Can I put a veneer on a humbucking pu?

[Woody Sound]

I's like to cover the top surface of a traditional humbucker with a thin wood veneer. I'd probably drill holes for the pole pieces on the adjustable coil. Would this affect the pickup at all? Should I also drill holes for the slug side, even though they're already covered by the metal cover? I know this sounds elementary to most of you, but hey... Tnx.

[Sigmund451]

I think very thin is the key.

Ive seen builders to this and it looks slick. I think holes for the pole pieces are wise. I wouldnt want to give up that feature for appearance. I would think that if its thin you can compensate with the adjusment...if you happn to noice it. You can always tape it in place with painters tape to get an idea regarding its impact.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I's like to cover the top surface of a traditional humbucker with a thin wood veneer. I'd probably drill holes for the pole pieces on the adjustable coil. Would this affect the pickup at all? Should I also drill holes for the slug side, even though they're already covered by the metal cover? I know this sounds elementary to most of you, but hey... Tnx.

I can’t imagine that a thin wood veneer would affect anything. Most veneers are 1/16” or less, with many fine furniture veneers available as thin as 1/48”. Some on the internet believe that wood on top of a pickup slightly alters the shape of the magnetic field that engulfs the strings. They believe they can hear a subtle difference, but I’ve never seen an evaluation offering proof or an explanation.

I wouldn’t bother with holes - a thin wood veneer is as transparent to EMF as a polka band is to Monk Just stay thinner than 1/16” and you should be fine. Pretty much any high quality self adhesive veneer will be 1/25” or less. Be aware that the adhesive on these is pretty sticky, so you need to be accurate in your placement.

Interestingly, trees that grow in soil with high concentrations of metals and metal salts can have significant amounts of them in the wood. Iron from clay soils would do this, for example. Some oak, elm, and ash trees grow well in clay soils and could have enough iron content to affect weak magnetic fields. But I don’t know of any examples of wood with enough metallic content in a thin slice to affect pickup function.

[Woody Sound]

I wouldn’t bother with holes - a thin wood veneer is as transparent to EMF as a polka band is to Monk Just stay thinner than 1/16” and you should be fine.

Thanks. My thinking about the holes is to still be able to adjust the poles.

[Sigmund451]

If it has poles holes are important

[Sam Sherry]

Or you could just splurge on a prepared set from Philadelphia Luthier Supply. They're cheap and attractive:



and they go great with an open-coil pickup cover

[Strat-itis]

They also have wood covers themselves..

[Woody Sound]

To Sam and Strat - Thanks, that would save a lot of time and measuring.

[Cunamara]

Man, this thread taught me something about trees I didn't know (metal content absorbed from the soil) and about products I didn't know existed. Thanks!