HeavyDuty
Well-known member
I picked up a used Blue Pearl and Rosewood SR5 last year, and my only complaint has been the white pickup cover - it really limits what pickguards you can use without attracting the fashion police, and it shows thumbprints from the lengua tacos. However, I was concerned about swapping covers since it was potted on.
No guts, no glory. I managed to get a spare black cover from Brad that came last night. Swapping the covers turned out to be much easier than I expected, with no drama.
First I marked the pickup height (both sides) on a piece of paper, then I loosened the strings and removed the pickguard. I then pulled all three pickup mounting screws. This allowed me to lift the pickup out and place it upside-down on a piece of shirt cardboard to protect the bass finish.
I noticed the long edges of the underside were sealed with a bead of silicone – they were run along the joint between the metal and the cover plastic. What I did (based on Brad’s earlier advice) was to carefully cut the silicone right along the pickup cover using a sharp X-acto knife – basically peeling the silicone from the plastic pickup cover. It only took a few minutes of careful work, since I had to be sure I didn’t nick any wiring.
Then I was able to carefully pop the cover off by gently spreading the cover while pushing on the polepieces. There was no silicone near the polepieces on my pickup, so this was a breeze. The new cover then dropped right on. I didn’t add any new silicone – the fit was nice and tight.
The hardest part was trying to line up the little o-rings, the pickup springs and the mounting screws when reassembling! All went well, and everything works.
I’m glad I did this, since I have a used Tort guard coming any day now. As I said, the white pickup never did it for me!
Disclaimer: if you try this and kill your pickup, don’t blame me!
No guts, no glory. I managed to get a spare black cover from Brad that came last night. Swapping the covers turned out to be much easier than I expected, with no drama.
First I marked the pickup height (both sides) on a piece of paper, then I loosened the strings and removed the pickguard. I then pulled all three pickup mounting screws. This allowed me to lift the pickup out and place it upside-down on a piece of shirt cardboard to protect the bass finish.
I noticed the long edges of the underside were sealed with a bead of silicone – they were run along the joint between the metal and the cover plastic. What I did (based on Brad’s earlier advice) was to carefully cut the silicone right along the pickup cover using a sharp X-acto knife – basically peeling the silicone from the plastic pickup cover. It only took a few minutes of careful work, since I had to be sure I didn’t nick any wiring.
Then I was able to carefully pop the cover off by gently spreading the cover while pushing on the polepieces. There was no silicone near the polepieces on my pickup, so this was a breeze. The new cover then dropped right on. I didn’t add any new silicone – the fit was nice and tight.
The hardest part was trying to line up the little o-rings, the pickup springs and the mounting screws when reassembling! All went well, and everything works.
I’m glad I did this, since I have a used Tort guard coming any day now. As I said, the white pickup never did it for me!
Disclaimer: if you try this and kill your pickup, don’t blame me!
