# Modstory: 8-string BKPs with plastic covers for a 2228



## loktide (Mar 11, 2010)

first off, major props to Mesh (djpharaoah) for finding a place where you can order EMG-style bass pickup plastic covers to retrofit an EMG808 (www.guitarjonesusa.com) 

BEFORE:






AFTER:







so, here's how the covers look like. pretty much exact the same dimensions as the EMG808s (EMG40 housing), but hollow (duh?). the pickups that are going into these are a set of BKP Coldsweats 








since the pickup's baseplate is too thick to fit directly into the covers, i ended up sawing off the lower 5mm of the housing to get a tight fit:


















here's the result:


















cheers


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## Isan (Mar 11, 2010)

you bastard ! 

Looks damn nice sir


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## lobee (Mar 11, 2010)

Yep, that's pretty cool. Congrats on being a winner.


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## vampiregenocide (Mar 11, 2010)

Oooh I might have to steal this idea.


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## Customisbetter (Mar 11, 2010)

looks cool but how does it sound?


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## Galius (Mar 11, 2010)

Neato. Might have to try this on my intrepid. I wonder if the pickup being covered by plactic affects the tone or output.


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## BigBaldIan (Mar 11, 2010)

Only one way to find out, try with and without I guess. Aesthetically though, top marks.


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## powergroover (Mar 11, 2010)

now everyone will wonder why this particular guitar with emg's sounded different(better) than any other else


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## Decipher (Mar 11, 2010)

Very cool! That will solve alot of people's issues with 8 string guitars and passive pups.


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## loktide (Mar 11, 2010)

Customisbetter said:


> looks cool but how does it sound?





Galius said:


> Neato. Might have to try this on my intrepid. I wonder if the pickup being covered by plactic affects the tone or output.



just like without the covers. (regular) plastic doesn't interact with magnetic fields like nickel or other metals used for regular pickup covers do 




powergroover said:


> now everyone will wonder why this particular guitar with emg's sounded different(better) than any other else




 

on a sidenote: the hate for EMG808 is largely overblown, imo. my only issue with the EMG808s making me want to try out something different was the fact that they're quite muddy on the low F#. 
i'm not super impressed by the cold sweats, but the low end is definitely clearer and tighter now


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## BigBaldIan (Mar 11, 2010)

loktide said:


> i'm not super impressed by the cold sweats, but the low end is definitely clearer and tighter now



Daft question, did you swap out all the pots as well?


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## tofumannen (Mar 11, 2010)

Very nice man. I actually thought about that aswell, but I dont have an RG2228 
Would be very nice to hear some clips


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## djpharoah (Mar 11, 2010)

Glad they worked my friend


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## splinter8451 (Mar 11, 2010)

That looks pretty hot. Could you get different colored covers?


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## I_infect (Mar 11, 2010)

Curious, did you have any problems with the BKP mounting ears? Did you have to trim those down as well, and any alignment issues with the ear screw holes on either the pickup or the cover?


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## technomancer (Mar 11, 2010)

Nice, glad to see those work with the 8 string BKPS


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## damigu (Mar 11, 2010)

looks good--it's always nice when you can do a pickup swap without making things look all weird.


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## MaKo´s Tethan (Mar 11, 2010)

wow!!! I wish to buy plastic covers...love how they look, but love passives too. awesome mod, looks like from factory.


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## Cheesebuiscut (Mar 11, 2010)

Finally! Its about time someone finally did this!

Oh and pickups kinda have plastic covers on them to begin with... adding more plastic doesn't effect the magnetic field at all since plastic isn't magnetic.


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## Apophis (Mar 12, 2010)

that was awesome, clever work


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## iondestroyer1527 (Mar 12, 2010)

thanks A LOT this is f'n awesome. i now how zero reson not to get the lundgren for the bridge of my LTD.


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## loktide (Mar 12, 2010)

thx dudes 




BigBaldIan said:


> Daft question, did you swap out all the pots as well?



passives with 25kOhm pots? no thx 




djpharoah said:


> Glad they worked my friend



thanks to you, man 




I_infect said:


> Curious, did you have any problems with the BKP mounting ears? Did you have to trim those down as well, and any alignment issues with the ear screw holes on either the pickup or the cover?



i had to trim down the mounting ears on the coldsweats a little to fit in the routes. other than that, the holes on the coldsweats match the ones from the EMG808s and the replacement covers perfectly.


