Wood pickup covers

[Im not good at this]

I just got a whiff of inspiration, but im not sure if it would work too well.

Is it possible to use wood as pickup as pickup cover? For example, putting a simple veneer or something over some emgs or such? Would it distort the sound any... or should i say, would i even get any sound out of them?

Also, while im thinking of it, does pickup height have any corelation to having more or less output?

word to ya moms,

Tim

EDIT: um, maybe this shoulda been in electronics? sorry, i didnt think about that until just now, please move it if its in the wrong spot

[Primal]

It is very common for hand built instruments to have wooden pickup covers. Mostly you see them on basses, however I'm sure that it could work with guitars. Since wood is non magnetic, it should not affect the tone at all. I'm glad you mentioned pickup height. Pickup height is directly related to output. I'm not sure about the math. I believe it is something along the lines of energy is equal to distance from the coil squared (someone please help me out with that). If you attempt wooden pickup covers, make sure that the you get the wood on the top of the cover as thin as humanly possible so that it does not interfere with output.

[bassman]

why is it that bassists seem to enjoy the natural look of wood mroe than guitarists? Guiatrists seem to have their fun pedals/amp and effects while bassists sort of fill that gap with exotic looking basses...........

....

anyways do not make the veneer as thin as humanly possible unless you want it to wear out very quickly thru normal use

Peace,

Ryan

[Primal]

Exotic looking basses and tone. Bassists seem to be more demanding about their tone in general than guitarists. Finding a good sound on guitar is fairly easy. But finding that tone on bass is trickier. One of the things I don't like about playing bass because I am not good with EQs.

[Hotrock]

I believe it is something along the lines of energy is equal to distance from the coil squared (someone please help me out with that)

I'm don't know myself, but I'd say it was an inverse square law. The output would be equal to the inverse of the disatance squared (well that's a sort of simplified look). If the pup was, say, 2mm away the output is 1/4; if the pup was twice as far away (4mm) then the equation would be 1/16 etc etc. Kind of the same equation for gravity, light and the intesity of a fart

[litchfield]

I'm currently putting flamed maple tops on a pair of humbuckers. I'll let ya know how it works.

[Hotrock]

slamed maple

Maple that you keep threatening to sleep with it's sister ?

[Im not good at this]

Ooo pictures please litfield! sounds sexy

Also i found a really awesome site in the supporters section of this website, www.noahjames.com killer looking basses there with wood pickup covers.

And this is for a bass, so would some 1/36 (or whatever the normal size) veneer work good enough? i dont ever use a pick, so im not too worried about scratching the veneer off.

Another option, kinda hard to imagine how i could do it though.... anyway, say somehow taking a cutout of the top where the pickups would eventually go, and then using that... somehow... as the pickup cover, so that when finished.. and if done properly, you would have pretty much the exact grain on the pickups that i would have on the top. I think that kinda makes sense... i dunno, im pretty tired.

So many ideas... so little money

Taking donations,

Tim

[litchfield]

Dimarzio makes a mahogany topped bass soapbar.

[soapbarstrat]

There is a thread on this site, from not long ago. The fellow built a hollow, or semi-hollow guitar and at one point he shows a little about the wood pickup covers he made. Maybe it's in the 'finished projects' section or whatever it's called.

[litchfield]

Myka only made the rings.

[soapbarstrat]

page 6, if this link doesn't go exactly to it:

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...opic=7446&st=75

Yes, it looks like they are just rings, although he called them pickup covers. You could make pickup covers using the same technique.

[jay5]

Myka actually did make boxes and then routed out the middles to form rings. Just use the same proces he used and leave them as boxes. Now you have covers Obviously you will ned to adjust the size to fit. That thread is full of good tips and ideas!

[erikbojerik]

Another option, kinda hard to imagine how i could do it though.... anyway, say somehow taking a cutout of the top where the pickups would eventually go, and then using that... somehow... as the pickup cover, so that when finished.. and if done properly, you would have pretty much the exact grain on the pickups that i would have on the top.

I'm trying that very thing now with single-coil Strat pickups, on a body with a maple top and rear routs for the pups. I routed behind the pup location as thin as I dared, then tried cutting them out with a razor utility knife. Ended up breaking the blade, it was very tough.

I finally settled on using the tiniest Dremel cutter I could find, one with a tiny ball on the end for doing fine carving work, and using an old strat pickguard as a template. That was much easier, but I probably lost 1/16" all around the edge in the process. That means that the piece of wood I end up with is actually slightly smaller around the edge than the top of the pup cover, but I'm going to forge ahead anyway and see how it turns out. I think it may look OK if I glue them onto a black pup cover to start with, then set the bridge-pups-neck pocket as low as I can.

But I don't even have the pups yet, so it'll be awhile before I can see how it looks.

[erikbojerik]

On second thought, I may just chop the top off the pup covers and glue the wood on, that might work too. You could even drill little holes for staggered pole pieces, but then that detracts from the wood grain.

[Primal]

Only do that if the previous plan doesn't turn out.

[litchfield]

wont be long til I have pics for ya all

[litchfield]

[litchfield]

Dyed the maple blue. I plan on doing a tutorial when I find the bridge pickup....I seem to have mispalced it in preparing for a baby