551. What is Potting?
Potting either by a special wax or epoxy solutions are commonly used in guitar and bass pickups to help reduce unwanted microphonic feedback and reduce tampering of the electrical components within the pickup assembly. I like to wax pot pickups with a process I developed called “DunSqueal”. It is a system that quickly removes all the bubbles and fills the voids within the pickup at a quick rate to reduce the pickup from being exposed to too high of a temperature that can cause many problems. I’ve had questions like, “If they can fly a man to the moon, why can’t they make a pickup that doesn’t feedback?” Well, the player doesn’t take into consideration all the other contributions that also enhance feedback within the pickup and parts of the instrument. Show me a microphone that you can place in front of and amplified speaker that doesn’t feedback! Many players are using overdrives, pre-amps and play close to the speakers at 200 watts per channel, running stereo with monitors 2 feed in front of them...and your pickups squeal...??? Well you need to look at the situation and work on the problem one at a time.

552. What are hot waxing precautions?
Probably the biggest precaution is potting pickups with plastic bobbins for too long in too hot of a wax solution. Pickups need to be agitated quickly as they are submerged in a wax solution and should be done by a qualified repairman. Using hot wax can be very dangerous and should not be done especially on a home stove. There are products designed specially for wax potting and with control temperatures and instructions. Leaving a pickup in a hot wax for too long can cause the pickup to melt and distort. The coil winding is under much tension and as the bobbin heats, the coil wants to squeeze the inner walls of the pickups and can change the pole spacing and tolerances in the pickup. Please let the qualified repairman do it and he will be responsible for the product.

553. What are other potting solutions?
There are various types of commercial and industrial wax potting solutions with different melting temperatures and hardness. Some wax is very hard and some are soft and contain bee’s wax. Other potting solutions can be varnishes, both commercial and industrial with different drying times. The potting solutions should be used that will do little harm to the components used in making a pickup. Some potting solutions can damage plastics and discolor the plastics.

554. What are the downfalls of potting pickups?
I prefer wax potting over epoxy potting because you can repair a broken pickup when potted in wax and usually throw away the one that is epoxied. You can repair epoxied pickups in some cases but they are difficult to take apart and the chemicals needed to remove the epoxy will usually eat away at components such as plastic bobbins or covers. Another downfall of potting with epoxy is the solution take time to dry and usually dry from the outside first leaving the inside still liquid. In time the epoxy inside could seep out into the cavity or make a mess inside the instrument. Epoxy is known to shrink and if the solution is in contact with the bare magnet wire there is a chance the wire can break. As the epoxy shrinks, it can pull the fine magnet wire or connections and can cause the pickup to stop working. I’ve seen this happen often especially when instruments are in hot and cold environments.

555. What are the pro's and con's of potting a pickup?
The important thing with potting pickups, if done right, it will help keep the pickup from feeding back like a microphone at higher volumes. The downfall of potting pickups is if it’s not done properly, your pickup can be ruined. Wax that is too hot can distort the bobbins which in turn can make the pickup sound bad. Too much heat can demagnetize the magnets and if the pickup gets too hot, the wax can drip out and off of it.

556. Does wax permeate epoxied coils that feedback?
At times when a pickup is epoxied it is difficult for the hot wax to penetrate the voids in a pickup. At times the wax will help solidify any movement in components that could vibrate and help eliminate the majority of the feedback. Playing at high volumes and especially using overdrives will cause all kinds of feedback within the instrument and other hardware besides the pickups. Any ferrous component in the pickups such as loose pole pieces, springs, height adjust screws, guitar strings used as ground straps within the instrument can cause interference with the pickups and even feedback as well as acoustic feedback common on hollowbody instruments and ones with hollow cavities.

557. What is the best type of wax to use?
It’s best to contact a good source for industrial potting waxes. Go to the library and look under wax in a book called “The Thomas Register”. They have all kinds of sources for the many types of wax. Get catalogs from other suppliers and start to understand the many items available. I don’t like using commercial candle wax because when it dries hard it has a gloss surface or has a fragrance of some type. Canning waxes have a surface texture I don’t care for either. I like a duller wax surface and it looks better on a pickup. I suggest letting a qualified repairman do the wax potting of a pickup. Most guitar companies would be happy to wax pot your pickups. Give them a call.

