Different grades of Paraffin Make a Difference?

[David Schwab]

I thin my paraffin with Pure Liquid Paraffin used in Paraffin lamps.

I use basically the same mixture; paraffin and paraffin oil. No bees wax. I get it already mixed together as intended for paraffin warmers to stick your hands in.

It works great and I hear no difference between my pickups when they are potted or not, except for the squealing.

[marku52]

Measure the resonant frequency of a coil before and after potting. You will find that the dielectric constant of paraffin (between 2.1 and 2.5) will increase the winding C and lower the Fres of the coil. Hence, it could conceivably affect the tone. I know Jason Lollar has mentioned only potting some coils for 15 seconds so as to not affect the tone. This might be why....

[MORCILLO]

Measure the resonant frequency of a coil before and after potting. You will find that the dielectric constant of paraffin (between 2.1 and 2.5) will increase the winding C and lower the Fres of the coil. Hence, it could conceivably affect the tone. I know Jason Lollar has mentioned only potting some coils for 15 seconds so as to not affect the tone. This might be why....

But if you do that, and the PU is not at the same temperature than wax, you get a candle.... no?

[David Schwab]

I pot my pickups for 10 minutes. The wax goes all the way to the core. I hear no difference in tone potted or not, except for the lack of microphonics.

[marku52]

Yeah but if you measure the Fres before and after it will be lower after potting. Now it may well be that a change from 10khz to 8khz isn't audible, and it doesn't matter, but it is a real effect that I have measured.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

I haven't done a lot of a/b comparisons as I don't "sell" potting as a service to clients (I don't see it as necessary as some do), but I've found it depends on the form factor of the instrument. Some have a difference, some don't. Most of the time it isn't a big deal, but it is there sometimes and I definitely prefer unpotted humbuckers...

There must be something in those microphonics themselves. If you tap an unpotted humbucker, it is percussive enough to have a pitch and almost sound like a note, like a clean sounding drum with a good head. After potting, it is an indistinct thud. I can't say for sure that it influences the tone of the pickup, but it seems hard to ignore...

[marku52]

I recal Jason Lollar mentioning in one of his posts that some of his pups only get potted for 15 seconds (I think, working from memory here) b/c the microphonics of the pup add to the tone. Kinda makes sense in an amped environment, might add to sustain.

[David Schwab]

Maybe Jason will chime in here, but I would think in 15 seconds that the bobbins would not have gotten hot enough for the wax to do anything but sit on the surface of the coil.

When you first drop a coil in, the wax turns white on the surface because it has cooled. When the bobbin warms up then the wax can penetrate.

[marku52]

LIke I said, I was working from memory there, but the clear implication was that something less than a full impregnation would be achieved, and that some sonic benefit would accrue.