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## loktide (Mar 12, 2010)

splinter8451 said:


> That looks pretty hot. Could you get different colored covers?



hm, not listed at GuitarJones. but maybe someplace else? you could also spray-paint them


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## BigBaldIan (Mar 12, 2010)

loktide said:


> passives with 25kOhm pots? no thx


 
Like I said daft question, but it's been known to happen. 
If you don't keep the Cold Sweats what's next on the list to try?


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## loktide (Mar 12, 2010)

BigBaldIan said:


> Like I said daft question, but it's been known to happen.
> If you don't keep the Cold Sweats what's next on the list to try?



lundgren M8 

i have a M7 in my 7680 (also 27" scale) and it's a COMPLETELY different pickup than the common BKP. the lundgren has a FUCKTON more output, gain and bite. BKPs are also cool, but are more dynamic and have a weird 'quacky' attack to them which i'm not used to. on the other hand, i love how the warpig sounds on my rg3120.

i'll record some clips first and'll see how the coldsweat's sit in a mix. that's my major concern actually


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## BigBaldIan (Mar 12, 2010)

loktide said:


> lundgren M8
> 
> i have a M7 in my 7680 (also 27" scale) and it's a COMPLETELY different pickup than the common BKP. the lundgren has a FUCKTON more output, gain and bite. BKPs are also cool, but are more dynamic and have a weird 'quacky' attack to them which i'm not used to. on the other hand, i love how the warpig sounds on my rg3120.
> 
> i'll record some clips first and'll see how the coldsweat's sit in a mix. that's my major concern actually


 
There's always the inevitable tweak phase after you get a new bit of kit, especially after swapping out pups. At least with you showing us this mod, passives now no longer have to look aesthetically blech.


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## ralphy1976 (Mar 12, 2010)

if i can chime in here for the M7. I have a slanted custom made M7 in my multiscale and it is quite impressive : 

clean tone, every note is heard, no matter where i am on the fretboard, no matter what volume. really lovely creaming tone at mid volume with a nice reverb, really nice

distorted, it's where it shines : the clarity is there but the attack is enormous, heavy palm muting with those give me the impression of a huge rock being thrown in the water, that big thud..awesome!!!

the output being big, you can hold a note for a long time, i find it also really good at translating subtle pitch changes, bends, vibrato..etc...

Honestly a real nice pickup...really curious to hear what loktide has got to say about the M8

ps : all this is with a Roland cube 20X (the x is important) and all settings at noon!!!


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## alvaro (Mar 12, 2010)

looks great! good job


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## AVH (Mar 12, 2010)

Nice job Locktide, very clean work! Thanks for showing us - this should be made a sticky in the tech section. 

I've been a Lundgren flagbearer/trumpeter for about 5 years now, using them myself and installing them for my customers and I can attest to all the attributes spoken of...except I want to bring everyone's attention to one aspect about the M-series that is misconcieved : the very high output. In actuality, the M's consistantly measure 13.0 to 13.8 ohms, which is med-high, while there are many much higher, measuring in the 16+ range. It's just in the way that they're wound and eq'd that gives the _impression_ of very high output. Regardless, it's one of my favorite pickups, and my go-to in 7 & 8 string guitars for high gain work. _Nothing_ gives you that 'djent' better.


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## Fzau (Mar 12, 2010)

Great idea, man! Looks really cool!

I wonder if there are any covers for EMG707s, I'd like to swap them for BKP in my Loomis


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## 6o66er (Mar 12, 2010)

Dude awesome! Thanks for posting this! I've been wondering about how to install passives in an RGA8 since I'm planning on picking one up in the near future. Very well done!


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## Fred (Mar 12, 2010)

Really nice cover-up job there, looks very tidy! As minor a detail as it is, whilst not being a massive fan of the pickups themselves I do like the EMG aesthetic, so that's pretty much a best of both worlds situation!


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## 7deadlysins666 (Mar 12, 2010)

Wow, those EMG casings are GREAT. That is bookmarked! Now, which ones would fit a 707 route?

possibly the DC35?


