pole spacing on se humbuckers?

[dtray187]

I am trying to find some covers to fit the se pickups. Do you guys know if they are 50mm or 49.22 or other?

 

[jimistephen]

they should be "F" spaced, which I believe is 52mm

 

[rubalup]

interested...

 

[John Beef]

I have measured a few sets of the regular SE humbuckers (before they started with the SE 245 and SE HFS, etc) and on each, the neck pickup was 50mm and the bridge was 52mm. F spacing is generally 53mm so finding 52mm nickle covers was challenging. 52mm chrome covers are easy to find from Asia, but nickle is tougher. I ended up buying one from the big G because for whatever reason, they have those. I don't know why.

 

[Howlingmine]

I did the same thing with my SE custom not too long ago. Here is a copy of the post I made over at prsforums.com

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Maybe this will help you out. I'm getting ready to cover the pickups on my 2012 SE Custom 24 because I hate the look of Zebras. I found some very nice, inexpensive covers online that are going to work perfectly. Here is the info.

Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies

I would suggest using a caliper to measure the distance between the centers of the outer 2 screws on your pickups. Mine are 49.2mm for the neck and 52mm on the bridge. I chose to go with the raw nickel covers as I plan on polishing and brushing them before installation. Getting the raw ones ensures that you won't have to worry about burning through any kind of plating.

49.2 mm Raw Nickel Cover

52 mm Raw Nickel Cover

They also offer covers with no holes or 2 rows of holes in nickel plate, chrome plate, and gold.

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[maxtuna26]

From what I remember, my SE pickups came in normal spacing in the neck and F-spacing in the bridge. Hope that helps!

 

[rubalup]

I´m kind of embarrassed to make his question... but wth.

How do you "install" this covers? you just put them over the pu´s? wouldn't they fell off or move around if not attached to something?

 

[John Beef]

 

[John Beef]

I did the same thing with my SE custom not too long ago. Here is a copy of the post I made over at prsforums.com

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Maybe this will help you out. I'm getting ready to cover the pickups on my 2012 SE Custom 24 because I hate the look of Zebras. I found some very nice, inexpensive covers online that are going to work perfectly. Here is the info.

Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies

I would suggest using a caliper to measure the distance between the centers of the outer 2 screws on your pickups. Mine are 49.2mm for the neck and 52mm on the bridge. I chose to go with the raw nickel covers as I plan on polishing and brushing them before installation. Getting the raw ones ensures that you won't have to worry about burning through any kind of plating.

49.2 mm Raw Nickel Cover

52 mm Raw Nickel Cover

They also offer covers with no holes or 2 rows of holes in nickel plate, chrome plate, and gold.

​

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Sweet! As I said earlier in the thread I had trouble finding nickel 52mm covers and had to buy a Gibson branded one at a Gibson branded price. So glad to see them elsewhere. I must have googled it 16 different ways and this site never came up.

 

[andy474x]

Nice video! Thinking of just putting covers on the PU's when I grab my ZM. Anyone have advice for how to scuff the covers to get them looking like the PRS scuffed covers?

 

[Shawn@PRS]

I think this is a cool video, but I would make two suggestions. 1) A good tight clamp IS important when soldering the cover onto the pickup. It minimizes the gap between the inside of the cover and pickup bobbins. 2) go ahead and melt wax in a double boiler or old coffee can and totally submerge the pickup in wax for a few minutes allowing the melted wax to work into the cracks and crevices. Remove the pickup from the wax and allow it to dry cover side down.

 

[rugerpc]

... love how-to vids!

 

[rubalup]

thanks a lot!

its a little more definitive than i tought it was!!!

 

[andy474x]

I think this is a cool video, but I would make two suggestions. 1) A good tight clamp IS important when soldering the cover onto the pickup. It minimizes the gap between the inside of the cover and pickup bobbins. 2) go ahead and melt wax in a double boiler or old coffee can and totally submerge the pickup in wax for a few minutes allowing the melted wax to work into the cracks and crevices. Remove the pickup from the wax and allow it to dry cover side down.

Geez, this guy again... he acts like he works at a guitar factory or something...

 

[dtray187]

What would happen if you installed the pickup in a cover with no wax?

 

[maxtuna26]

Microphonics. The pickup will squeal like a pig at loud volumes. The vibration of the cover on the polepieces will cause the microphonic noise. If you're not wanting that, it's best to get it potted, or you could try double-sided tapes, some people say the tapes work.

 

[bhendric1]

A lot of great info in this thread. Looking to install covers on my SE Zach Myers. This vid shows a drop of silicone (instead of dipping in wax?) Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I go with the wax? Thanks!