Wiring Secrets Pt.5

Pulling Off The Pickup Covers

Humbucker covers serve a dual purpose: first they provide some protection from grime, gunk, dust and airborne fried chicken particles in Texas dancehalls, and secondly they contribute to the cause of shielding from electrical interference.


Useful things, then – but ever since the ’60s, removing pickup covers has been one of the commonest homebrew guitar mods. The usual justification was an attempt to make the pickups ‘louder’; the real reason was probably often that the players liked the way they looked. Ironically, removing the thin nickel covers fitted to ’50s PAFs had very little effect, but thick chrome-plated brass pickup covers can attenuate treble, and this can make the pickup seem quieter.


Covers are usually held in place with blobs of solder (see pic, above right). Use a Stanley knife to cut through the solder, being careful with your fingers, and lift the cover off. Try it; you might like it.