dear someone from G&L, I have the pickup cover blues.

[neutralomen]

I know that some G&L employees are members here, and I'm hoping my years-long sob story will bring a tear to their eye, and will maybe help me find some answers!

I had an ASAT special deluxe made in 2012. I've had it ever since, and I think it's a thing of beauty.

At the time, I asked for them to put a cavalier pickup in the bridge, on the off chance they could still make them. I knew it was a long shot, and as predicted, they couldn't do it.

No big deal, I thought. I began searching for a vintage cavalier pickup, and within a couple of years, I found one.



Since those covers only came in black, I spray painted mine white. For a day or so, it was a dream come true.

But notice the corner of the bridge pickup. My sweat began corroding the white away!

I'm getting a replacement neck(they finally make the equivalent of a modern strat neck. The one they made is very well-crafted, but a little too thick for my taste), and I took it as an opportunity to take it off, and re-paint it.

It's taken me forever, but I've got most of the paint scraped off.



The long short of it is, this whole ordeal has been such a pain. This time around, I will coat the paint in a clear gloss, and hope that does the trick. However, if I do this, screw it back on, and get it all set up, and the white starts to melt again, I'm going to lose my mind!

Then it occurred to me. While I totally understand that they no longer manufacture angled offset MFD humbuckers, I think it might be totally reasonable that they could produce a white cover for me. Theoretically, it's just a matter of getting the mold from a storage bin, and pouring white plastic into it.

I had my dealer ask them, and again, they said no.

I am here now, pleading in the interest of "ask, and you shall receive."

You guys have got to have the old molds for those Cavalier covers! It would mean the WORLD to me for G&L to throw some white plastic in the old mold and press me a white cover for this Cavalier humbucker.

I'm willing to pay an obscene amount for this service. Within reason, you can name your price! It's been a thorn in my side for years, and I'm hoping that I strike a noise-cancelled chord with some G&L personnel who have felt the "95% of the way to your dream guitar" blues.

I know, another long shot, but, you miss all the shots you don't take, right?

Thank you for reading.

Your afflicted, but loyal customer,
Blake

[jdavies]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

[neutralomen]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

I have, yes. They needed a 3d model, which I don't have the means to produce with any accuracy.

[dalto]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

I have, yes. They needed a 3d model, which I don't have the means to produce with any accuracy.

Couldn't you send them the original?

[neutralomen]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

I have, yes. They needed a 3d model, which I don't have the means to produce with any accuracy.

Couldn't you send them the original?

I haven't found any services that do that as of yet. All of the popular ones at least, require you to submit a 3d model.

I guess if I had specific dimensions of all the measurements I could make one. All I know is they're 3.5 inches length-wise, and 1 inch wide. 1 and 12/16' tall. It'll be a pain to get every single dimension. MAYBE if the fine folks at G&L won't grant my christmas miracle, maybe someone can provide a blueprint for the cover?

Like I said in my original post, this has been bumming me out for years. =[

[Craig]

The G&L Magnetic Field Design HG-2R "Angled-Offset" humbucking pickups were only used from 1983-1986. They were only used in the Cavalier and some Interceptors models.
So, any of the existing molds for the covers were likely destroyed and discarded. G&L did not (and still does not) make the pickup covers in house. And all covers for this pickup
were made in the past were black so you will not find a white one.

Since you have already contact G&L directly and also through a dealer, and received an answer that they will not make theses covers, you need to try another source, such as a 3D modeler.
Your other option would be to find a white paint/coating which will hold up to palm sweat and have our cover repainted.

I see no other option.

[neutralomen]

The G&L Magnetic Field Design HG-2R "Angled-Offset" humbucking pickups were only used from 1983-1986. They were only used in the Cavalier and some Interceptors models.
So, any of the existing molds for the covers were likely destroyed and discarded. G&L did not (and still does not) make the pickup covers in house. And all covers for this pickup
were made in the past were black so you will not find a white one.

Since you have already contact G&L directly and also through a dealer, and received an answer that they will not make theses covers, you need to try another source, such as a 3D modeler.
Your other option would be to find a white paint/coating which will hold up to palm sweat and have our cover repainted.

