What's your take on PUs? Potted or unpotted

[Browneyes]

For the Pros... (Roadrunner, TL... etc...) What's your take on PUs you guys order?

I myself am a fan of unpotted but I want to know what everyone's take on it is.

Potted, unpotted or lightly outside potting.

I really need help on what the big dogs are ordering lately. I wish I knew how to use the Poll feature.

Thanks.

 

[refin]

If wound right,unpotted for me.............

 

[Zhangliqun]

If the wax is mixed thin and you don't leave the pu in the pot too long, it should have zero effect on tone.

 

[Johnny Q]

If the wax is mixed thin and you don't leave the pu in the pot too long, it should have zero effect on tone.

I can attest to this - Zhang potted a bucker for me and zero squeal and no difference in a before and after a/b test......

And I have "dog ears."

 

[Browneyes]

granted it may have zero effect on tone.. however when you place an order, what is generally your preference?

 

[Leña_Costoso]

potted

 

[Sean French]

For humbuckers I'll take unpotted every time.

 

[rbehm]

For humbuckers I'll take unpotted every time.

+1 ...everytime!:dude:

 

[J.D.]

Unpotted for handmade PAF replicas, potted for mass produced aftermarket or higher gain.

 

[Zhangliqun]

granted it may have zero effect on tone.. however when you place an order, what is generally your preference?

It does have to be done right. Too much time and/or not enough beeswax and it will definitely dull both tone and output. I learned the hard way...

 

[Classic]

Unpotted!!

I've played potted and I love unpotted.

 

[garywright]

If wound right,unpotted for me.............

+1 ..but hey, I'm not a pro player so what the heck do I know ! ..all I've got to offer is a pair of clean ears ..a bunch of guitars and many years of playing ( but then again not for a paycheck )

 

[Martin2]

Depends on the application. High gain, potted, low gain unpotted.

 

[Dave G]

Angus & Malcom wax pot their PUs and we all know what a crappy tone they get.

I have some 70s T-tops in my SG/Les Paul. They squealed so I potted them myself. No more squeal, great tone & very controlable feedback.

 

[geetarpicker]

I potted the original double white PAFs in my burst back in the mid 80s. Actually I even untapped the coils (!), potted, soldered the covers, then potted again. I was pretty brave when I was 25. Those were days when it wasn't the end of the world if it didn't go well. Still, I'm happy with the tone ever since and NO uncontrolled feedback till this day. When playing through my Trainwreck amp, potting is a must.

Here is a clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2_12Ler9B8

 

[Humbuck]

Unpotted for handmade PAF replicas, potted for mass produced aftermarket or higher gain.

My sentiments exactly.:salude

 

[Gold Tone]

Unpotted always for humbuckers

 

[Occam]

Depends on the application. High gain, potted, low gain unpotted.

Exactly...depends on your gain and volume. I have to have well potted pickups or it'll just be uncontrollably piercing feedback but I do play louder than most.

 

[Minibucker]

I never play super-high gain, so when I get humbuckers, I at least like some light potting on the coils/bobbins themselves to keep things tidy, but I put the covers on myself using a padded c-clamp...nice and snug so when you tap them, they feel and sound like a solid piece of iron...i.e. no sound of resonance in terms of hollow spaces between the cover and coils/bobbins. So in that sense there's no need for more potting as there's no real hollow spaces between the pickup and covers to cause feedback...at least on clean to medium gain/drive settings.

 

[GuitarDean]

I like my pickups to be just like Otis Campbell... Slightly potted, all the time!