Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

C

Chameleon

New member
I have an active mount Pegasus / Sentient 7-string set - great pickups for me, but I've always liked the traditional ring mount look better. I'm also a serial tinkerer-modder and can't help myself :7: Fretsonthenet seems to make rings specifically for mounting standard passive pups in active mount routings, and he has great reviews.

From the bottom, the pickups look like normal humbuckers inside plastic covers. The two long sides of the base plate and the tabs at each end snap into grooves in the cover. I can easily get these out of their grooves, but after doing so, the pickup still doesn't want to move out of the cover. It's likely just glue on the top, but I'd like to see if anyone knows already. Any clues?
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

I would think that taking the covers off of them would ruin the pickup.
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

What Jolly said. My understanding is that the pickups are sealed with lacquer.
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Keep in mind that these are different from the typical sealed active pickups. As mentioned, they look like normal pickups inside a plastic casing - they're not stuck on the sides, so it looks like just the tops of the bobbins are.

That said, there is every chance that the tops of the bobbins are stuck in there too strongly to get out safely. Not going to force it without at least speaking with someone who has tried it before. ExplorersRock, was this something you read that I can hunt down somewhere?
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Why not instead of butchering a set of pickups just buy a normal mount set of pickups and then sell your active mounts on ebay or craigs list. Less risky
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Same reason many people do modding I guess, it can be fun :)
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Sorry but i disagree... most modding is done because the player wants a feature that isnt offered from the factory... in this case it is offered from the factory.
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Good point, I'll amend that and add to it. It can be fun, and I wouldn't have to mess around with selling, shipping, finding what I need at a good price, and likely losing some money overall.

The items are right here next to me, and if someone has had positive experience doing this then great - if the result is good, then there is no butchering. That is the point of asking first. If nobody has done it or nobody reliably knows, then no problem, I'll either not do it or choose a different path.
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

Couldn't you just ask SD Customer Service directly if these covers can come off safely? I'm sure they'd be able to tell you.
 
Re: Has anyone removed the covers from active mount soapbar passive SD pickups?

I asked through Facebook with no response. Email is next of course, but considering that this forum is also a large and usually helpful community, I didn't see any harm in checking with the users.
 
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