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What's your take on PUs? Potted or unpotted

spidey

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Nov 21, 2003
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3,265
converted from potted to unpotted about 2 years ago - way more 'alive' sounding. Fills the room now!
 

TomGuitar

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Apr 28, 2005
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3,700
Back in the day, I always thought I sounded better potted, until I heard the tapes unpotted.
 

Todd Louis

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Aug 7, 2002
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14,526
I like UN Potted.. Much more ofe everything. I never have any problems with Micro phonics.

Now I did play a set of Will's WB's PU's that where slitly potted and I did here thee wax right away BUT they still sounded Great..

But Again UN Potted is the way to go for me
 

WBPickups

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Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
154
I like my pickups to be just like Otis Campbell... Slightly potted, all the time!
ed.jpg

:lol that was funny Dean! :salude

I feel that correctly potting pickups does not change the overall tone but more so the reverberation of the coils. If you lightly pot the outside coils and not fully saturate (Vacuumed potting/cooking) the pickup. You have the best of both worlds to me. It all does falls on to what the player is used too though. Some have come to use the reverberated natural, open sound feedback of a un-potted pickup to their advantage and with great success. But some just can't seem to control/get use too the pickup's micro-phonic character. They also make the mistake playing the un-potted pickup facing a 100 Watt Stack cranked when playing. Ouch! If you as the player have gotten used to them. Then I can see why you wouldn't like the potted pickup and vice versa for those who do. But I don't feel that they are tonally different. Just they reverberate differently.... I tend to like both for different situations and needs.

Also, if you decide to pot a pickup at home, remember to not cook them. Unlike what others might say. I feel that COOKING does mess with the copper wire and change the tone/the wind of the pickup at that point. When I say cooking them, all day in heat that is higher that 150 degrees..I know this from my mistakes. The wire does expand and contract when over heated over a long period and then cooled. So if you decide to pot them at home, do so with low temps (I only heat my wax between 141-150) and only wax them for about 15 minutes, 20 tops. That's all it should take and it won't mess with the wind.
 
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J.D.

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May 24, 2006
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10,030
When I use wax on PAF clone type pickups, I prefer just a tiny bit of wax between the magnet and baseplate, and then between the magnet and coils, just to keep a loose fit from moving around. I feel it's more important to get the assembly correct and everything level and secure than to goop up everything with wax to compensate for a sloppy job. Then, when installing covers, clamp them firmly and give a nice hot dot of solder on each side. THEY WILL NOT FEEDBACK. I have done plenty of complete wax pots on assembled pickups and that works great, but IMO has a subtle effect on the tone somehow.
 
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Gold Tone

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Apr 2, 2002
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When I use wax on PAF clone type pickups, I prefer just a tiny bit of wax between the magnet and baseplate, and then between the magnet and coils, just to keep a loose fit from moving around. I feel it's more important to get the assembly correct and everything level and secure than to goop up everything with wax to compensate for a sloppy job. Then, when installing covers, clamp them firmly and give a nice hot dot of solder on each side. THEY WILL NOT FEEDBACK. I have done plenty of complete wax pots on assembled pickups and that works great, but IMO has a subtle effect on the tone somehow.

I agree 100% with you word for word. I too have taken apart many a humbucker and have found that simply waxing the bottom and top surface of the magnet to have it fixed in position is all that is needed. Rebuilding the pickup using clamps to make sure everything is nice and tight and NO you will NOT HAVE FEEDBACK. Waxing coils is overkill and death to a PAF tone IMHO and many other PAF afficiando's opinion.
 

Browneyes

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Jun 22, 2006
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6,135
I agree 100% with you word for word. I too have taken apart many a humbucker and have found that simply waxing the bottom and top surface of the magnet to have it fixed in position is all that is needed. Rebuilding the pickup using clamps to make sure everything is nice and tight and NO you will NOT HAVE FEEDBACK. Waxing coils is overkill and death to a PAF tone IMHO and many other PAF afficiando's opinion.

I have never seen a magnet that needs to be kept in a fixed position. All my pickups have always had the magnets secure in place with NO room. EVEN if was was about to wax them a bit.

:photos
 

Gold Tone

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Apr 2, 2002
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I have never seen a magnet that needs to be kept in a fixed position. All my pickups have always had the magnets secure in place with NO room. EVEN if was was about to wax them a bit.

:photos


Don't feel like taking apart a pickup to show it but it's a thin film of wax on both sides of the magnet to keep it from moving. By 'moving' we don't mean movement you could actually see. It's ultra high frequency vibration and you DON'T want it. We are not talking 'room' to move or even spaces to fill. Just squash any vibration of the magnet on the base plate.

By eliminating this, and rebuilding the pup tightly you have eliminated virtualy any microphonic feedback.
 
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Browneyes

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Jun 22, 2006
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GT, which pickups are you reffering to? I have WCR, T60s and WBs. I don't see anything that would indicate the magnet moving in any direction nor do I think the guitar vibrates enough to cause the magnet and baseplate to rattle. I've flipped alot of magnets too!

I'd love to know more in case I've missed something. Thanks!
 

Gold Tone

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Apr 2, 2002
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Unpotted PAF style pickups of any brand. Again, it's not a movement you could 'see'. There is no rattleing. Even if the pup magnet is tight in the pup, unless it is fixed to the baseplate it will vibrate. Your guitar vibrating or not does not cause microphonic feedback......it's the volume you play at and the resulting soundwaves that cause the vibration. It hits a resonant frequency and WAM! Ultra high frequency vibration is as visible to us as the sound comming from a speaker. Don't think of it as a large movement or as something you could find 'Aha!' when you open up a pickup. Think of it as the tiniest movement.....1000's of an inch at ultra high speed......this is the nasty.
 

Falcon_52

Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
72
I like well-made unpotted humbuckers just as well as potted. I've got a set of Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers in my Les Paul that won't start feeding back unless I'm standing in front of a Marshall Super Lead halfstack, which I don't do very often. I think that's a pretty good benchmark in terms of build quality. They are wonderful pickups.

Before that, I had a set of '57 Classics (potted) in the same guitar and the sound was very similar. I think both sets are excellent pickups.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Noel
 

roadrunner

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Aug 25, 2001
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6,835
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.

No pot since '82:hee

Oh... I like un-potted pickups only.
 

JoeC

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Oct 25, 2019
Messages
92
I think the tonal difference is very small. But you feel it more on the attack. Unpotted feels more connected to the playing.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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5,657
For my use with my fire breathing high gain Marshall 2555X's I need wax potted pickups . No exceptions . I have also found with the level of volume I use that I am really not losing any highs to my ears . Plus the ThroBak 101 + pickups I use with my Les Paul's and Marshall's it's a perfect marriage and delivers a real mid range beast of tone and is perfect for my needs . With un potted pickups for myself it is too much of a battle with feedback ,along with the thinner tone . This works for me and is a personal choice .
 
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