Uncovered vs. Covered Pickups... Am I crazy?

  • Thread starter Thread starter gsanders1986
  • Start date Start date
G

gsanders1986

New member
Hey Everyone!

I have been checking out this forum forever, and have gained a lot of knowledge from you guys over the past few years. I have a question about pickups: covered vs. uncovered. I don't know if I am crazy, hearing things that I want to hear or what, but I have tested a Seymour Duncan JB uncovered against a JB covered in an ESP LTD EC-401 and had very different results regarding tone. I recently A/B'd a test between two JB pickups, and the uncovered seemed far tighter and livelier under high-gain, while the covered seemed to roll off the highs and tapered the low-end. :confused: Has anyone else experienced this phenom, or am I crazy? Sorry for such a long noob-post.
 
I once asked Tim at Bareknuckle the same thing, and he told me the covers would roll off the highs slightly, so you're not crazy IMO. I've found it can really help if a guitar is just slightly too bright, or vice versa. I haven't really noticed much in the lows, but oddly I seem to prefer the covered versions most of the time anyway.
 
Thanks for the response, Erock! I was wondering if I was just hearing those differences because I was mentally looking for a difference, or if there truly was one that I had stumbled upon. I know this is slightly off-topic, but since you have spoken with Tim from BKP, is there an alternative to the JB for tighter rhythms, as well as the infamously beautiful JB lead sound? Since I discovered Carcass at 14 years old (16 years ago):( I have been looking for a bridge pickup that would take the beautiful quality of the JB's lead, and give it a tighter rhythm... And would you suggest covered or uncovered? Again, I apologize for the obvious noob-ness.
 
You should send that directly to BKP
Give your guitar info too & you'll get a quick response
I love me some BK
 
Thanks CrankyRayHanky! What BKP's would you recommend, based on your experience? I only just found out about them tonight... And dear lord do I feel behind...
 
Should I worry about whether the pickups are uncovered or covered? A friend of mine told me to check out the magnets used instead of the covering. If you guys could educate me, I would appreciate it:) Again, I apologize, as this is coming from a guy who just graduated from 2-inch tape to a DAW (Reaper).
 
I metered 2 jb's once and the uncovered one read a lot hotter than the covered...we're talk 4 or 5 k hotter, so ever since then I am paranoid about covered pick ups being "smothered" tone wise :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL: gotta love the human brain :confused:
 
gsanders1986":1vylfd4x said:
Should I worry about whether the pickups are uncovered or covered? A friend of mine told me to check out the magnets used instead of the covering. If you guys could educate me, I would appreciate it:) Again, I apologize, as this is coming from a guy who just graduated from 2-inch tape to a DAW (Reaper).
Click to expand...

magnets make a big difference so yes it is good to have a small understanding of what a magnet does tone wise....but A5 magnets should all be roughly the same tone wise (winding have more of an effect than magnets)

Firstly figure out if you prefer alnico or ceramic (so check out duncans for alnico and dimarzio for ceramic as a rule) then go from there. I have found an A8 magnet is very similar to a ceramic. It is all very subjective of coarse but it is good getting to know what flavours you like
 
gsanders1986":3fq5kigs said:
Thanks CrankyRayHanky! What BKP's would you recommend, based on your experience? I only just found out about them tonight... And dear lord do I feel behind...
Click to expand...
That's a tough one, because music style, tastes, and the rest of your signal chain will create variables....but for me I like aggressive hi gain modern drop tune hard rock/metal for 90% of the stuff i play.

The Aftermaths are in a Gibson Gothic LP tuned to dropC. Sometimes i wonder if they are a bit too aggressive in the hi mids, but then everytime I track with them or get them in a live band context they deliver 100%. I guess many studios would tweak hi mids for metal, so maybe that's why this works so well. I think if I had a thinner toned guitar/superstrat I may look at something else, but the phat LP makes a good combo here. FWIW, a local pro studio here with top level credits has Aftermaths in many of his axes.

