’t have the undesired effects and artifacts as doing that with a Strat pickup would. 

Shim them up and let rip!

stickyfiddle

Ok, responses:

ICBM said:

Only one more thing to take off the LP Custom and it will be perfect!



That's a very hard decision. Both are great, and very different. It all comes down to what sort of music you play and which you feel more comfortable with, probably.

1 - No. don't be so silly. This LP is now aesthetically perfect.  

2 - Yup. I'm leaning towards the 330 as it's a better couch guitar, is further removed from my other electrics, and the LP should be easier to sell. And I still fancy a goldtop and/or blacktop at some point, so this leaves that open for the future

peteri said:

Oh and where did you get the covers from?

Angela Instruments on Reverb. I originally found them searching for the shim/riser things then thought I would try the cover swap as well while I was paying for shipping. It's well worth trying. I had 2 Casinos in the last decade, including one with Creamery-rewound pickups. This was already a chunky better than either of them and is now a chunk better than it was new, and all better than the two lovely mid-60's ones I demoed in Nashville last year, that got me back on the 330 "thing" in the first place.

peteri said:

P90 pickup height makes all the difference, get the height right - and I'm sorry, apart from the noise - I'd take one any day over a humbucker.

I can absolutely appreciate that now. Before, the neck pickup was good - and much better than the bridge pickup, which was too low despite being labelled as a different wind on the underside.  

With the spacer and cover swap the bridge is now pretty much perfect, so I'd still like to raise the neck pickup just a fraction to get the outputs matched. I need to somehow get another shim about the thickness of a cornflake packet - I'm open to suggestions on that! 

ICBM

stickyfiddle said:

With the spacer and cover swap the bridge is now pretty much perfect, so I'd still like to raise the neck pickup just a fraction to get the outputs matched. I need to somehow get another shim about the thickness of a cornflake packet - I'm open to suggestions on that! 

What about a piece of cornflake packet?



Run round the edge with a black marker after you've cut it out and it will look like very thin fibreboard.

stickyfiddle

Of course I am now thinking about a locking bridge for the ES330 as well. I fancy a bridge change in any case, as this is "vintage accurate" which means the saddles go flying if you break a string. 

Has anyone tried a locking ABR on a 330?

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

stickyfiddle said:

With the spacer and cover swap the bridge is now pretty much perfect, so I'd still like to raise the neck pickup just a fraction to get the outputs matched. I need to somehow get another shim about the thickness of a cornflake packet - I'm open to suggestions on that! 

What about a piece of cornflake packet?



Run round the edge with a black marker after you've cut it out and it will look like very thin fibreboard.

Not the worst idea, to be fair...

steamabacus

stickyfiddle said:

With the spacer and cover swap the bridge is now pretty much perfect, so I'd still like to raise the neck pickup just a fraction to get the outputs matched. I need to somehow get another shim about the thickness of a cornflake packet - I'm open to suggestions on that! 

Doesn't Ash at Oil City do these now on his new-fangled Bond-villain cnc laser cutter machine?

timmypix

Very nice. Have you noticed a difference with the Faber hardware?

stickyfiddle

timmypix said:

Very nice. Have you noticed a difference with the Faber hardware?

It's very hard to be fully objective about it, as you obviously can't do anything approaching a blind test with a single guitar. But I like it.

It's certainly very well made, for a start, and seems to give a little "more" to the guitar, especially when plugged in. 

What I can say for certain, is that I like that the bridge and tailpiece don't fall off when you take the strings off. And I like that I can use the spacers under the tailpiece to have it raised just slightly for optimum string break angle, while also having it locked tightly to the body. On the bridge, I like that it's an ABR that doesn't need a retaining wire but also doesn't drop its saddles if you break a string. 

Assuming I keep the ES-330 I'll definitely be getting that one a new bridge. The only question is whether to go for locking or not. Might have to search TGP... :O 

timmypix

stickyfiddle said:

It's very hard to be fully objective about it, as you obviously can't do anything approaching a blind test with a single guitar. But I like it.