558. What is the dark waxy material on my old Fender pickups?
Leo Fender used an industrial wax that included lamp-black. I believe using lamp black which is a form of carbon is conductive and might add to the sound of the older pickups. It’s just a thought but it was also used to identify pickups that have been completed and to cover the lighter string used to wrap coils. The early Broadcaster, No-Caster, Telecaster, Esquire and single coil Precision Bass pickups all used the string and always didn’t cover the enamel wire. The plain enamel was dark and the string was lighter being wrapped around the coil for protection. You could see dark areas so the black wax would fill in the voids between each turn of the string.

559. What is the proper procedure for potting pickups?
It is important that you have a qualified repairman do this and I don’t recommend you doing this at home. It is very dangerous and the hot wax fumes are very combustible.

560. What is wax used for?
Wax is basically a soft material that is used to secure all components in a pickup to help reduce unwanted feedback or microphonic squeal due to proximity of the instrument to loud speakers and volume an instrument is subjected to.

561. What material can be used for potting pickups?
Most industrial waxes should be used and often, specific epoxy potting solutions are used for permanent bonding of pickup components such as circuit boards, to hide design layout and to keep the pickup from being modified. There are also specific potting varnishes of different grades and some need to be oven heated to cure the materials. You need a material that will keep minute spaces between the ferrous and magnet materials from vibrating that can cause microphonics.

562. Will putting wax on the outside of my pickup reduce the unwanted squeal?
Putting wax just on the outside of a pickup may due some help but the whole pickup needs to have the wax permeate within all the fine cavities and air should be displaced by agitation when hot wax potting. When the pickup is dipped in wax, at first the wax will solidify till the pickups become heated within and the wax can fill the fine voids. Again there is a fine balance between proper potting and destroying your pickup. Again, let a qualified repairman do this.

563. Can epoxied pickups be rewound?
Probably 95% can’t. As the epoxy solution is drying, there can be a chemical reaction with plastic parts within the pickup and the epoxy can actually bond with the plastics. The epoxy has a thick viscosity than a hot wax and cannot always fill the fine voids and cavities within the pickup. The epoxy can sometimes be chemically removed but it will do damage to the other plastic parts such as the cover and plastic bobbins. The epoxy potting solutions don’t seem to penetrate through the coils to keep them from becoming microphonic.

564. Can a large Weller or other soldering gun effect the sound a pickup?
The large coils used in several model soldering guns can demagnetize and change the polarity of the pickup. I always recommend using a soldering iron because they don’t have a large coil that can effect the pickup. When using a soldering gun, you can actually feel the pickup vibrate which can change the magnetic field.

565. Can amps and speakers change the sound of your instrument?
I believe leaning your guitar next to large speakers with strong magnets can affect the magnetic field in your pickups. I also believe amplifiers with large transformers can radiate large magnetic fields which is often heard as “hum” in your instrument can effect the magnetic field in your pickups. Prolonged exposure to stronger magnetic fields can change the stability of a weaker magnetic field in a pickup and can change the tone of an instrument.

566. Can dropping the pickup effect the magnetic field or coil?
Shock to a magnet can effect the stability of the magnetic field. Also depending on the type of surface the magnet would be hitting such as steel or wood. A magnet hitting steel would do more damage to the magnets field than the surface of the wood. I’ve tapped a bar magnet on a steel rod and magnetized the rod. This can change the alignment of the magnetic field within the bar magnet. Damage to the coil might occur if it hits another object. Dropping a pickup could cause the coil to get gouged or dented and breakage of the magnet wire.

567. By putting magnet rod pole pieces in where the studs are increase my humbucker's output?
You can replace the 3/16” inch diameter ferrous studs with rod magnets of the same diameter and length. You need to keep the same polarity as the studs were magnetized through magnetic induction. Using magnet rod pole pieces can give you a slightly brighter pickup depending on the grade and strength material you are using.

568. Can humidity cause any harm to pickups?
Humidity and all kinds of moisture from sweat and condensation in a case can cause all kinds of problems with your instrument. Humidity can cause oxidation on switches, potentiometers, jacks and rust hardware. Constant moisture on an instrument will cause ICPC (inner coil pole corrosion) where the magnet can rust inside the bobbin due to exposure to humidity and moisture. When a magnet rusts or oxidizes, there is a break down of the magnet wire insulation and exposes to bare copper magnet wire. After a period of time the bare magnet wire can oxidize and breaks eliminating a signal from the pickup. Try to keep your instrument dry and avoid hot trunks in your auto that can cause condensation in the case due to the high moisture content in the lining of your case.