I see no other option.

Well, I figure it's worth one last shot because, just because one representative tells my guitar retailer one thing, doesn't mean there isn't a chance someone else from G&L might see this and want to help me out. Do we know for a fact legacy molds were destroyed? If so, how many G&L personnel have knowledge to that effect? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.

I know these are long shots, but I'm just trying to take them nonetheless.

[Al Evans]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

I have, yes. They needed a 3d model, which I don't have the means to produce with any accuracy.

Couldn't you send them the original?

I haven't found any services that do that as of yet. All of the popular ones at least, require you to submit a 3d model.

I guess if I had specific dimensions of all the measurements I could make one. All I know is they're 3.5 inches length-wise, and 1 inch wide. 1 and 12/16' tall. It'll be a pain to get every single dimension. MAYBE if the fine folks at G&L won't grant my christmas miracle, maybe someone can provide a blueprint for the cover?

Like I said in my original post, this has been bumming me out for years. =[

Have you tried doing a web search for "3D scanning services"? It looks to me like there are a lot of places who can make a 3D model for you.

--Al Evans

[neutralomen]

Have you investigated getting it done on a 3d printer?

I have, yes. They needed a 3d model, which I don't have the means to produce with any accuracy.

Couldn't you send them the original?

I haven't found any services that do that as of yet. All of the popular ones at least, require you to submit a 3d model.

I guess if I had specific dimensions of all the measurements I could make one. All I know is they're 3.5 inches length-wise, and 1 inch wide. 1 and 12/16' tall. It'll be a pain to get every single dimension. MAYBE if the fine folks at G&L won't grant my christmas miracle, maybe someone can provide a blueprint for the cover?

Like I said in my original post, this has been bumming me out for years. =[

Have you tried doing a web search for "3D scanning services"? It looks to me like there are a lot of places who can make a 3D model for you.

--Al Evans

I suppose I could try that.

as it happens, the folks at rio grande are willing to make me a cover, although it'll probably be a one of a kind thing, because it'll be a soapbar, but made for their ASAT hum, not an MFD. At any rate, if I want to switch to rio grande, that's a possibility.

Anyone know the difference in sound between rio grande asat humbuckers and Hg-2 MFD hums??

[geoff douglas]

Isnt a quality 2 pak paint durable enough to handle this?

[neutralomen]

Isnt a quality 2 pak paint durable enough to handle this?

historically, no paint has bonded to this plastic very well. even if it does, the problem is sweat. ive tried repainting it today and it was kind of a disaster. youd think a hunk of plastic wouldnt be such a saga

[geoff douglas]

Im no painter but i believe with the correct primer designed for plastics and a 2 pak final finish that the result would be better than what your currently doing. I would strongly advise a trip to a decent paint store for their advice.

[Aetrox]

what is the update? I am curious as to what happened.

Just off the top of my head, I would have suggested XIM primer, that stuff sticks to glass! As well as a paint that I think is still available, not sure, but it is/was a spray paint made by sherwin williams that was intended to paint appliances. A very hard, high abrasion resistant stuff called, you guessed it, "appliance paint"

I gotta know!

hope it went well

[JagInTheBag]

Have you considered having the pup cover you have, vinyl wrapped? Car customizers do this all the time. Also, perhaps plastic-dip could be another option, or hyrdographics- both used on automotive trim parts. Any of these options will be more durable than spray paint.

[neutralomen]

Have you considered having the pup cover you have, vinyl wrapped? Car customizers do this all the time. Also, perhaps plastic-dip could be another option, or hyrdographics- both used on automotive trim parts. Any of these options will be more durable than spray paint.

the problem is, it's hard to get the original paint off without scraping the surface. it's pretty banged up and lumpy. I just need them to remake these damn pickups. They are SO close with the skyhawk platform but now that they're releasing a skyhawk HH with PAFs soon, I doubt they'll reissue the cav. SUCh a bummer.

[Rbert0005]

The molding house that I used to work at charged 160 bucks an hour for press time. That's not counting material or the.mold.

Bob

[neutralomen]

The molding house that I used to work at charged 160 bucks an hour for press time. That's not counting material or the.mold.

Bob

What's the company?