Can you put covers on uncovered HBs?

axisus

I know that Bare Knuckle will do it for a price, but can you do it yourself or is it best not attempted for some reason?

usedtobe

If you get covers that fit.

10thumbs

I put one on a few months back ,

 just pushed and squeezed it on ,fits great didn`t even bother soldering it ,works no problems......

 then found out you don`t need to take the screws out ( the shame).  8-}

WezV

yeah, its not a difficult job, but the options can make it more difficult

check polepiece spacing before ordering.   

the cover will be a push fit, but you really want it soldered in place on the bottom like this

http://ajlcustomshop.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Humbucker.20551556_std.JPG

now if its already potted there will be wax on the bottom,which doesn't help with the soldering. be careful not to overheat the pickup, but you won't get anywhere with a puny iron

the other thing to consider is potting.  you can not bother and risk the squeal, add a bit of warm wax to the cover when pushing the pickup in, or fully pot it in a hot wax bath.   if its an already potted pickup you can often get away with a few drops of wax inside the cover, but if its going to be for high gain the hot wax bath really is best

there was a article in guitarist years ago where they recommended using silicone sealant to pot the cover - It works but  I don't like having silicone near guitars.  wax is much easier to deal with for future work

WezV

found a vid - using silicone

this is better, but I wouldn't recommend cutting away the tape

streethawk

Just be sure to get the right size.

PRS, Gibson and Duncan are all 49.2mm pole spacing (USA versions) apart from some bridge units (trembuckers, any T designated Gibson unit etc) in which case they are 52mm - maybe a hair wider.

Gibson advertise their own covers at 50mm but they aren't - or at least shouldn't be!

Lots of independent pickup winders use 50mm and most import humbuckers use that spacing too (PRS SE, Epiphone).