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## loktide (Mar 12, 2010)

alvaro said:


> looks great! good job





Dendroaspis said:


> Nice job Locktide, very clean work! Thanks for showing us - this should be made a sticky in the tech section.
> 
> I've been a Lundgren flagbearer/trumpeter for about 5 years now, using them myself and installing them for my customers and I can attest to all the attributes spoken of...except I want to bring everyone's attention to one aspect about the M-series that is misconcieved : the very high output. In actuality, the M's consistantly measure 13.0 to 13.8 ohms, which is med-high, while there are many much higher, measuring in the 16+ range. It's just in the way that they're wound and eq'd that gives the _impression_ of very high output. Regardless, it's one of my favorite pickups, and my go-to in 7 & 8 string guitars for high gain work. _Nothing_ gives you that 'djent' better.





6o66er said:


> Dude awesome! Thanks for posting this! I've been wondering about how to install passives in an RGA8 since I'm planning on picking one up in the near future. Very well done!





Fred said:


> Really nice cover-up job there, looks very tidy! As minor a detail as it is, whilst not being a massive fan of the pickups themselves I do like the EMG aesthetic, so that's pretty much a best of both worlds situation!




thx dudes 




Fzau said:


> Great idea, man! Looks really cool!
> 
> I wonder if there are any covers for EMG707s, I'd like to swap them for BKP in my Loomis





7deadlysins666 said:


> Wow, those EMG casings are GREAT. That is bookmarked! Now, which ones would fit a 707 route?
> 
> possibly the DC35?





yep, i believe the 707 uses the EMG 35 housing.


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## Samer (Mar 12, 2010)

Looks great, i wonder if only you and I have done this so far \m/


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## Guitarwiz2k (Mar 12, 2010)

loktide said:


> first off, major props to Mesh (djpharaoah) for finding a place where you can order EMG-style bass pickup plastic covers to retrofit an EMG808 (www.guitarjonesusa.com)
> 
> BEFORE:
> 
> ...


 Now that is some very good, very clean, excellent work. Thanks for the post and I hope to do the same with my RGA8, now I can have both worlds, active look, and a coil tap switch for passive sounds.


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## Euthanasia (Mar 12, 2010)

Wicked idea!!


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## Fzau (Mar 12, 2010)

loktide said:


> yep, i believe the 707 uses the EMG 35 housing.


 
Awesome! Now to find EMG 35 housings in Europe


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## yetti (Mar 12, 2010)

loktide said:


> yep, i believe the 707 uses the EMG 35 housing.



Sweet, now i can find something else for my H-207.


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## loktide (Mar 12, 2010)

Fzau said:


> Awesome! Now to find EMG 35 housings in Europe



i'm from germany and although i payed almost 25$ shipping, they arrived within two weeks


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## Fzau (Mar 12, 2010)

The shipping is 5 times the price of the cover 
Still manageable though!

Now to get enough money to buy BKP


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## philkilla (Mar 12, 2010)

Awesome. The DC35 should work great with my ran than. I used to have a EMG 81-7 in there which has been replaced by the outstanding M7 of course.

I would love to fill the unsitely gap!


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## djpharoah (Mar 17, 2010)

Thread has been copied and stickied in the Workbench Forum.


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## Philligan (Mar 17, 2010)

That looks awesome, man.
Did you have to do any extra routing to ground the BKPs? I want to do this to my Schecter Damien 8 (I'm thinking Q-Tuner and M8 ), but don't trust anyone around my area to do a route to the bridge, and I was wondering if there was a way around it.
Thanks man.


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## BigBaldIan (Mar 17, 2010)

djpharoah said:


> Thread has been copied and stickied in the Workbench Forum.


 
Cheers for that, I thought it was worth a sticky.


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## loktide (Mar 17, 2010)

Philligan said:


> That looks awesome, man.
> Did you have to do any extra routing to ground the BKPs? I want to do this to my Schecter Damien 8 (I'm thinking Q-Tuner and M8 ), but don't trust anyone around my area to do a route to the bridge, and I was wondering if there was a way around it.
> Thanks man.



nopes. the 2228 comes with a grounded bridge. at least mine did. no idea why ibaney did this, but it turned out really convenient


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