Baseplate for humbucker pickups

[Duotones]

I bought several anderson pups to replace older ones.

I found that the baseplates of humbucker pups are different from that of pups made in '90s.

The baseplate of old humbucker pickup (it's H3) seems to be made of copper, but that of new pup looks different. It's thicker and has black color.

What material do you use as a baseplate?

Thanks,

Jinwon Seo

[tom]

the old ones were .040" brass. the new ones are .090" black forbon, the same fiber the bobbins are made of. we like the idea of having a couple more threads on the mounting screws. we can also cut them on our laser, making it easier to do new models. on the guitars without mounting rings, it looks nicer too.

[Duotones]

the old ones were .040" brass. the new ones are .090" black forbon, the same fiber the bobbins are made of. we like the idea of having a couple more threads on the mounting screws. we can also cut them on our laser, making it easier to do new models. on the guitars without mounting rings, it looks nicer too.

Thank you for your reply, Tom.

I have several more questions. I'm really sorry for bothering you. :)

1. Can you tell me when you start to use different baseplate?

2. Do the change of baseplate result in tonal change?

3. Is new baseplate strong enough to stand the pressure from spring tubings?

I had chance to use Bill Lawrence pups and the baseplate of that pup was plastic. And failed to install that pickup 'cause they couldn't stand the pressure from springs.

Thanks,

Jinwon Seo

[tom]

we switched about a year ago.
not change in tone.
yes, strong enough. the spring or tubing does not flex the plate, and the added treads make it plenty strong enough. strat pickups have had the same material since the 50's.

[Duotones]

Thank you for info, Tom.

I've seen some guys saying that baseplate affects tone, but they (including some pickup manufacturers) had false belief if baseplate doesn't change in tone (I know that Seymour duncan uses nickel-silver plate and Dimarzio uses brass. )

Thanks,

Jinwon Seo

[tom]

cover material certainly does greatly effect the tone since it is between the strings and the pickup.