Do I have to buy "SD Trembucker cover" specifically?

[ragamuffin]

I'm wanting a raw/unplated nickel cover for my Custom 5 trembucker; I bought one before from the SD Custom Shop, but I emailed them recently and they said that they are out of stock and don't know when they'll get them back. I know that trembuckers have a 52.6mm spacing, but I've also read that the trembucker bobbins are wider than other f-spaced humbuckers. Will any other brand/source of covers fit a trembucker?

 

[jeremy]

i dont know of any direct fit covers but that doesnt mean they arent out there

 

[Artie]

I got this chrome one from Mojotone, and it fits my JB Trembucker perfectly. You'll have to look to see if they have unplated.

https://www.mojotone.com/American-Humbucker-Pickup-Cover-Chrome-53mm

 

[Artie]

Here: https://www.mojotone.com/Humbucker-Pickup-Cover-Bare-53mm

 

[ragamuffin]

Here: https://www.mojotone.com/Humbucker-Pickup-Cover-Bare-53mm

Awesome, thanks! I'll have to give that a shot

 

[ragamuffin]

So I got my Mojotone cover today... and it doesn't fit.


Not wide enough. The sides bulge out, and it takes lots of force to get the the bobbins flush to the cover, and as soon as I let go the pickup pops back out.

I guess I'll have to hope that the Custom Shop gets them back in stock at some point.

 

[Bogner]

Have you tried these folks? Might be worth a look.

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/humbucker/

 

[Artie]

Dang man. I'm sorry. I led you that direction. My Mojo cover fits my Trembucker JB perfectly. But it's about five years old. Who knows if they use the same suppliers all this time. If you want this cover, it's yours. You'd just have to scuff it up a bit to make it "raw." I'll never use it.

 

[ragamuffin]

Have you tried these folks? Might be worth a look.

https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/humbucker/

Thanks I looked there, but I found a blog post about pole spacing that says none of their covers fit a trembucker

https://blog.philadelphialuthiertools.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/PLTS-Pole-Spacing-Tool.pdf

 

[ragamuffin]

Dang man. I'm sorry. I led you that direction. My Mojo cover fits my Trembucker JB perfectly. But it's about five years old. Who knows if they use the same suppliers all this time. If you want this cover, it's yours. You'd just have to scuff it up a bit to make it "raw." I'll never use it.

No worries! Yeah suppliers and dimensions etc are bound to change over time. At least it was a cheap mistake.

Thanks for the generous offer, but I think I'll just live with the uncovered pickup until I can get a cover from the Custom Shop

 

[ragamuffin]

So I contacted the Custom Shop again and this time the rep told me that they don't sell the unplated trembucker covers and that I could probably get one from Stew Mac...

a.) I've literally bought one from them before and b.) He should probably know that aftermarket covers don't fit trembuckers (also Stew Mac doesn't sell unplated covers, I checked)

Lol I never imagined it could be this complicated to buy a pickup cover... I guess I should have kept the old one, but I sold it with the pickup that I had put it on

 

[hamerfan]

I know it's a hack job, but if the covers should stay permanently... Measure how much you have to remove from the bobbins round ends to fit it into the mojotone cover. Check also the poles to fit properly by putting the cover upside down on the pickup.
I had to cut off and round corners on a P90 at one time. I used a smooth file.

 

[orpheo]

Only shaving down the bobbin might help but that's a bit of a risk.

That's, honestly, the main reason I stepped away from Seymour Duncan (trembucker in particular). No way, none whatsoever, to cover a pickup again other than with SD covers and those are super expensive.

 

[AdrianSD]

If you manage to get it all the way in and the screws line up with the holes, hold them together with a c-clamp and solder them.

 

[ragamuffin]

I know it's a hack job, but if the covers should stay permanently... Measure how much you have to remove from the bobbins round ends to fit it into the mojotone cover. Check also the poles to fit properly by putting the cover upside down on the pickup.
I had to cut off and round corners on a P90 at one time. I used a smooth file.

I thought about this but decided against it as the poles don't 100% line up, and I was afraid to damage the pickup.

I ended up ordering a shiny nickel trembucker cover and I'm going to try to sand it and possibly chemically treat it to look more like raw nickel.

 

[ragamuffin]

I was out of town for a week, but got back today and my trembucker cover had arrived.

Did some sanding with 320 grit

Made a mixture of vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide that I'd read about on the Les Paul forum, which I wet some toilet paper with and wrapped the pickup for about 30 minutes

It did a little work towards stripping/aging

Got to the copper layer of plating

And finally after a LOT of work with 200 grit sandpaper I got most of the plating off. Cleaned up the scratches with 400 grit, then 1000 grit paper.

And installed in my axe! It's a little brighter/shinier than the neck humbucker cover, but it should oxidize and even out over time.

Woohoo!

 

[Mincer]

That came out great! And it looks awesome with that guitar!

 

[ragamuffin]

That came out great! And it looks awesome with that guitar!

Thanks!

 

[Artie]

That came out great! And it looks awesome with that guitar!

Exactly my thoughts. Love that little "sparkle" in the paint.