Chrome pickup cover for Bachbird?

Johnbob · April 02, 2010, 11:22:50 AM

Hey, everyone I ordered my first Bachbird and I want to start planing my mods out. Where can I find a chrome cover for the altec pickup? I know that some guy on Ebay occasionally sells them (I hope he sells more) but any other options that you guys know about? At some point I may switch out the pickup but for now I just want to cover the altec one because I am broke but I would also like to give the altec a chance, I might like it.

OldManC · April 02, 2010, 01:17:03 PM

http://www.fretsonthenet.com/other_parts.htm#Gibson_Thunderbird_Rings

If you check this link and go to the bottom of the page there's information about ordering covers from Tony Carl (Overdriven66 here at the Outpost). His are the only available aftermarket cover I know of. One positive is that you can get them in either 60's or 70's height. They're not cheap to produce though so I'm not surprised by the price. Once you factor in pickup price (if you get a Duncan bird pickup wound), you'll be paying more than what the Lull pickup would cost you, so the deciding factor (besides cost) is probably just what pickup you prefer.

Basvarken · April 02, 2010, 03:07:31 PM

If the pickups covers aren't on Ebay now, it doesn't have to mean Greatdealz doesn't have them anymore. He may just have forgotten to put them online after an auction had ended.
Just send Greatdealz a message on Ebay. I did it a few times and he always replies and puts the item you want back online.

Denis · April 02, 2010, 03:20:24 PM

Quote from: Basvarken on April 02, 2010, 03:07:31 PM
If the pickups covers aren't on Ebay now, it doesn't have to mean Greatdealz doesn't have them anymore. He may just have forgotten to put them online after an auction had ended.
Just send Greatdealz a message on Ebay. I did it a few times and he always replies and puts the item you want back online.

I've emailed Greatdealz several times about the covers and have never received a response. $:-\$

Basvarken · April 02, 2010, 04:11:26 PM

Hey that is strange. He has always replied my messages.

TBird1958 · April 02, 2010, 04:33:49 PM

So much easier to just put a Lull in there............ My retro fitted BaCH certainly compares very favorable soundwise to my Lull Bird, very simple project to install too.

Basvarken · April 02, 2010, 04:53:28 PM

I'd rather put my lul* somewhere else

*in Holland that doesn't mean a repro tbird pickup

TBird1958 · April 02, 2010, 05:05:19 PM

Ahhh............. yes, you straight Hollanders and your Lull's, dykes with holes in them etc.......

chromium · April 02, 2010, 05:45:04 PM

Quote from: Johnbob on April 02, 2010, 11:22:50 AM
Hey, everyone I ordered my first Bachbird and I want to start planing my mods out. Where can I find a chrome cover for the altec pickup? I know that some guy on Ebay occasionally sells them (I hope he sells more) but any other options that you guys know about? At some point I may switch out the pickup but for now I just want to cover the altec one because I am broke but I would also like to give the altec a chance, I might like it.

If you can get ahold of Greatdealz, those covers would give ya some cheap thrills combined with the Artec (which sounded great in its own way- hotter mids; aggressive - sorta like the Epi tbird pickups, IMO)

I had stuffed the Artec into one of those covers. They fit, you just have to grind/round the edges a bit. I had to enlarge the pickup route with a dremel too in order to fit the pickup after the cover was installed. Here's a shot of it before I tore it down for the refin:

I later got some TB+ pickups off Ebay and peeled/stuffed those into the Greatdealz covers - as per Mark and Tom's instruction of popping the plastic TB+ covers off with a flat blade:

To fill the third/center mounting screw holes on the 70s covers I used a dummy screw. I just nipped the heads off a couple screws and affixed them to the cover with a bit of JB weld on the inside. MacGyver'd, but it works.

The BaCH will mod up nicely!! I made mine into a "IV", and have taken it to almost every gig since completed. I still can't believe how good it turned out (not speaking to my work - just the bass in general). They really nailed it, they did a stellar job on these, and it feels and sounds right on par with the other birds I've had or played.

Glad you found out about the BaCHs. Get ready to be happy.

Johnbob · April 02, 2010, 05:47:05 PM

The covers that Tony Carl makes look great but they are indeed pricey. If I'm going to spend that much I might as well go all out and get the whole pickup, one of his or a Lull. I think I will wait and see if Greatdealz puts another cover up on Ebay at some point. I sent him a message last night but I haven't heard back yet so we'll see. If the altec sounds good and I can get an old cover for around $30.00 I would be very happy with that for now.

Johnbob · April 02, 2010, 05:58:11 PM

Chromium, yes I saw your thread regarding your refinished bird and that is EXACTLY what I would like to do with mine. Before I saw yours I was contemplating doing the same thing to mine when I received it and then I saw yours and how great yours came out and now I am obsessed with it. ha..ha.. I think I might keep mine with one pickup though, I haven't decided yet. I unfortunately have no money right now, I really shouldn't have even purchased the bass but I couldn't resist so I'm not sure when I will be able to refinish mine and do all the mods that I am hoping to do. I have already refinished a few things and have been a long time fan of the ReRanch board and products but metallic's kind of scare me to be honest. Where did you get that pickguard made and do you mind telling me how much you paid for it? It's perfect, I definitely prefer one that is mint opposed to white.

chromium · April 02, 2010, 06:49:40 PM

There's no way I would have pulled that refin off without the tutorials on the ReRanch site and all the great advice here. I wouldn't hesitate on doing a metallic- just follow the suggestions in the ReRanch tutorial and it'll come out fine.

I got my pickguard from Terrapin, and only because Scott wasn't making them at the time. I think it was about the same price ($70-ish, IIRC), but you could check with John there to see what he would charge now.

I'd see if Scott can do it, though. The thing about the mint is that you might not be able to get it in the thinner material like the white guards he makes to original spec. The material on mine is that thicker .090" stuff.

bassvirtuoso · April 03, 2010, 06:12:35 PM

Yikes, got a little too carried away on my peeling:

Do I need to re-"wax" these before putting them in the chrome covers?

chromium · April 03, 2010, 08:41:05 PM

Lookin' good!

I wanted to make it so I could remove the covers if needed down the road, so after I peeled the plastic off the TB+ pickups I sanded their edges down a bit until they slid right into the chrome covers. I just used a thin bead of JB weld along the outer seam to hold the coils and cover together (this bead can be broken with a small cutting wheel if I ever want to remove the covers).

I didn't bother with wax or anything since the coils were still potted in epoxy. Just figured it wouldn't make any difference.

Lightyear · April 03, 2010, 09:35:49 PM

A small bead of pure silicone caulk would work very well. You can cut it loose with a razor blade if you need to undo it. GE sells cool little small job packets of silicone at HD and Lowes - I picked one up a while back for $1.50 - enough to do a dozen pickups.