Bluesbird nickel pickup covers

[E.mcconnell]

Hello all... I'm new to this forum and I have a Bluesbird related question.

I have a 2001 Bluesbird (SN: CL002760) that I have had for almost 10 years now. I got it from a friend who got it new.
I'm told it's probably from the final year of production here in Westerly (I live in RI and have a friend who worked there at the end).
I really love this guitar and have put a LOT of miles on it playing out over the years. I don't play out anymore and now it's time to give this guitar a little well deserved TLC. It's going in for a much needed re-fret soon and I was thinking of changing the pickup covers (Just the covers). The nickel covers that are on there are WAY beyond polishing. The rest of the guitar is pretty pristine (I've always taken very good care of this one). The guitar looks almost new and I'm not crazy about the "aged" look of the covers. I saw these on ebay (and various other website) and I am wondering what your thoughts are on these. Will they fit? Are they the same as the originals as far as thickness and material? Has anyone ever used these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seymour-Duncan- ... 2222wt_611


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ed

 

[SFIV1967]

Welcome to LTG! Well, the original Seymour Duncan SH-1 Pickups in those Bluesbirds have Nickel plated covers, I don't see from the pictures in the auction if the nickel-silver covers are polished chrome outside. It doesn't say.
But in terms of size they will fit, as the Bluesbird used:
Neck: Seymour Duncan Classic Cover series '59 model SH-1N
Bridge: Seymour Duncan Classic Cover series '59 model SH-1B

So Classic Cover will fit. I am not sure how complicated it is to change the covers with the wax in the pickup, but I guess you know what you talk about since you asked about changing them.

Ralf

 

[hansmoust]

I was thinking of changing the pickup covers (Just the covers). The nickel covers that are on there are WAY beyond polishing. The rest of the guitar is pretty pristine (I've always taken very good care of this one). The guitar looks almost new and I'm not crazy about the "aged" look of the covers. I saw these on ebay (and various other website) and I am wondering what your thoughts are on these. Will they fit? Are they the same as the originals as far as thickness and material?

Hello Ed,

Welcome!

Welcome to LTG! Well, the original Seymour Duncan SH-1 Pickups in those Bluesbirds have polished chrome covers

That is not correct. The original covers on these Seymour Duncan pickups have a 'nickel' plated finish, which is a much less shiny finish than the chrome plating on the Gotoh bridge and stop tailpiece. If you buy the 'Nickel Silver' covers on eBay, they will look as dull as the ones you have right now, within a short time.
If you want the shiny look of the chrome hardware, you should buy covers that are chrome plated.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[E.mcconnell]

Thank you for the replies. I understand that the originals are nickel. I do not mind that they are not as bright looking as the chrome bridge/tailpiece. The issue is that the nickel is pretty much worn off on the originals in a few areas (cosmetic I know, but it bothers me).

Ed

 

[SFIV1967]

Welcome to LTG! Well, the original Seymour Duncan SH-1 Pickups in those Bluesbirds have polished chrome covers

That is not correct. The original covers on these Seymour Duncan pickups have a 'nickel' plated finish, which is a much less shiny finish than the chrome plating on the Gotoh bridge and stop tailpiece.

Hi Hans, I was just looking up the spec table of the Corona Bluesbirds (I know 2000 and 2001 was still Westerly production) which showed: "ELECTRONICS: 2 Seymour Duncan SH-1 Pickups with Chrome Covers and Aged Cream Colored Pickup Mounting Rings, Separate Volume and Tone Control for Each Pickup" So this is where I read "Chrome Covers". I was pretty sure my year 2000 Bluesbird has Chrome Covers. Did Corona use Chrome and Westerly Nickel plated covers?
Ralf

 

[hansmoust]

Hi Hans, I was just looking up the spec table of the Corona Bluesbirds (I know 2000 and 2001 was still Westerly production) which showed: "ELECTRONICS: 2 Seymour Duncan SH-1 Pickups with Chrome Covers and Aged Cream Colored Pickup Mounting Rings, Separate Volume and Tone Control for Each Pickup" So this is where I read "Chrome Covers". I was pretty sure my year 2000 Bluesbird has Chrome Covers. Did Corona use Chrome and Westerly Nickel plated covers?

Hello Ralf,

Don't think Seymour Duncan uses chrome plated covers for any of the 'standard' humbucking pickups.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[SFIV1967]

Don't think Seymour Duncan uses chrome plated covers for any of the 'standard' humbucking pickups.

O.k., so it is most probably the spec table of Guild that was "wrong", maybe they were more referring to the "color" Chrome instead the "material" Chrome, to just distinguish them from "Gold" color. I also checked my year 2000 Bluesbird, and indeed you were 100% correct that the pickup covers are much less shiny compared to the chrome plating on the Gotoh bridge and stop tailpiece. Sure they look shiny/polished, but different. So I learned something new, that the correct covers are those "Nickel Silver" covers.
Also the SD homepage only shows Nickel or Gold as the two cover versions: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/fa ... _purchase/
Thanks!
Ralf