569. Can I add capacitors to a coil to change the tone of my pickup?
By connecting desired value capacitor in parallel or from hot connection to ground will reduce the amount of treble in a pickup. By connecting a desired value capacitor in series with the hot connection can reduce the bottom end in a pickup and make a pickup sound thinner.

570. Can I change the poles in humbucker?
Depending on the diameter of the poles and length they usually can be changed as long as some other replacement is compatible. When exchanging threaded pole pieces, it is best to use the same diameter screw with the same TPI (threads per inch) and by using shorter or longer screws can slightly change the tonality of the pickup. Much has to do with the magnet, magnetic pattern, and the material of the pole pieces. Make sure you don’t buy a brass screw as it will not conduct the magnetic field to the strings. Some screws are plated to look nickel or chrome but are non-ferrous underneath. Pole pieces are in a pickup to direct the magnetic field to the strings which in turn vibrate and move the magnetic field through the coils and generate an alternating current that travels through the various controls and to the amplifier.

571. Can I put a magnet on the bottom of my humbucker to increase the output?
I have seen this done with little success. It depends on the placement and polarity of the magnet being used. The added magnet can cause interference with the stock magnet and I’ve seen them fall off inside the pickup cavity. If you are looking to add a magnet, it is best to replace the original and firmly secure it as the original component.

572. Can I remove and replace my magnets on my Fender pickup for a different height pattern?
Trying to insert new magnets in a Fender style pickup will only destroy the original coil windings. It is near to impossible to replace the magnets as the coil is wound directly around the magnets with a good amount of pressure. Also earlier Fender rod magnets have small pits from sand casting and the magnet wire can sit in one of the voids. By moving the magnets will snag and break the inner coil. Trying to remove the end magnets is near to impossible because of the direct pressure from winding. Some newer molded plastic bobbins can easily have the magnets removed and re-positioned for the desired pattern. Anytime you try to change the pole pattern in the older fibre bobbins, you are likely to break the magnet wire inside the coil and rewinding would be necessary.

573. Can I shield my pickups?
If you need to shield your pickups, make sure you use extreme care. The best way to shield a humbucker is to put a nickel silver cover on it as it was designed. Using foils don’t do a whole lot as the electrical interference can go right through the top of the plastic bobbin. The same happens with single coil pickups when the shielding tape is put around the coil. The electrical interference can go through the top of the vulcanized fibre bobbin and you still have interference. Leo Fender used the metal pickup cover on the Telecaster rhythm pickup and put a bridge cover over the Telecaster lead pickup mounting plate. Many players have removed the bridge plate cover commonly called “The Ashtray” and one player that used it all the time was the late Albert Collins.

574. Can magnets in a six string single coil pickup be (s s s n n n) & (s n s n s n) etc?
Pickups with the above magnet (s - south, n - north) field pattern would be out of phase with itself and when combined with another pickup. The first pattern (s s s n n n), half of the coil would be in phase and the other half would be out of phase with another combined pickup. Also there would be interference with the (s & n) poles when playing. The pickup would sound would sound very thin in between the D & G poles. The (s n s n s n) pickup might sound interesting by itself, but again the strings can be out of phase when combined with other pickup. I’m gonna try making (s n s n s n) and listen to what it sounds like.

575. Can my Strat be wired to reduce hum in some positions?
The easiest thing to do would to use a reverse wind, reverse polarity pickup in the center position of your Stratocaster. I would not suggest rewinding or remagnetizing your older pickups, but to have a new one made for that position and keep the original one stock. Some players reverse the wires on the center pickup only to make it electrically out of phase with the neck and bridge pickup. If you have an unqualified repairman remagnetize the pickup to an opposite polarity, the magnetic calibration and strength can make the pickup sound too bright. And reversing the wires only make the inside of the coil nearest the magnets become noisy if accidentally touched when picking or strumming. If you find a good replacement pickup for the center pickup, it is an easy way to have a quieter humbucking sound in the # 2 & # 4 positions of a 5 way lever switch.