explanation please?

[Daveyo]

What is the reason for taking off pick up covers
From les Paul guitars?
Just wondering
Dave

[Steel and wood]

Maybe I'm the wrong person to ask as I've no appreciation for Les Paul's or Gibson solid body guitars for that matter, but if I did, the pickguard stays!


On a side note, my guitar teacher many moons ago suggested I take the pickguard off my Samick Greg Bennett Royale semi. (Really not necessary he said). Even though he was right, I put that pickguard back on immediately because the guitar to me just didn't look right without it.

[YamahaGuy]

Because the ugly plastic is covering the pretty (finished) wood that lies beneath

Maybe for similar reasons as to why people do it with acoustic guitars.
* aesthetics
* more sustain
* impedes the player's technique
* due to the player's style/technique, the pick guard generates unwanted tones

[guitararmy]

I had an early 70's Gibson ES-335 with the stock pickups. Removed the bridge pickup cover and noticed more volume and presence.

It has become an accepted look for Les Paul guitars, as well as many guitars from the 80's like the Kramers . I suspect if a certain guitarist who put a humbucker in the bridge position of his guitar had used a cover, things might be different...

[rmp]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Because the ugly plastic is covering the pretty (finished) wood that lies beneath

Maybe for similar reasons as to why people do it with acoustic guitars.
* aesthetics
* more sustain
* impedes the player's technique
* due to the player's style/technique, the pick guard generates unwanted tones

he was asking about pickup covers.

anyway,, to the point -- rumor has it, that they will sound different, more responsive, as already mentioned. I would have to take ppls word for it who have done it.

[Steel and wood]

Originally Posted by Daveyo

What is the reason for taking off pick up covers
From les Paul guitars?
Just wondering
Dave

Apologies, noticed you were talking about pickup covers and not pickguards.

Either way, pickup covers and pickguards stay!

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by rmp

he was asking about pickup covers.

anyway,, to the point -- rumor has it, that they will sound different, more responsive, as already mentioned. I would have to take ppls word for it who have done it.

Wow. I guess this quarantine has melted my brain. Lol. Wow. My bad.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Wow. I guess this quarantine has melted my brain. Lol. Wow. My bad.

you're not alone!!! by any stretch..

[Dru Edwards]

It's for the aesthetics and it also can alter the tone slightly. When players first started removing pickup covers on Les Pauls they discovered that some of them had a combination of black and creme bobbins (zebra). I really like the look of a Les Paul with zebra pickups and my '99 Plus Limited Edition has the '57 classics in zebra.

[Steel and wood]

Originally Posted by rmp

you're not alone!!! by any stretch..

Yep, I blame the quarantine and perhaps the couple of glasses of red I had over dinner.

Carry on.

[Rodger]

It looks cool as heck... these are Dimarzio PAF (neck) and Super Distortion (bridge). They came with no pickup covers. Originals are in a box and still have the gold covers. (1973 Les Paul Custom I bought new when I was 18)

[guitararmy]

That is one beautiful Les Paul!
Ever considered changing out the pickup selector ring and pickup rings for cream ones? Or brass ones as was the rage at the time...

[Rodger]

Thanks!! I haven't thought about any other changes. I did remove the pick guard because that was also the rage.

I had to change the tuners because in the early 80's my wife (now ex-wife) picked it up and was acting like a rock star, dropped it and crushed one of the tuners. I replaced all of them with Grovers. Gigged throughout the 70's and 80's with it.

[MC5C]

The metal pickup cover affects the magnetic flux that picks up the string vibrations. Taking the cover off might have an impact on the sound. People take them off because (regardless of the actuality of the situation) they think they will get a louder, more powerful pickup. Then there is the visual effect, the fact that Demarzio started a trend by making hot pickups without covers, and the well known fact that guitarists can convince themselves that any modification is defacto good and defacto cool, and you get pickups without covers...

[1neeto]

I asked this question to my uncle who is an electric guitar luthier and makes his own pickups. He said pickup covers do block electromagnetic hum better, but it also cuts off highs. So yes they do affect tone.