Covered vs Open Coil Humbucker Pickups on Gibson Les Paul Studio

[MrPisster]

From what I get from the video, the difference is with the cover the sound is a bit darker but without definition. The cover off instantly makes it have both the same heaviness but adds a bit more distinction. Like when you're listening to headphones and then press them tight against your ears.

[bmiranda2645]

@MrPisster yes you are totally correct. There are pros and cons to either choice though. With pickup covers on, the lower capacitance of nickel and chrome does help reduce 60-cycle hum noise but dampens the brightness of the sound a bit. When the covers are removed, the open coils resonate more freely against the strings' magnetic field increasing the definition, but the pickup is more prone to electrical noise. This is probably unnoticeable on a humbucking pickup anyway.

[Jawisr]

can't feel the diference

[bmiranda2645]

@Jawisr yes you are correct. there's not much of a difference to the ears. the pickups look a bit different to the eyes though.

[stratocasterrelic]

I think it sounds a little thinner without but looks better. I'm thinking of doing it to my traditional les paul but i'm not keen on breaking the solder.

[bmiranda2645]

@stratocasterrelic yeah I just discovered that going through the trouble of damaging the solder with a chisel only makes it sound slightly different. I didn't want to use a soldering iron because it started melting the pot wax. The wax prevents the magnets from vibrating and causing feed back.

[stratocasterrelic]

@bmiranda2645 I know what your saying...i did it earlier and i'm happy with the look more than the sound..like you say its not massively different. The wax wasn't a problem to remove but the solder was a little scary as i didn't want to cause damage etc. The pickups are not as well prepared as say a new set that were made to be uncovered...things like insulation tape sloppily placed round the sides ha. Cheers keep up the playing ;-)

[bmiranda2645]

@stratocasterrelic thank you. Oh yeah and you are correct about covered humbuckers being more sloppily setup underneath than those meant to be open coil. The coils were also a lot looser on mine so I wedged some cardboard between them to tighten them up a bit.

[lukyosoytupa]

yeah thanks man !

[WhiteDemon87]

Hey man, great vid, I was wondering, what's the name of the first song you were playing?

[bmiranda2645]

@WhiteDemon87 the song is called Engel by Rammstein.

[WhiteDemon87]

@bmiranda2645 thanks!

[lukyosoytupa]

the name of the song ?

[bmiranda2645]

@lukyosoytupa sorry it took me a while to figure out exactly what I played in this video. I knew I was playing random Rammstein riffs but just figured out the song titles are Engel, Tier, Bück Dich, and Asche zu Asche. Those old songs are from when I first heard of the band.

[cobaltw]

hmmm. original.

[ArcaneAnders]

Oh, god... Not another octave riff -.-

[BLACKSYNTH]

2:13 DOOM! level 1 music. 

[bmiranda2645]

@BLACKSYNTH yup. I totally felt Knee Deep in the Dead.

[tgv1975]

No covers gives a harsher sound with more highs, without loosing the bottom end. I like it more. Thanks for the time you took to demo this!

[bmiranda2645]

@tgv1975 thank you mate. Cheers!

[TheVictimsX]

horrible



[88segovia]

u using a boost with the TT?

[heyitsmekid]

thanks for the comparison! I always wondered how much of a difference removing covers actually made. It's really very different. I guess you answered that other question too. (can the tiny terror play metal!!!) LOL i guess so.

[sniperfxxx]

open sounds a littl more raw!!! cool..

[TheOmair1234]

I can definitely hear the difference. I guess it just comes down to what you prefer.

[2253glen]

Very interesting......