To Pot, or Not to Pot?

[PoorMan]

To this point I've not been potting my pickups, but I also suspect I've been winding my coils a bit tighter than most. Yesterday I wound some coils looser than usual (probably closer to what most of you gys are doing) and I wonder if I should pot them.

So I'm trying to get a general consensus...do you guys pot, or not?

(I realize I could pot after the fact if they are noisy, but I thought I'd check to see what others are doing)

Thanks,
Dave

[Spence]

Some I pot, some I don't but it depends on the pickup and the application.

[dazzlindino]

Smoke pot

[chevalij]

I pot them all. I'm not looking for controlled feedback, so I figure what the hell. Of course, I don't soak them for hours either. Quick dip, about 5-10 mins. Of course, I stick to strat and tele pups if that makes a difference.

[David Schwab]

I pot them all. I'm not looking for controlled feedback, so I figure what the hell.

I think unpotted pickups give you uncontrolled feedback! :D

If you don't get squealing, you can get the "good" feedback.

I had once instance where one of my unpotted bass pickups squealed... but I was leaning right against my amp. But guitar is different since it's often played with more gain.

I do pot the pickups I sell though, but I dip the coils in polyurethane. Probably something that wouldn't look good on a humbucker... but I haven't tried it.

I sell one custom pickup to a guy that played in a metal band. Because it was for a 9 string guitar, I didn't pot it so we could see if he liked it first.. he did, and never sent it back to me to be potted so I guess it's ok.

[Possum]

Just say NO to pot, makes your breath stink :-)

I've never potted buckers except the very first one I made. How do you get all that wax off, do you take the pole screws out when potting or pot with them in? I am getting real tired of microphonic covers and haven't really found a great solution. I tried that snot tape, it didn't work real well because it doesn't compress too well and then creates more voids in the cover and slugs so makes it worse. Using silicone messes up your bobbins real good if anyone ever opens it, it eats the plastic and turns the slugs green. Clamping which works best, over the slugs, spreads the edges of the cover out and looks bad. I think I'm going to try silly putty next, not kidding.....

[Dave Kerr]

Ever try this stuff? Stays soft for years, no idea if it's got any kind of corrosive stuff in it http://www.energyfederation.org/common/images/productfamilies/small/s_1223.jpg

[EtLa]

Using silicone messes up your bobbins real good if anyone ever opens it, it eats the plastic and turns the slugs green. Clamping which works best, over the slugs, spreads the edges of the cover out and looks bad. I think I'm going to try silly putty next, not kidding.....
I never had corrosion or eat problems with silicone maybe because I spray molding release agent first so that the silicone doesn't stick.

Anybody tried mastic?

[jonson]

Mentioned in a recent post a mastic which is also an auto panel adhesive. Comes from Germany called Sikaflex. Available in black or white and is used in a cartridge gun. Always avoided silicone as that stuff eats solder but this stuff won't but if you pot the whole pup with it in the cover you will never get it apart either and looks like a gibson black potted pickup when done.
Stops anythind moving around as the outside of coil is buried rock solid.

[kevinT]

I think I'm going to try silly putty next, not kidding.....

How about Double Bubble or Bazooka Bubble gum. Look at the sidewalks in any major city or under the cafeteria lunch table at any elementary school. Seems to stick like hell without any adverse effects...of course you may never get your covers off again:eek::D

[chevalij]

You could rename your pickups depending on the type of gum you use. Black Barts, Double Bubbles, the Double Mint twins when somebody buys a pair!

[Possum]

I think someone mentioned using melted wax just in the cover and not potting. Its worth a try, melt a little bit stick the pickup and push it together then solder it closed, it would fill the gaps and not make it hard to get the cover off again. The gap is pretty small and anything you put in there creates more gap sometimes. I've been using that lacey non slip rubber stuff you see in the hardware stores, it works pretty good but you still get some squeal if you're close to the amp....

[Sam Lee Guy]

I find RTV rubber, the kind model makers use for moulds works great. Warm up the cover so it sets quick, brush a little inside, push together and solder.
if you take the cover off, it just peels cleanly away, looks like it was never there! A little clay round the screw holes stops leakage but don't use plasticine - it'll stop the stuff setting.

