Hello Tom!
On 11 Apr 98, Tom Scioscia wrote to A. Clegg:
 AC>> I was wondering about something.  I have a Les Paul and it's got
 AC>> chrome pickups.  If I take the screws out of the pickups would it take
 AC>> off a cover  offf the pickups or would it take the whole pickup out?
 TS>        If I remember correctly, the cover is soldered onto the bottom
 TS> plate of the 'bucker. I could be wrong, though, as I've never seen a
 TS> covered 'bucker from the inside. :)
Our feed has been spotty for a couple of weeks, but looks like it's back now. 
Needless to say, I didn't see the original message, and this is more to Mr. 
Clegg than to you.
The covers ARE usually soldered or epoxied to the pickup's frame.  The screws 
he's talking about (I assume the six on top) are the pole height adjustments, 
and I don't know what will happen if they are completely removed... I've 
never tried it ~8-)  I think the bobbins are glued to the frame, so the 
pickup SHOULDN'T fly apart, but you never know.
I prefer them with covers anyways, and always buy covers for my aftermarket 
pickups for a couple of reasons....  they look stock, and they help to 
protect the pickup coils from damage.  Sure... they've got tape and wax on 
them, but a cover could protect them from an errant screwdriver or knife, 
which would cut right through the tape and ruin the pickup.
When I install covers on aftermarket pickups, I usually go a little less 
permanent.  I use my Dremel tool to slice the sides of the cover to make 
little "tabs" that I can bend over the pickup frame.  Sometimes, I'll make an 
attempt at soldering, but I really don't like putting that much heat that 
close to the coils.  I've never had a squeal problem using my tab-method.  If 
I want to be more secure without soldering, a dab of 5-minute epoxy works 
well.
Also, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER use a trigger-activated soldering GUN to 
work on pickups or any electric guitar wiring.  Those guns put out a HUGE 
60hz magnetic field and they can easily degausse a pickup.  Under some 
circumstances, like if you happen to be Seymour Duncan building Antiquity 
pickups, this may be desireable, but most guys do not want to take their new 
$150 Wingnut-2000 UltraMegaMonsterDistortion pickup and turn it into a P-90.
ONLY use a pencil-type iron that either plugs into the wall or uses battery 
or butane fuel (like the Weller PortaSol units).  These operate with a simple 
resistor circuit that does not develop the magnetic field of the transformer 
in the guns.  The guns are attractive because they heat up in seconds, but 
they are not the tool to use.
C-ya! Rich
--- GoldED 2.40
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