Miracle Mans are in an Ep Gothic LP 7 string tuned to dropA. This is a much more "normal" sounding pickup, very clear and and punchy. Seems to have a little less output or gain in comparison, I typically tweak the gain on my boost pedal from the typical near 0 to just a sliver more, maybe a bit more volume and it is right there. Sometimes I wonder if this pickup would work better in a thinner guitar? Sounds great recorded and live, so no pressing need, just curious GAS. I may get a 7 string Agile to swap this over into...

Juggernaut: I recently received these and put these into my Gutierrez Juggernaut (superstrat). There is a hollowness to the mids that haunts me (in a good way). Different guitar than the others, but to compare these might be my favorite.

Keep in mind it's all subjective; my beloved Juggernauts were received here used as the last guy went back to something more vintage (not BK). All of these are considered Modern, which some feel are too compressed...I love them though. Probably should try some Riff Raffs in my SG to hear some vintage BKs, also thinking about VHII in a Peavey HP Special. May just grab some more Juggernauts for everything, lol

I'm not sure if any of this helps, but there it is...good luck :rock:
 
Thank you very much for your help guys! Oh man... Now I am torn between the BKP Miracle Man and swapping mags on my JB... It looks like swapping the mags would be cheaper, but those demos of the Miracle Man sound soooo good.
 
Yea cover effects the magnets and wire. Eddy currents. Less highs with covers.
 
BKP have their own video with the differences between covered and uncovered:

 
nigelpkay":2i11ipdd said:
BKP have their own video with the differences between covered and uncovered:

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting.

I like the uncovered in the neck, and covered in the bridge.
 
there is a difference for sure but you still can achieve your desired tone with both. To me its more visual. I like both actually. I went exposed in my LP's at first but then like the look of aged nickle covers.
 
gsanders1986":gn18sjc8 said:
Thank you very much for your help guys! Oh man... Now I am torn between the BKP Miracle Man and swapping mags on my JB... It looks like swapping the mags would be cheaper, but those demos of the Miracle Man sound soooo good.
Click to expand...

an A8 in a jb sound great, adds beef to it ... mind you an A2 sound awesome as well, chills it out a bit
 
Thanks for posting the vid man! It's interesting that something that seems so small can still affect the tone to a degree that is audibly noticeable. @sytharnia1560 when you say the A8 adds beef to the JB, is it pushing more lows and low mids, and will it accentuate the pick attack? I am really looking for a tone that reflects my playing style (tight staccato riffs, and odd chord voicings ie Bill Steer, Chuck Schuldiner, etc.) I LOVE my mids, decently tight lows, and slightly smoother highs (which the JB seems to be a little squirrely on those highs). Sorry I am going on about this, but now I am excited to start experimenting:)
 
gsanders1986":1eejq7jg said:
@sytharnia1560 when you say the A8 adds beef to the JB, is it pushing more lows and low mids, and will it accentuate the pick attack? I am really looking for a tone that reflects my playing style (tight staccato riffs, and odd chord voicings ie Bill Steer, Chuck Schuldiner, etc.) I LOVE my mids, decently tight lows, and slightly smoother highs (which the JB seems to be a little squirrely on those highs). Sorry I am going on about this, but now I am excited to start experimenting:)
Click to expand...

I would say it would be perfect for what you are trying to achieve (great style you are following to esp bill steer :thumbsup: )

things I have noticed is the pick up is slightly hotter, but only slightly, and its louder for sure. The lows are deeper but don't get woofy or muddy....they stay nice and tight. The A5 jb has a strong upper mids sound, 8 seems to balance that out across the whole mid range. The only down side for me is it rolled off some high end so took away a little bite from my sound, but nothing a tweak of the presence couldn't fix
 
I liked the cleans tones more so with uncovered pups, and crunch sounded better with the covers.

I can hear a difference with and without the covers.
But, it also sounds like the slight difference in tone can also easily be achieved with amp eq.

Is there a difference in how it "feels" while playing with either?
Is attack/sensitivity different?
Those are things that a player would have to experience cause you can demo that on a vid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top