[kevinT]

Seriously, what do you think about electrician's (or plumber's) putty...the stuff that electrians use to seal the opening around an electrical cable like the one going into a residence? I have a block of it that i bought years ago and it is still pliable. Even the putty on the exterior, after years in the elements, has retained it's pliability. I wouldn't think it would have any detrimental effects. I've seen it sealing holes in vinyl siding and it does't look as if it reacts with the siding.

[Possum]

I think wax is going to be the ticket for me, I tried it tonite, its relatively easy to do, I can't plug in the guitar tonite, too late, but just tapping on the slug side of the cover I can hear its solidified...

[kevinT]

I think wax is going to be the ticket for me, I tried it tonite, its relatively easy to do, I can't plug in the guitar tonite, too late, but just tapping on the slug side of the cover I can hear its solidified...

How did you do it....did you drip wax from a burning candle? Shavings?

[jonson]

Probably best way to go Possom, seems like a tried and tested method to me.
Has anyone ever tried Dental Wax. Bought in small sheets about a mill thick and can be cut to width and length. If you only needed to wax the outer coils,then, wrap it round the bobbin and warm it with a heat gun low setting just to hold the whole lot together.

[EtLa]

just tapping on the slug side of the cover I can hear its solidified...

That's the way I check the cover when I pot then if it doesn't tambourine then I'm pretty sure it won't squeal.

[Possum]

I just dip the cover in a vat of melted wax, upside down let it fill in and melt, swirl it around make sure the cover gets hot to keep it melted for awhile, then let most of it drain out but tilt the cover so the slug side has a tiny pool of wax, then pull it out and quickly push the pickup in, while tilted so the wax favors the slug side, let cool then solder it shut, then clean it up, I used a heat gun to reheat the cover to make it easier to clean wax off.

Dental wax or jeweler's waxes could be good but just dipping is real simple. Downside is you'll get some wax probably into the small hole in the bobbin where the coil shows through but you're not really potting and when the pickup hits the wax it solidifies pretty quickly anyway. To take it all apart just unsolder, heat the cover with heat gun and pull apart.

[PoorMan]

...but I'll get on board. :D

I mask the holes on the top of the cover with blue painters masking tape, flip it, put some wax shavings in it and heat it up with my wife's hair dryer. Then I let the wax cloud up, remove the tape and install it on the pickup...no mess on the top of the cover that way.

[Possum]

So you're the guy! Well, you're missing one point, you should be reheating the pickup when the cover is on so the wax will remelt and form itself into the voids and that should be done before you solder it closed. Maybe the wax is still soft when you're doing it your way, dunno, if it works thats all that matters. I'm doing it with the wax still liquid, the clean up isn't too bad, but still gott a do that part....

[Possum]

well I tried the pickups out and it got rid of most of the squeal but left just enough microphonics to sound good, at real loud volumes right in front of the amp it squeals, so this is what I was looking for. cool....

[Joe Gwinn]

Seriously, what do you think about electrician's (or plumber's) putty...the stuff that electrians use to seal the opening around an electrical cable like the one going into a residence? I have a block of it that i bought years ago and it is still pliable. Even the putty on the exterior, after years in the elements, has retained it's pliability. I wouldn't think it would have any detrimental effects. I've seen it sealing holes in vinyl siding and it does't look as if it reacts with the siding.Another possibility is the tape electricians used to pad mechanical splices before taping. For wiring, I use "Scotch 130C Linerless Rubber Splicing tape" made by 3M and available at Home Depot. It is very stretchy, one side is tacky, and will weld to itself where overlapped.

The range of such products from 3M are here: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MElectrical/Home/ProductsServices/Products/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20OES1_nid=G0WJDX8VT7be70Q1MK7 N3Ngl

The traditional alternative is "Rubber Mastic Tape" (Scotch 2228) which comes with a liner (wax paper) in the roll, to prevent premature self-welding. This is electricians' putty in tape form. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MElectrical/Home/ProductsServices/Products/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20OES1_nid=P8MFBM5Z1Zbe70Q1MK7 N3Ngl.

These tapes are intended to remain rubbery for decades, are compatible with a wide range of plastics, are cheap, and are easily cut into small enough pieces for use in pickups.

