Guitar pickup covers???

[SHRED]

I have a 1979 Les Paul Custom.
The pickup covers were removed before I bought it.

Is there any tonal difference in having them off? I am considering getting another set and putting them back on.

Thanks

[toddzilla]

1. just cosmetic

[dbt]

2. I could never hear a difference.

I took the covers off my beloved P-90s just to expose the wiring to the overall funk of the dives I played in. Can't say to this day whether it made a real difference or if it was just Dumbo's feather.

[Pepperbelly]

3. I think it matters because ...

it alters the shape of the mag field. I have covers on one of my guitars ... a Dearmond while my son has a guitar with identical pickups sans covers. Mine sounds a bit more metal in o.d. while his sounds a bit more bluesy.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Read My Post, Pep

It doesn't affect the mag field at all. Electromagnetic fields aren't dissipated that way. The only thing that matters is distance.
The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Physics Says No

The pickup covers are either plastic or metal. The plastic ones are amagnetic, so the magentic field passes through them completely undisturbed. The plastic can't dampen the field at all.

If they're metal, (even if paramagnetic), the become part of the magnetic field, which makes their presence irrelevant.

So, no matter what the covers are, it doesn't affect the sound. If someone tells you they hear the difference, they're imagining it.
The Professor