gringopig's guitars
So, after doing a comparison video between my 2010 Gibson R7 with Creamery '59 PAF pickups with and without the covers, which I thought actually showed a marked difference in the sound, I now do the reverse!
I bought Area '59 aged PAF covers from Crazyparts in Germany which look really good and also some aged hardware and fitted a new stoptail with studs, an aged ABR-1 and thumbwheels.
I recorded some passages with the uncovered Creamery '59s, then loosened the strings off, took the pickups out of the body loosely and soldered the covers on, then put the strings back on again and re-recorded the same sort of stuff. The amp is a Carr Skylark and was set just to saturation with the inbuilt attenuator on but nothing changed at all between the covers off and on.
It only took about 30 minutes and most of that was persuading the solder to bridge the gap between baseplate and cover. I think I noticed what happened. It's definitely different, so see if you can tell. Use good speakers or headphones.
Time stamps are in the YouTube video for easy comparison across all the phrases.
Click on the pictures for full view and description
So. Is there any difference once more in reverse. Can you hear any change in the sound?
It's quite undeniable that pickup covers change the sound for me.
I hear that the pickups have lost a tiny sparkle in the highest register. It sounds like the pickups have moved back to where they came from with the cheaper Creamery covers. The Crazyparts covers purport to be made of a similar metal to the original PAF and are plated in the same way.
I quote from their site:
-Vintage correct light dimpled screw hole look of 50's vintage P.A.F. covers
-Great vintage look upgrade for any P.A.F. style pickup
-.020" thickness nickel silver material
-Maximum in tonal clarity - Best Sound Guarantee
-Vintage correct hole diameter
-Tops are flat assuring a proper fit and correct vintage look
-Copperless Nickel plated
-Made in UK
They certainly look the part but do they sound any different to the Creamery covers?
Well, I am not going there as the ghost of a unicorn warned me not to in a dream whilst a puppet showered me with sparkling crystals. I am going with the spectral beast on this, sorry.
The covers are great. They look like the ones Monty's uses to be honest and they might actually be.
See what you think. Will I keep the covers on?
I will ask the puppet.
I have located a set of Gibson unpotted Custombuckers on reverb that came out of 2019 Gibson Les Paul 60th anniversary, so I think I might do a test on those when they arrive as the sound of these pickups led me to investigate PAF style pickups in the first place. The Creamery pickups with pickup covers have a character now that is just a wee bit lacking in sparkle.
