covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Nasri

New member
hello everyone,i just bought new jb model and i'm thinking of covering it with a clear sellotape since my hand are sweaty and i'm afraid it rust like my previous pups..so is this good or bad? does this effect the tone or anything bad could happen?

p.s:pardon my english its not my main langauge..tq
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Bad idea.

Chances are, you won't have that instrument long enough to allow those p'ups to rust, unless your sweat have corrosive superpowers.

HTH,
 
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Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

ok,how about using the chrome coverd does it effect anything?
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Tape is going to leave residue on the PU cover, and eventually ruin it.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

hello everyone,i just bought new jb model and i'm thinking of covering it with a clear sellotape since my hand are sweaty and i'm afraid it rust like my previous pups..so is this good or bad? does this effect the tone or anything bad could happen?

p.s:pardon my english its not my main langauge..tq

The trick I normally do is to get a bottle of clear nail polish, and paint a couple coats of it on the metal pickup poles and screws to inhibit rust. Nail polish is basically nitrocellulose lacquer, so it's a tried-and-true vintage coating for guitars. The only issue with using it on screws is that obviously too much of it will fill in the screw slots and then you have to chip it out to make any adjustments. But, I've never needed to adjust the polepieces of a pickup anyway, it's just a concern on the pickup height adjustment screws.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

^^ This.

Just make sure you do it AFTER setting the poles to your preference, becasue as soon as you twist a screw after using teh nail polish the seal is broken and moisture will be able to seep in again.

Assuming of course that the pickup is uncovered.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

ok,how about using the chrome coverd does it effect anything?

...You are worried about rusting replaceable pole pieces in a JB, and after the cellotape idea is shot down, you ask about a chrome covered pickup? Isn't that just more metal to rust out? :scratch:
 
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Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

The trick I normally do is to get a bottle of clear nail polish, and paint a couple coats of it on the metal pickup poles and screws to inhibit rust. Nail polish is basically nitrocellulose lacquer, so it's a tried-and-true vintage coating for guitars. The only issue with using it on screws is that obviously too much of it will fill in the screw slots and then you have to chip it out to make any adjustments. But, I've never needed to adjust the polepieces of a pickup anyway, it's just a concern on the pickup height adjustment screws.

Nice.... Did not know that Nail polish was Nitrocellulose. Learnt something new. Any way not to bothered about Pole pieces rusting.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

...You are worried about rusting replaceable pole pieces in a JB, and after the cellotape idea is shot down, you ask about a chrome covered pickup? Isn't that just more metal to rust out? :scratch:

Chrome doesn't rust... That's why it's used to coat steel and iron... I say "doesn't" but chrome is subject to oxidation, just not in the same way as iron. It doesn't go red and flake off.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Chrome doesn't rust... That's why it's used to coat steel and iron... I say "doesn't" but chrome is subject to oxidation, just not in the same way as iron. It doesn't go red and flake off.

That's true, but the problem is that a lot of instrument manufacturers and aftermarket parts outfits make and sell relatively expensive chromed parts where it was obvious very little attention was paid to prepping the piece to be chromed. The result is hard edges that make it easy for chrome to wear down and flake off, chunks of dirt or grit from sandblasting in the next booth over, and even bubbles in the chrome that somehow passed QA. It's not solid chrome, obviously, and not a chrome alloy like chrome-moly tool steel. It's just a layer, and that layer can degrade same as any other protective coating, leaving the metal underneath to rust out.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

so the answer is no cover..i hope those polepiece and screw can resist my sweaty hand..my hand can kill ernie ball string in less than 2 weeks..lol
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

do you call this sweaty hand?, no ernie ball string set resisted my hand more than a week before get rust and just break (and i use 12 - 52 on E standar) i would suggest the nail polish, also some tricks for prevent rust from sweat is first, take a shower with cold water, if you can shut down the warmer and take the shower this way will be excellent (also take note i suggest at least be 15 minutes on the cold water), use a polish wipe to clean your guitarn before and after playing (inclusive the pickups, the strings clean them with bond papper till they feel smooth) string cleaner on the poles before wipe helps preventing rust on them, wash your hands before playing, drink a lot of water while playing, way better if it's cold water, had a window or door open, use wristbands, don't know why but whe i don't use them my hands sweat faster, do all what i said and you will had less sweat issues
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

do you call this sweaty hand?, no ernie ball string set resisted my hand more than a week before get rust and just break (and i use 12 - 52 on E standar) i would suggest the nail polish, also some tricks for prevent rust from sweat is first, take a shower with cold water, if you can shut down the warmer and take the shower this way will be excellent (also take note i suggest at least be 15 minutes on the cold water), use a polish wipe to clean your guitarn before and after playing (inclusive the pickups, the strings clean them with bond papper till they feel smooth) string cleaner on the poles before wipe helps preventing rust on them, wash your hands before playing, drink a lot of water while playing, way better if it's cold water, had a window or door open, use wristbands, don't know why but whe i don't use them my hands sweat faster, do all what i said and you will had less sweat issues

wow,thats a lot of tips..i will try all of this..but wipe the string didnt really works on ernie ball i have using dunlop string cleaner but the result is the same..tq for your feedback
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

my hand can kill ernie ball string in less than 2 weeks..l

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that is normal...and one of the reasons I don't use EB strings.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Try some Dean Markley Blue Steel strings. I rust strings out quickly as well but I find the Blue Steels hold up a month or more vs 1-2 weeks on Ernie Balls.
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

Try some Dean Markley Blue Steel strings. I rust strings out quickly as well but I find the Blue Steels hold up a month or more vs 1-2 weeks on Ernie Balls.

i dont think they sell dean markley string here but the say ghs is pretty good too besides d'addario
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

for sweaty hands and no rust the ones that had given to me the best results are Fender Nickel Plated Steel, Magma Pro Series and Elixir Nanoweb, wich i would say the last ones were a little deception to me compared with the fender and magma because i broked some sets of them (Elixir) and no the plain ones.......
 
Re: covering humbucker pickups with clear sellotape

you guys with the super corrosive sweat.....what the hell do you guys eat and drink? o.0
 
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