It's certainly very well made, for a start, and seems to give a little "more" to the guitar, especially when plugged in. 

What I can say for certain, is that I like that the bridge and tailpiece don't fall off when you take the strings off. And I like that I can use the spacers under the tailpiece to have it raised just slightly for optimum string break angle, while also having it locked tightly to the body. On the bridge, I like that it's an ABR that doesn't need a retaining wire but also doesn't drop its saddles if you break a string. 

See I've always had locking bridges on previous guitars, then when I got my Gibson I didn't bother as I'd already spent enough on pickups, and I figure it's only an issue that they fall off when I'm cleaning it. But this does sound very nice, particularly the spacers so you can maintain contact. I'll reevaluate the piggy bank, I think.

stickyfiddle

timmypix said:

stickyfiddle said:

It's very hard to be fully objective about it, as you obviously can't do anything approaching a blind test with a single guitar. But I like it.

It's certainly very well made, for a start, and seems to give a little "more" to the guitar, especially when plugged in. 

What I can say for certain, is that I like that the bridge and tailpiece don't fall off when you take the strings off. And I like that I can use the spacers under the tailpiece to have it raised just slightly for optimum string break angle, while also having it locked tightly to the body. On the bridge, I like that it's an ABR that doesn't need a retaining wire but also doesn't drop its saddles if you break a string. 

See I've always had locking bridges on previous guitars, then when I got my Gibson I didn't bother as I'd already spent enough on pickups, and I figure it's only an issue that they fall off when I'm cleaning it. But this does sound very nice, particularly the spacers so you can maintain contact. I'll reevaluate the piggy bank, I think.

You can get the tailpiece spacers& studs on their own; they work fine with your existing tailpiece, if you’re considering them.

Jimbro66

I changed over to the Faber locking bridge and tailpiece for my Gibson 335 a couple of years ago and have been really pleased with them.

As regards the ES-330 pickups, I know we all see things differently but in my eyes I always thought chromed P90s on an ES-330 looked a bit cheap and blingy. I also suspected that they might compromise the amplified sound. For me the change you have made @stickyfiddle is a big improvement visually -  and it seems also sonically. An ES-335 was released a few years back with black dogear P90s and I thought that looked really good too.

stickyfiddle

Jimbro66 said:

I changed over to the Faber locking bridge and tailpiece for my Gibson 335 a couple of years ago and have been really pleased with them.

As regards the ES-330 pickups, I know we all see things differently but in my eyes I always thought chromed P90s on an ES-330 looked a bit cheap and blingy. I also suspected that they might compromise the amplified sound. For me the change you have made @stickyfiddle is a big improvement visually -  and it seems also sonically. An ES-335 was released a few years back with black dogear P90s and I thought that looked really good too.

Yeah. I guess in the 60's they were trying to align with the Casino, possibly to save time/money in production, although iirc the earliest Casinos had plastic covers as well. Maybe it was just to try and look more chrome and flashy when up against Fender Jaguars and Jazz basses with massive ashtray covers and everything in custom colours? Who knows.

As for the Faber thing, I assume it might make a good bit of difference on a hollowbody, but not sure whether good or bad. I guess the obvious option is to switch bridges with my SG's locking Faber and see if I can hear a difference, though again not a blind test. Will report back  

stickyfiddle

Minor update to this. I haven't found a buyer for either guitar yet, but inclined to keep the ES330 and let the LP go.

I went up to 11's on that one yesterday (from 10's) , and it feels better with the heavier gauge. Haven't changed the bridge yet but still probably worth trying that as well as it's still a little rattly. Apparently the current one has titanium saddles, though I'm not sure what difference those make in reality??

OilCityPickups

ICBM said:

Plastic pickup covers definitely make a real difference, it's not just to do with height - or more accurately, it's metal ones that do... they alter the magnetic field of the pickup and add capacitance, both of which take off top-end and soften/thicken the tone.

Been telling this to people for years ... that's why I only do open top HB sized P90s these days. This is mostly why people say HB sized P90 don't sound like regular dog ears or soap bars ... take of the nickel lid and and hey presto ...