I would check for compatibility with hot wax, as the materials from which these tapes are made are sensitive to oil. Wax has bigger molecules than oil, but I would put a bit of tape in hot wax and keep it warm for a few days, to see if anything bad happens. (I know that normally the wax isn't hot for days. This intent is to accelerate any bad interaction.)

[PoorMan]

So you're the guy! Well, you're missing one point, you should be reheating the pickup when the cover is on so the wax will remelt and form itself into the voids and that should be done before you solder it closed. Maybe the wax is still soft when you're doing it your way, dunno, if it works thats all that matters. I'm doing it with the wax still liquid, the clean up isn't too bad, but still gott a do that part....

The wax is still soft enough I suspect it would be ok without reheating...but I reheat it anyway for good measure...I failed to mention that in my post. :D

[mick]

I don't wax my covers on , but I replaced a chrome one for someone else so I placed the pickup upside down on a rag that had been soaked in hot water , well wrung out of course..this was enough to keep the wax pliant enough to get the cover on securely , it worked really well , not sure I would try it will gold covers though.

Mick

[Spence]

Used beeswax to stop the squeeling but now I've got a buzzing sound.
Can't win.:confused:

[Possum]

Spence you should talk that up as a selling point and call them the STinger Set. "These Stingers buzz like a bee and sting like wasp, they buzz at a calibrated 60 cycle sine wave I have custom engineered into the quantum molecules of the pickups themselves in a secret metallurgic process I found in an old alchemical book several hundreds of years old, hidden in a secret recess in an old well in a nearby castle. Imagine the face of your audience when you plug your guitar in and you get an instant loud humming, buzzing tone that will set the stage for your sologing fireworks to follow. Yes these are five times the price of my regular pickups but very few players can afford the killer buzz saw STINGERS!!!!!!!"

[chevalij]

Are they going to be made with 40 year old special wire and imported Italian magnets? If not, I don't want any.

[kevinT]

Used beeswax to stop the squeeling but now I've got a buzzing sound.
Can't win.:confused:

so you got pigs and bees dancing and flying around in your pickups spence? You can always be sure you'll have plenty of grunt and sting to your tone.:D

I swear with the wax (parafin and bee's wax) that i purchased from a wax manufacturer and using my secret ratio (not the 80/20 mix), i can't tell that my pickups are potted...and they are quiet as a church mouse. The wax doesn't affect the tone whatsoever.

I'm not using grocery store canning wax. I purchased the two types directly from a industrial wax manufacturer and have had excellent results...using my deep fryer.;)

[Possum]

probably that micrcrystalline stuff, I think DiMarzio uses something like that, its kind of sticky/gooey if you have to work on one of those things. yuk...
bees wax is cool 'cause it smells like honey.......

[SteikBacon]

How about this.

Mount the pickup in the cover.
Screw the screws into the bobbin so the wax can enter through the holes.
Then warm up the top of the cover (not side or bottom) to keep the wax fluid so it will not stick to the cover (not yet).
Dip the tip of the pickup in the wax, just as deep so you get it where you want it.
And not too long so you´ll heat up the bobbin.

Then the wax wont go into the bobbin, its too cold, but it will stick to the top of the bobbin and the cover. And the hot cover should make the wax fluid enough so it get where it´s supposed to.

[Spence]

With my old wire and mystical magnets and my special wax mixture I have now developed and launced my Immac Buckers.

They make the hairs stand up on your neck and then rip them right off. :eek:

[kevinT]

probably that micrcrystalline stuff, I think DiMarzio uses something like that, its kind of sticky/gooey if you have to work on one of those things. yuk...
bees wax is cool 'cause it smells like honey.......

I'm pretty sure its regular parafin. They sent it to me in slab form. The Bee's wax came in small pellets.

I use a 3 to 1 mix (parafin to bees wax)....ooopps the cat is out of the bag....my secret wax mixture is now public info:eek::D This was a recommendation from Zhang. I don't know if my results are based on the ratios of the mixture or the quality of the waxes....I know that it works for me.

Both waxes cost a lot more than your granny's canning wax. The bee's wax was white (which i requested) instead of yellow which tells me that it was refined a bit more.