Tele neck pickup cover question.

paulnb57

I'm curious!....
What difference in sound/tone does the metal cover on a Tele neck pickup make, what would happen if it wasn't earthed or, removed completely?
Keep it simple I'm a retard!...

Funkfingers

Removing the cover alters the behaviour of the magnetic field, reduces treble attenuation and allows the pickup to be adjusted nearer to the strings.

The downside of removing the cover is that the coil is exposed to the possibility of physical damage. A broken coil would cause the pickup to cease producing any signal, leading to DIY rewinding experiments and, ultimately, to the foundation of a pickup manufacture business.

paulnb57

Wis awarded to @Funkfingers! its interesting that the first incarnations of the Tele had a cover on both pickups, but the bridge cover soon became redundant and used as an ashtray, but the neck continued to be covered...I wonder why? Apart from the ability to palm mute, the P Bass style cover could have worked....

Funkfingers

I should have added that the type of metal used for the cover is claimed to make a difference. 

If the cover is providing shielding from RF interference, removing it will probably result in increased interference.

thermionic

paulnb57 said:

Wis awarded to @Funkfingers! its interesting that the first incarnations of the Tele had a cover on both pickups, but the bridge cover soon became redundant and used as an ashtray, but the neck continued to be covered...I wonder why? Apart from the ability to palm mute, the P Bass style cover could have worked....

The bridge pickup's coils are wrapped in string (or maybe ribbon for modern ones) for protection, I don't think the neck pickups are.

ICBM

The cover also has capacitance to the coil, so disconnecting it - but leaving it in place - also brightens the pickup, although not as much as removing it completely. If your Tele pickup is too muddy this is the first thing to try though, since it still protects the pickup.

If there is any noise increase it's probably not important - Strat pickups aren't shielded at all.

The Tele bridge pickup is also shielded quite effectively by its baseplate and the bridge, even though the top of the coil is open.

Alegree

Big difference removing it. Of course it won't get you to a Strat tone due to the thinner wire used, but it'll get you 50% of the way there. I offer all mine uncovered for exactly this reason.

Gagaryn

thermionic said:

paulnb57 said:

Wis awarded to @Funkfingers! its interesting that the first incarnations of the Tele had a cover on both pickups, but the bridge cover soon became redundant and used as an ashtray, but the neck continued to be covered...I wonder why? Apart from the ability to palm mute, the P Bass style cover could have worked....

The bridge pickup's coils are wrapped in string (or maybe ribbon for modern ones) for protection, I don't think the neck pickups are.

Indeed they are not. I have a strat pickup in my tele neck, uncovered so wrapped it with tesa tape for protection. Still need to be careful though when changing pick guards though, I've already knackered it once! Ash fixed it! :-)

streethawk

Funkfingers said:

I should have added that the type of metal used for the cover is claimed to make a difference. 

If the cover is providing shielding from RF interference, removing it will probably result in increased interference.

Yeah, nickel or plated brass.
I choose (and stock) nickel flat tops but some builders offer a choice, no correct answer.

OilCityPickups

Nickel is the most transparent to the magnetic field next to no cover at all. I'd strongly recommend not taking the cover of Tele pickups yourself as its very easy to f--k them up. Standard Tele neck pickups have very small top flatwork and it makes the coils extremely vulnerable to damage as the wire comes close to the edge of the bobbin and can be worn through or cut by your scratchplate. At the very least if you go uncovered the coils should be taped with a double layer of cloth tape. Better is string wrapping, but unless custom top flatwork is used, standard tele tops are too small to allow that.
I would clip the earth link wire which takes the cover out of circuit ... that gives back a bit of transparency to a covered neck pickup ... or if you have a brass cover, send your pickup to a professional (unless it's a super cheap one) to have a nickel one put on.

Megii

Tele neck pickups with cover in place can be excellent for a jazz kind of tone, at least I find that to be the case. May not be everyone's cup of tea, but just for what it's worth.