Is there a way to change the color of my Humbucker from white to black on my HSS?

I know for the singles I can simply change the covers to black. But how can I change the color on the Humbucker? Without replacing the whole thing.

I am not sure. I just bought a new humbucker and changed it out. I do not think I have ever seen a kit to replace the pick-up cover on a humbucker.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I wish i could help here. never done anything with a fender HB.

Do they have covers like the single coils? I have only ever seen the metal covers, like on gibsons. My Ibanez also has metal covers, but I can't see where to desolder to open the cases.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hi Scot06: you ain't going to change 'em, I'm afraid. If you can see the colored plastic then your humbucker is already uncovered - in that it is missing the shiny metal cover you see on a traditional PAF. People like Santana first started removing those metal covers around 1970 on the basis of some improbable "tone" improvement.

The plastic you are looking at is the top of the bobbin on which the wire is wound. Like this:



Changing that would involve rebuilding the pickup from the ground up. I'd forget about it...

Cheers - C

Frankly, I'd just change the pickup but you might want to try these:

http://www.universaljems.com/cart/bobbin.htm

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You dig?

Ha! Well there's something I never knew existed.

Thank you, Martian. Another home run!

Cheers - C

Anytime!

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You dig?

sweeeeet! Just what I was looking for Martian. Thank you

I think I will be removing these pups and putting them on my Squire. But I have a question about that. My Squire has 3 singles. would I be able to add the humbucker to it? (I will also change to the correct pick gaurd) I have never removed the pick gaurd on it so I don't know what the routing is like. It is a 2002 20th Aniv model. Anyone know if that will work?

Now I just need to decide which pups I'll add to my new gal. Any ideas?

Oh, sure, you are going to blame that on a Mexican-American?

I swear it was a British guitarist, like Jeff Beck or Peter Green or EC who first did that. Some of 'em took the finish off the top of their guitars for better tone too.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Well, now you have me scratching my head trying to remember the story.

Someone or other said he saw Santana playing without covers on his pickups and so attributed his nice tone to that fact ( ). So whoever it was then did it likewise - and wrecked his pickups in no time. Would be so much more useful if I could recall who's story it was though.

There was also something about Gibson buying up Epiphone and getting a stock of the pickup bobbins in different colors. They just used them up as they came to hand - some pickups got made with two white bobbins, some with two black, and some with a black and a white.

So when people started following the fashion for uncovering their humbuckers some were found to have a white and a black bobbin - and the trend for "zebra" pickups began.

I'd be amazed if at some time or other someone hasn't claimed the zebra ones sound better...

Cheers - C

They do claim that. Or that they're the worst, or that the black ones... white ones...

Alvin Lee and EC are kind of the ones that get the credit for popping off the covers.

As for the colours of the bobbins, it is just simply, the plastics company Gibson used to manufacture them ran out of black pigment for a while. They bought these things en masse so they had a ton of them, thats all there is to the story of the cream coils. For zebras, i am guessing when they had some of both someone thought it looked cool, and voila.

It's funny, ceri, I heard some kids talking about it in the guitar store the other day,"the white ones are lighter, they vibrate differently"

I kept my peace.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

How?

Cheers - C

PS Hot damn: I really have to try and track down the source of that story now. Where the heck did I read it...?

This is the book i am referencing BTW. They specifically mention Alvin Lee, and EC for the covers.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Zebra pickups

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Gonna be Zebras in my homebrew paul too

Mock up here:



Gotta decide if I want a pick guard or not though, before I finish her up. (PS all painting I have been doing is mostly to practice to get in shape to burst this,)

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.