Humbucker newbie question

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famous beagle

famous beagle

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Ok, so I've played single coil guitar all my life and bought an Epiphone Dot recently and would like to upgrade the pickups. I've replaced dozens of single-coils, but I've never messed with humbuckers.

My question is, if I buy a pickup like this, for instance:

Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 Model 4-Conductor Guitar Pickup: Shop Accessories & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

Can I slip that into the gold pickup cover that's on my Epi pickups now or would I be stuck with that "exposed" look? I pulled the neck Epi pickup out (a G-400 Epi) to try to see if I could take the cover off, but the cover is soldered to the pickup. So before I messed with that, I figured I'd ask because I'm sure plenty of people would know this.

Thanks!
 
The cover wont necessarily fit the SD pickup. You might have to have the exposed coils. If you really want to keep the gold cover you could get a Gibson pickup in gold. BTW the covers actually change the sound of the pickups, slightly less output and treble.

VP
 
BTW,I have a 59 installed on the neck of an Ibanez JK1 and it has a very familiar sound,IMHO it screams classic rock.
 
First off, the pole spacing may be real close, but not exact. Or, it may not be close enough. You have to measure everything first. Bridge humbuckers have their pole spacing slightly wider than neck pickups.
If it all seems good to go; SAFE HUMBUCKER COVER REMOVAL - YouTube
Good luck.
 
I'd just go ahead and buy the gold version. Way easier, and guaranteed success. I'm in a similar situation. I've got a black '59 neck pickup, and I don't know what to put it in. Everything I've got where I'd want that one in the neck position, I don't want black. The one I might put it in is also a 335 copy, but then I'd want to swap the bridge out too, and I don't know if that guitar is worth all that. Probably should just try to sell it, or see if I can trade somebody.
 
Hmmm ... Ok thanks for the responses everyone. That's kind of what I was figuring, but I thought I'd double check.
 
I'd just go ahead and buy the gold version. Way easier, and guaranteed success. I'm in a similar situation. I've got a black '59 neck pickup, and I don't know what to put it in. Everything I've got where I'd want that one in the neck position, I don't want black. The one I might put it in is also a 335 copy, but then I'd want to swap the bridge out too, and I don't know if that guitar is worth all that. Probably should just try to sell it, or see if I can trade somebody.

Yeah, just pick up a gold cover. They're, what, twenty bucks?
 
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