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Here are some parts of the ToneQuest interview with Robert Randolph. My comments are below.
http://www.lollarguitars.com/Articles/TQRNov06.pdf
Unpotted pickups usually have a funkiness about them an extra vibe or presence that disappears once you use wax potting or a solvent-based film coating like shellac.
I can tell very quickly if a pickup is microphonic, and I like that sound. It really belongs on a Telecaster. I wind my coils pretty tight and use minimal potting, and in the past I never used potting.
You can pot a pickup so completely that it produces a very dull sound with no liveliness to it. Wax will dampen microphonics pretty efficiently, and the film coating used in late 60s Fender pickups will have less of an effect. Potting also helps hold the pickup together, keeping the outside layer of the coil from shifting over time and becoming more microphonic, which is pretty common with older pickups.
Potting penetration its all got to be regulated if you want consistency with the level of microphonics present. You have to time how long the pickup is being potted, regulating the pre-potting temperature of the coil and the wax. You also need to use a vacuum set to a specific strength for specific penetration of the coil.
My comments
1. If the coil is wound tight, it appears that only the outer layer can be microphonic. The inner layers are compressed by the layers on top of them. This prevents them from being microphonic.
2. It appears that microphonic pickups can be desirable on Fender guitars.
3. It appears that microphonic pickups are not desirable or do not affect the sound much on Gibson guitars and that heavily potted (non-microphonic) pickups are OK on Gibson guitars.
4. I am skeptical about needing a vacuum chamber to pot pickups in.
Please comment.
http://www.lollarguitars.com/Articles/TQRNov06.pdf
Unpotted pickups usually have a funkiness about them an extra vibe or presence that disappears once you use wax potting or a solvent-based film coating like shellac.
I can tell very quickly if a pickup is microphonic, and I like that sound. It really belongs on a Telecaster. I wind my coils pretty tight and use minimal potting, and in the past I never used potting.
You can pot a pickup so completely that it produces a very dull sound with no liveliness to it. Wax will dampen microphonics pretty efficiently, and the film coating used in late 60s Fender pickups will have less of an effect. Potting also helps hold the pickup together, keeping the outside layer of the coil from shifting over time and becoming more microphonic, which is pretty common with older pickups.
Potting penetration its all got to be regulated if you want consistency with the level of microphonics present. You have to time how long the pickup is being potted, regulating the pre-potting temperature of the coil and the wax. You also need to use a vacuum set to a specific strength for specific penetration of the coil.
My comments
1. If the coil is wound tight, it appears that only the outer layer can be microphonic. The inner layers are compressed by the layers on top of them. This prevents them from being microphonic.
2. It appears that microphonic pickups can be desirable on Fender guitars.
3. It appears that microphonic pickups are not desirable or do not affect the sound much on Gibson guitars and that heavily potted (non-microphonic) pickups are OK on Gibson guitars.
4. I am skeptical about needing a vacuum chamber to pot pickups in.
Please comment.
Comment