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Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: drbassman on March 28, 2008, 10:56:37 AM

Title: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on March 28, 2008, 10:56:37 AM
OK, I've been wanting these for some time and I finally grabbed 2 covers and chrome rings for the future (same guy with the maple RD necks).  I've been thinking about using them on my Epi project.  What do ya think?

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20NR%20Bass/d709_1.jpg)

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/dcb9_3.jpg)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: doombass on March 28, 2008, 04:24:04 PM
Will surely look nice. Any special pickup in mind to put inside the cover?
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on March 28, 2008, 05:09:52 PM
I think one of these would be manageable........

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/SCPB-3.jpg)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: chromium on March 28, 2008, 05:24:58 PM
Nice!  Do those rings cover up the mini humbucker routes OK?

That Sheraton body will look cool on a bass.  An upscale EB2.  What are you using for the neck?  Are you going to give it the royal binding and inlay treatment like the guitar?
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on March 28, 2008, 07:02:16 PM
Quote from: chromium on March 28, 2008, 05:24:58 PM
Nice!  Do those rings cover up the mini humbucker routes OK?

That Sheraton body will look cool on a bass.  An upscale EB2.  What are you using for the neck?  Are you going to give it the royal binding and inlay treatment like the guitar?

I'm not sure if they are wide enough from top to bottom to cover the hole.  They are plenty wide enough from side to side.  We'll see when they arrive.  If they aren't, I have two other projects I could use them in, so nothing's lost by trying!

The neck is an old stock item from an eBayer.  Could be a Gibson, but more likely from a now defunct manufacturer.  I've been thinking about the binding.  I may not since I'd have to create it from scratch and I don't know if I'm into that much hassle at the moment!

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/823NECKO1.jpg)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 01, 2008, 06:08:06 AM
Here's a close up of the NOS coves.  These old Melody Maker cover/rings are cool IMHO.  The cover is 2.75" x 5/8" and 3/4" deep.  So, it'll be interesting to see if I can find a pup to fit inside or have to have a custom one made.  We'll see! 

Does anyone have the dimensions of a Strat or Tele pup they could post?

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/100_1358.jpg)

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/100_1359.jpg)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: exiledarchangel on April 01, 2008, 08:02:47 AM
You mean something like this?  ;)

(http://www.seymourduncan.com/images/dimensions/ssl2.gif)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 01, 2008, 08:34:33 AM
Doh, why didn't I just Google it!?!   :P
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: exiledarchangel on April 01, 2008, 09:25:49 AM
You gotta love that seymour duncan website, lots of good info!  ;)
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 01, 2008, 12:57:06 PM
Quote from: exiledarchangel on April 01, 2008, 09:25:49 AM
You gotta love that seymour duncan website, lots of good info!  ;)

For sure.  I might buy one of those 51 SCPB pups just to mess with and see if it'll fit.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 02, 2008, 12:47:03 PM
So, based on the dimensions, the pup that will fit best into these covers is a Strat pup.  The 51 SCPB coil is a bit too wide unfortunately.

If you were gonna go the Fender Music Master route (you know, put a Strat pup in a plastic cover like theses), which one do you think would work best for a bass application?
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Dave W on April 02, 2008, 01:20:02 PM
You might PM Tim Armstrong, I think he uses the GFS Twin Rail Strat pickup in his Musicmaster. That's his regular gig bass.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 02, 2008, 01:50:32 PM
Will do.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Tim Armstrong on April 02, 2008, 06:57:43 PM
Yep, I have one of these in my Musicmaster Bass:

(http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-50206111187217_1994_7455887)

It's the GFS Lil Killer Humbucker Rail Pickup for Strat (http://store.guitarfetish.com/lilkicrhurap.html).

I dig it entirely!  Great, full tone, dead quiet.

Cheers, Tim
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 02, 2008, 08:12:25 PM
Looks good. Did you put it under the old plastic pup cover or just drop it in?   Did you have to enlarge the hole in the pickguard for it?  Could you tell me how wide and long it is?  Id like something that would fit inside 2.75 "x  5/8 cover.  thanks!
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Chris P. on April 03, 2008, 12:40:53 AM
If I'm right that has the same dimensions as a normal Strat pick up.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: exiledarchangel on April 03, 2008, 03:44:27 AM
Yes, it is the same size as a strat pickup. You can use it without a cover, as a matter of fact you can't use a strat pickup cover with those pickups.

GFS pickups are great btw, I've got a pair of humbucker lipsticks for my epi lp guitar, they sound gerat!!!
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 03, 2008, 05:45:14 AM
I like the look and specs of the GFS rail pups, but I'd really like them to fit under my covers.  There's only enough room for a pup that's 2.75" x .625" and the typical non-rail Strat pup looks to be 2.635" x .6".   My concern is the comment on the GFS site that says "you'll have to open up the hole on your pickguard a little" to use these rail pups.  How much is "a little?"

So, that's where I'm coming from.



Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Tim Armstrong on April 03, 2008, 08:59:53 AM
It's definitely as big as a Strat pickup with a cover already on it, if not slightly bigger...

Cheers, Tim
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 03, 2008, 09:22:36 AM
Yeah, as an example, the SD rail pup which is similar to the GFS one would be too big to fit in my Gibson covers.  It's too wide frmo top to bottom at .73".  I only have .625" inside my covers.   A regular Start pup without a cover would fit, I'm just not sure about the rails.

Is the cover on the GFS rail pup removable?

SD specs.........

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Epi%20Sheraton/hot_cool_vintage.jpg)

Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Dave W on April 03, 2008, 11:19:25 AM
Is the cover on the GFS rail pup removable?

I could be wrong but I think the top is actually the top of the bobbin itself, not a separate cover.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 03, 2008, 11:44:57 AM
Quote from: Dave W on April 03, 2008, 11:19:25 AM
Is the cover on the GFS rail pup removable?

I could be wrong but I think the top is actually the top of the bobbin itself, not a separate cover.

I think you may be correct Dave.  It looks that way in the pictures.

So, if you were going to put a regular sized Strat pup in my covers, what kind of specs would you look for?  Should I go really hot with 9k or more outputs?  Would a pup wound for neck or middle be better than bridge?  I'm really not sure here.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Dave W on April 03, 2008, 12:09:17 PM
Traditionally Strat pickups were wound the same for all positions, which is why the bridge pickups sometimes had too little output compared to the others -- because of its positioning.That's why some aftermarket makers wind the bridge hotter to compensate. So if you're looking for hotter, you're more likely to find it in a pickup wound for a Strat bridge position.

Of 6-pole single coil Strat pickups with removable covers, the DiMarzio FS-1 (DP110) is the most aggressive I've heard. It's got plenty of bass and mids in a Strat, I can only imagine how it would do in a bass tuning. I can't link to it directly since DiMarzio has a Flash site but the technical data is here: http://www.dimarzio.com/media/pdfs/tech_data-quick_guide.pdf
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 03, 2008, 12:46:54 PM
Cool Dave, I see now.  They have some nice looking pups there.  Even some humbuckers in the traditional cover!  Should be interesting.
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: Chris P. on April 04, 2008, 12:48:17 AM
Maybe a bit off topic, but I was surprised to see a new pick up from (I think) SD. A P90 and single coil in one humbucker size pick up!
Title: Re: New pup covers
Post by: drbassman on April 04, 2008, 05:40:52 AM
No problem Chris, I think we've answered my questions about the Strat pups.  Now I just have to decide what to do.  Dimarzio makes some humbuckers Strats that would fit, very tempting.  The SD are pretty much single coil.  I've got plenty of time to think about it.