I've seen a number of guitars that had either plastic or wooden pickup covers. Since I am pretty much ignorant of such things, do they affect the performance of the pickups? I assume they must have some affect, but I also presume it must be minimal or it wouldn't be so common. It's probably a stupid question but one I'm interested in hearing you're thoughts on.
Pickup covers
- Thread starter Johnny
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TroubledTreble
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Plastic or wood will have zero effect on a pickup unless it keeps you from getting the pickup in the relative position to the strings you want. Metal will change the tone depending on the metal. Brass pretty much sucks the life out of a pickup. Aluminum will kill a pickup unless it's very very thin. The best metal for pickups is nickle silver (German silver). It is almost completely transparent relatively speaking.
Think of stuff this way: An alnico magnet contains aluminum, nickle, cobalt. It is the interaction of these molecules that create eddys and magnetic fields, flux. If you put anything close enough to the mags that contain any of these metals, you have changed the "recipie" and it will act differently. These as well as other metals and ferrous materials will interact also.
Materials that do not interact with magnetic fields will not have an effect as a general rule. I have seen covers made from many different materials. The possibilities are endless for materials that will work well.
Think of stuff this way: An alnico magnet contains aluminum, nickle, cobalt. It is the interaction of these molecules that create eddys and magnetic fields, flux. If you put anything close enough to the mags that contain any of these metals, you have changed the "recipie" and it will act differently. These as well as other metals and ferrous materials will interact also.
Materials that do not interact with magnetic fields will not have an effect as a general rule. I have seen covers made from many different materials. The possibilities are endless for materials that will work well.
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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I was under the impression the nickel silver was just a coating.
TroubledTreble
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No, not a coating. It is an actual metal alloy. It's also what most frets are made of.
Some companies use brass as a base metal for pickup covers then coat them. These are the ones to stay away from as well as brass base plates. The better covers are made of nickle silver then plated with a thin layer of copper then chrome. Good base plates are plain nickle silver.
I like plain nickle silver covers which look like brushed metal but can then be polished quite nicely. They end up looking like vintage covers some what due the patina. The only downside is they can scratch a little easier.
Some companies use brass as a base metal for pickup covers then coat them. These are the ones to stay away from as well as brass base plates. The better covers are made of nickle silver then plated with a thin layer of copper then chrome. Good base plates are plain nickle silver.
I like plain nickle silver covers which look like brushed metal but can then be polished quite nicely. They end up looking like vintage covers some what due the patina. The only downside is they can scratch a little easier.
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