Telecaster anti-microphonic tips...

[John Carlsen]

Hey guys-

I've been scratching my head about a telecaster that belongs to a friend of mine. I recently made a set of pickups for it, and have been scratching my head about the microphonics. Everything is in place as far as the construction of the pickups (non-threaded forbon, wax-potted with the baseplate and pickup cover, etc), but I still hear fairly loud noise when I change the position of the pickup selector. I read a couple of tips on a site called 300 guitars and wanted to run it by you guys. The two tips that are relevant to me are, to affix the baseplate to the bottom of the bridge pickup with silicone sealer, and then the one that I was most concerned about was to use rubber cement to help seal the bridge assembly to the body. The only problem is that I'm a little concerned about what the rubber cement will do to the tele body. Anywho, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

John

Here's the link to what I read: http://www.300guitars.com/articles/e...ur-telecaster/

[jrfrond]

First of all, Billy Penn of 300Guitars is a personal friend of mine, and one of the most knowledgeable Tele guys there is, so what he says is definitely worth a shot.

The rubber cement mutes the bridge vibrations, but the REAL problem stems from the fact that the magnetic field of the pickup "reads" the bridge plate quite well, as it is steel and hence, magnetic.

Because the bridge plate interacts with and diffuses the magnetic field of the pickup, it is part and parcel of the Teles' sound. If you want to eliminate this totally, you can switch to a brass bridge, but this changes the bridge pickup tone because it then has the magnetic field all to itself. It's a more focused, midrangey tone, which BTW is one of Keith Richards' secrets. The OTHER way to curtail this to a good degree is to use a half-plate design, like the GE Smith Tele.

[big_teee]

Hey guys-

I've been scratching my head about a telecaster that belongs to a friend of mine. I recently made a set of pickups for it, and have been scratching my head about the microphonics. Everything is in place as far as the construction of the pickups (non-threaded forbon, wax-potted with the baseplate and pickup cover, etc), but I still hear fairly loud noise when I change the position of the pickup selector. I read a couple of tips on a site called 300 guitars and wanted to run it by you guys. The two tips that are relevant to me are, to affix the baseplate to the bottom of the bridge pickup with silicone sealer, and then the one that I was most concerned about was to use rubber cement to help seal the bridge assembly to the body. The only problem is that I'm a little concerned about what the rubber cement will do to the tele body. Anywho, what do you guys think?

Thanks!

John

Here's the link to what I read: Telecaster Bridge Pickup Feedback Reduction Tips - Billy Penn's 300Guitars.com : Billy Penn's 300Guitars.com

Usually Metal covers, and metal baseplates are the biggest problems with Tele Microphonics.
I know you said that you wax potted the base plate.
On rewinds I have found that fender put a piece of paper tape over the magnets under the base plate.
When I pot the bridge I put the screws in the base plate to hold the base plate secure while potting.
Then I gently take the screws out after potting, being careful not to loosen the wax.
On the neck I put a piece of paper tape over the magnets, before I put the cover on.
Then I pot the pickup with the cover on.
That usually cures the microphonics with tele pickups.
Good Luck,
Terry