cover for P-rails

[rockskate4x]

Hey guys, I'm planning to use a SD P-rails and a covered humbucker in the same guitar. Have any of you tried putting a humbucker cover over a P-rail pickup? Can this be done?

 

[Orpheo]

Hey guys, I'm planning to use a SD P-rails and a covered humbucker in the same guitar. Have any of you tried putting a humbucker cover over a P-rail pickup? Can this be done?

I did it, but mind a couple of things.

first of all, use a completely CLOSED cover. pour a mixture of wax in it; 2 parts candlewax and 1 part bees wax. while it's still warm, press in the prails (after extensive testfitting, ofcourse). after that, pull the pickup out, and you see the place of the polepieces. drill it out. I didn't do that though, I went along with the rest which I will describe now: when you had it in wax for the first time, dip it again in hot wax, to completely waxpot the pickup. this will eliminate squeel. Imho, seymour duncan does not waxpot really well, so I had to do it myself. I hate the job, but it has to be done. Make sure the wax is MOLTEN, and not boiling!!!! that will completely ruin your pickup. also, be carefull with the pieces of tape around the bobbins,

if you do it well, you shouldn't hear a difference in sound. For one, I didn't get a difference. what I do like to do though, is use 1 mega ohm pots with these pickups.

 

[bob7point7]

My understanding is that the P-rails are too big to fit inside a humbucker cover. They pushed the limits on size to maximize the number of windings on the P90s. That's why SD only offers them as black, white, or creme. I checked the size of mine and the P-rails only measure about .030" smaller than a covered humbucker in both length and width. The wall thickness on the cover is around .025", so I don't think it would work out.

-Bobbie

 

[rockskate4x]

between orpheo's lengthly wax potting instructions and the dimensions given by bobbie, I think I've decided to skip giving the P-rail a cosmetic lift....

Thanks for the input guys...

 

[shanejw]

Sounds like a lot more work than what it's worth to me.

 

[callaway]

Be sure to post some pics if you end up getting it in a cover. I think contrasting pickup covers don't always look bad though.

 

[rockskate4x]

I'm not going to any time soon with my level of experience... I'd probably fry the pickup

 

[Orpheo]

well... it fits. quite snuggly, though, as with any other pickup. but ey, I've tweaked the prails, because:



THEY DONT WORK!!!!!!!!!


I've emailed seymour duncan about a better prail, but they just are too fuckin damn stubborn. well, screw them.I made better pickups. problem: stratrail-magnet has the wrong position, ergo wrong magnetic field ergo: wrong tone for the p90. not the strat-side, funnely enough. I twisted the magnets 90 degrees, made some adjustments with the railbar, and it works now.

but ey, I'm a pickup-geek...

its by the way bongous that the p90-coil is wound supersuperhot, because its not. you can make it at least 13, maybe even 14 k instead of 9. there's enough room for the windings. S-D makes me angry. a lot of talk, but they don't do the walk.

 

[shanejw]

Hey Orpheo, do you have any pics of your covered PRails?

 

[Orpheo]

Hey Orpheo, do you have any pics of your covered PRails?

well, there's nothing to see. its just a gold humbucker, completely closed. you wouldn't know if its a prail or a tony iommi signature in gold...

 

[shanejw]

I was mainly looking for the back or bottom of the pickup to see how you have it together.  A friend of mine is building a Tele with 2 of them.  It's going to be ridiculous.  He's got the 2 P Rails and is going to have a volume, tone, and a five way superswitch for each pickup plus a toggle between the two.  Its a top route and the inside of his control cavity is going to look like a porcupine.

 

[Orpheo]

I was mainly looking for the back or bottom of the pickup to see how you have it together.  A friend of mine is building a Tele with 2 of them.  It's going to be ridiculous.  He's got the 2 P Rails and is going to have a volume, tone, and a five way superswitch for each pickup plus a toggle between the two.  Its a top route and the inside of his control cavity is going to look like a porcupine.

the back looks like any other humbucker. no biggy.

I have it wired with 4 2way-toggles. for each pickup stratsingle/series/parallel/p90, and a normal 3 way toggle. I don't like the 2 humbuckers in series sound.