Post Type Archives: SWD

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.

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. We can do this for you at our Custom Shop – please see here for details: Rewinds & Repairs

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…

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…

Pickups that are potted usually have a very hard coating that is used to seal the coil and components usually within a cover. Epoxy is also poured in rubber molds and the electronic components are covered with the liquid and let dry. It is done to seal the pickup parts to keep them from being…

The bridge plate is punched out from a ferrous material. The logo’s and numbers are stamped on then deep drawn to the desired shape. Other procedures include deburing, polishing, case hardening to help reduce scaring from the bridge saddle adjustment screws.

The pro of an epoxied pickup is that it keeps you from messing with it after it is built. Many active pickups are epoxied to keep sensitive components from being altered or damaged. The biggest problem I have with epoxied pickups is that you can’t repair or modify them with ease. We get epoxied pickups…

The plate used on the bottom of a Telecaster bridge pickup is commonly called an elevator plate to support the Telecaster bobbin and is punched out of a cold rolled steel and is copper plated to help keep the plate from rusting and the plating makes it easier to solder the ground wire. The plating…

Is normally any given length of insulated magnet wire wound on a coil form or bobbin to a desired number of turns. A coil has a desired number of turns per layer and number of layers when wound on automatic traverse control winding machines. Scatter or hand winding will give you a coil with undetermined…

I also use the term TL which means the top of the pickup is facing left on the winding machine that I am using. If you see TR that means the top of the pickup is facing right. The term TC means when facing the pickup, the top of the pickup is coming towards you…