uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

[Cory_Dylan]

I've seen a lot of guitars with a covered pickup in the neck and an uncovered in the bridge, and the other way around. Why do they do this? Wouldn't the uncovered have a higher output? How does this effect the tone? Does it do absolutely nothing and just look cool?

ive seen this mostly on 80s destroyers

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

yeeeah, i saw some kid in a punk rock band with a Epiphone SG, uncovered SD in the bridge, covered stock in the neck...I thought it looked AWESOME so i'm copying his idea for the Strat I'm building.

I dunno why to do it except to make it look contrasty. I mean, if you have (let's say) a '59 neck/JB bridge, then having the 59 covered makes it look more PAF and the JB looks more modern.

Y'know?

whatever

-X

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

yea, that's what i thought about it. it just seems if you had the same pickup neck/bridge, and one was covered it would be a little unbalanced. but say you had a JB/'59 and the JB was covered than it might help balance it out since it would bring down the output of the JB a little. but doing it the other way around would.... ahh i guess it is just for looks

im with u.... whatever!! (lol)

 

[flank]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

i dont think it would make a difference........but the famous jimmy page les paul has covered neck and uncovered bridge, maybe guys are tryin to cop his tone? (although covered is more of a look thing, the difference covers make is too small to worry about IMO)

 

[Soundscape]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

it makes a slight difference, imo. on the first disc of the new zep dvd the bridge bucker is uncovered, but in the msg footage and afterwards they are both covered, flank

 

[motorhead]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Makes no difference today since almost all PU covers are made of non-metal tin.

All the replacement PU covers I've put a magnet to have all failed to show any metal so therefore no interference with the PUs magnetic pull. The old days of metal covers seem to be gone.

 

[jeremy]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

a good cover wont effect output or tone much.

a reason that you see a lot of people with one covered and one not are back in the old days the covers sucked away output and high end so since many rockers only use the bridge pup they pulled the cover off or replaced the pup

 

[MattPete]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

I do it because they don't make a cover that will fit my trembucker-spaced bridge pickup.

 

[papersoul]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

I strill think uncovered pickups fill out the tone more......more full and just more.

 

[motorhead]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Metal vs. Tin Covers ... metal causes interference and tin doesn't. Jimmy Page was using old PAFs ...with metal covers.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

I have uncovered bridge pups in two of my guitars with covered neck pups. I only just realized Jimmy Page does this and it makes me pissed.

I find that covering up a pup makes it a bit warmer and rounder whereas taking it off enhances it's treble a bit and makes it a bit airier (if any of that makes sense).

Of course, the covers I'm using on both of those neck positions are the SD Antiq. ones (probably made of metal therefore I really am hearing a difference). I KNOW there has to be a difference

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

I have uncovered bridge pups in two of my guitars with covered neck pups. I only just realized Jimmy Page does this and it makes me pissed.

I find that covering up a pup makes it a bit warmer and rounder whereas taking it off enhances it's treble a bit and makes it a bit airier (if any of that makes sense).

Of course, the covers I'm using on both of those neck positions are the SD Antiq. ones (probably made of metal therefore I really am hearing a difference). I KNOW there has to be a difference

you took the covers off your antiquitys? any clips? i bet that sounds awesome

 

[JALIN]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

My guitar is set up that way for no particular reason at all except for the fact that I have a Les Paul custom with the stock neck pup and did not like the bridge pup. Searched for an older non-logo JB pup, found it and slapped it in. And there it is.........

 

[Mac-P]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Makes no difference today since almost all PU covers are made of non-metal tin.

All the replacement PU covers I've put a magnet to have all failed to show any metal so therefore no interference with the PUs magnetic pull. The old days of metal covers seem to be gone.

This is not true. Any "good" pickup manufacturer (including Duncan) currently uses nickel covers. Sometimes there is gold or chrome plating on top of it.

Back in the 70's some cheaper guitars used brass covers with gold or chrome plating which you can clearly see as the plating wore off.

With good covers, there is really no difference in tone (at least, I don't hear it). A covered JB sounds just like a non covered JB.

The reason you see some guitars with the bridge pickup cover removed is;

1) Because you can get the actual pickup closer to the strings without the pickup cover there. So to balance out the guitar (in many guitars the neck pickup is louder than the bridge), people pull off the bridge cover to get the pickup as close to the strings as possible. I have known a bunch of people who have done this.

2) For that same reason (wanting more power at the bridge), many people replace the bridge pickup, and most replacement pickups are uncovered.

:burnout:

 

[Nightburst]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Cool topic, I was wondering the same thing for a while now. I think Mac-P covered it all :laugh2:. It makes sense for a lazy guitarist to leave it uncovered.
I see this a lot among the punk/hardcore bands so i figuered it was some sort of hype and the next 'cool' thing to do. I personaly dislike the looks of it.
I saw a video the other day from NUFAN and Tony Sly was using what looked like an uncovered Zebra Dimebucker (well at least it was a rail pickup). Looked pretty weird

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Makes no difference today since almost all PU covers are made of non-metal tin.

All the replacement PU covers I've put a magnet to have all failed to show any metal so therefore no interference with the PUs magnetic pull. The old days of metal covers seem to be gone.

I believe it's Brass. Brass with nickel, chrome or gold plating. And they still sound differant with or without the cover...just like they always have. Duncan's sure do! I have a new double cream coil Seth Lover as the neck pickup on my Hamer Monoco and I left the stock cover unsoldered so I can slide it off if I want to. Sounds brighter with the cover removed. Lew

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

When I first got my les paul , I replaced the bridge PuP with a Duncan 59'
(uncovered) I figured I'd just put the PuP in ,And if I liked it I'll swap
covers. Well I liked it, But it was years B4 I got around to putting the
cover back on. So no fasion statement or tone goal... JUST LAZY!! :smack:

 

[motorhead]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

This is not true. Any "good" pickup manufacturer (including Duncan) currently uses nickel covers. Sometimes there is gold or chrome plating on top of it.

Back in the 70's some cheaper guitars used brass covers with gold or chrome plating which you can clearly see as the plating wore off.

With good covers, there is really no difference in tone (at least, I don't hear it). A covered JB sounds just like a non covered JB.

So what looks like tin and is NOT metal is actually nickel? Regardless, this would not interfere with the magnetic pull .. hence no difference in tone.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Even if a metal is non ferrous, that does not mean it has no effect on capacitance, and therefore, tone. BTW, since when is tin not a metal? :newangel:

 

[motorhead]

Re: uncovered pickups paired with covered pickups?

Even if a metal is non ferrous, that does not mean it has no effect on capacitance, and therefore, tone. BTW, since when is tin not a metal? :newangel:

True tin is a metal ... but explain to me how a non ferrous metal can affect the tone. Next you'll be telling me that plastic covers affect the tone. Capacitance has to do with insolation .. if the PU is wax poted before being covered what happens?