HELP: Pup cover pole-screw spacing?

[Turbozag]

Well, I'm still trying to figure out how to obtain the correct cover to fit the bridge pickup on my 1990 Les Paul Classic 1960 etc etc.

As you know, the Classics come without pup covers from the factory. I converted mine to all gold hardware (see my avatar) and decided to add the gold pup covers as well.

Evidently, there are 2 sets of hole spacing that are used for humbucker pickups. Maybe more?

Can anyone give me a Gibson part number for the cover that will fit?

I will measure the two different hole spacings and post them later.

But let it be known that not all pickup pole-screw hole-spacings are the same on at least the bridge full-size factory Humbuckers.

BTW, I have went through 2 new covers that had the wrong spacing. One I opened from the original Gibson packaging and was labeled "bridge".

 

[58Lover]

A stock 1990 Classic will have bridge-spaced 500T and neck-spaced 496R. You would need the PRPC-020 and PRPC-025.

Hope dat helps!

 

[cndoman]

what 58 said, but be careful, I have a set of gold 57 classic and classic + pickups and they both have the neck spacing. However this may be something that was only indigenous to the GOLD 57 classic + pickups. I put nickel pup covers on my 2001 classic and they were indeed one bridge and one neck spacing.

 

[Turbozag]

Thanks 58Lover.
Are those part numbers for the GOLD covers?
And which number was for the bridge cover?

Thanks!

 

[cndoman]

Gibson refers to it as--- PRPC 025 GOLD.---this is the bridge cover.

 

[BrianGWN]

what 58 said, but be careful, I have a set of gold 57 classic and classic + pickups and they both have the neck spacing. However this may be something that was only indigenous to the GOLD 57 classic + pickups.

58L might be able to confirm, but I think the idea is that ONLY the modern bridge position pickups have the wider pole spacing, so only the 500T, 498T, and the not-so-common 490T. That wider spacing is about 2 and 1/16 inches between the center of the outer E string poles.
With the other modern pickups, 490R and 496R plus the various pups of a more vintage flavour '57 Classic or Burstbuckers, I expect they should all be consistent with the traditional pole spacing, about 1 and 15/16 inches from E to E.

 

[Turbozag]

FOUND IT!

Wow, great info! Funny none of the Gibson dealers I visited knew this! But I did find the fitting cover!

Just wanted to post this as a data point....

After hitting nearly every music store in town, I finally found the correct pickup cover to fit my Classic GT (which comes from factory with no covers).

Turns out "All Parts" covers have the correct pole-screw hole spacing for "older" Humbuckers. I had to buy a pair to get the one, but it was worth it.

ALL of the original Gibson covers I tried had the newer hole spacing.