Old videos but if anyone reads this I have a 500T humbucker I’m putting in a cover with no holes. I’m thinking it would be best to lower the pole pieces so the cover is flush with the bobbins when I solder it on and go to wax pot it. Would that be best or leave the poles higher and fill with wax? Any insight is welcomed. Thanks in advance
@dylantalkstone - for covered humbuckers, how long did you leave them in the wax for? I've got a microphonic burstbucker pro that's killing me. Was planning on potting them this weekend.
I've potted some cheap Chinese pickups I got off eBay. Just used a double-boiler to keep the wax from getting too hot. I let them soak in the wax a few minutes, pull them out, wipe them off, and installed. Never underestimate cheap pickups. With a little help, they can sound pretty good.
A few tips: if you do this don't walk away from the hot wax, it can ignite if the temperature gets too high. Most use a double boiler (wax pot inside a larger pot with boiling water) to ensure the temperature doesn't get too high for fire. A pickle jar inside the crock pot may be good too depending on its inner wall temperature cycling. A neighbor when I was a kid burned his house down making candles by ignoring those rules. Paraffin has a lower shrinkage rate than beeswax I've tried, experiment by heating and letting the pot cool to compare the shrink cavity size. If you play mostly super high \Metal/ gain then use vacuum potting -- rig up a sealing lid on that crock pot (or the pickle jar inside) with a hose to a hand automotive vacuum tester as those are under $20. Lastly, don't use your spouse's good pans for this, wax is very hard to remove -- use dedicated containers.
I used to think a person picked up a guitar and learned how to play it...wow! Was I ever wrong! I'm replacing every piece of metal (and pickup covers) on my Bullet with gold-tone, including the frets, to match the pearl pre-assembled pickguard I bought. It's as much fun as working on any of the 300+ vehicles I've owned but a lot cleaner work and a whole lot less tools. I had no idea there was such a technical side to electric guitars until I went to TH-cam to learn how to do different things. I've watched hundreds of videos the last 6 months and this site is the "cleanest/clearest/less extraneous talking/highest density of information" than all of them.
Could have used this 30 years ago when I almost set my kitchen on fire trying to wax-pot some Electra pickups. I used the right kind of wax, but I also used an electric stove top, a cast iron skillet, and high heat cause I was in a hurry to melt some wax! It ended in flames. But I soon discovered the world of after-market pickup manufacturers afterward. Edit: Also worth noting, if you are doing this and your wax is smoking, you definitely should not be smoking too. Lighting another cigarette could, and probably will be, detrimental to the well-being of yourself and your property.
I just had a vintage 1966 Strat neck pickup rewound because I pulled a dumb stunt and broke the winding with a screwdriver. We decided to keep it un-potted and to wind the wire on a little tighter to hopefully stop the squeal. It didn't work. So, I am now in the process of learning how to wax pot the pickup instead of shipping it back to WV just to have it potted for 30 seconds. He told me to use the 3:1 mixture of paraffin/beeswax. I'm not sure of the reason for the beeswax but I have heard that it is used by a lot of pickup makers. I like the idea of the marbles as a base. We are using a minimalist approach to use the minimum amount of potting because the sound of the pickup when it is not squealing is very dynamic and touch sensitive. I don't want to lose that aspect of the sound so we are going to soak it for only 30 seconds and test it to see if it solved the problem. If not, I will have to soak it longer. It could be a long process if the 30 second soak doesn't do the trick.
This is great. Love the simplicity of this. I bought Seth Lovers unpotted and hate them for the feedback issues. This looks so simple and cheap enough to go ahead and fix these pick-ups. And for under $20, its worth it to save these.
I have a pair of unknown HB's from a cheap LP that were really microphonic so I potted them. I did use 25% beeswax, can't remember the exact reason but that's what the forums said. The crockpot is a great idea, especially if you're going to do a few. I used old coffee tins and a bain-marie style pot of water and the capillary action really ensures that wax gets everywhere. They were still a little bit microphonic at the end but a whole lot better and I reckon I can still do several umpteen with my leftover wax.
I used to make candles. If you don’t have a crock pot use a double boiler with the wax in a metal picture. You want to kept the wax just about at the melting point. If wax gets above a certain point (I think around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) it will flash fire. If this does happen cover the wax and leave the house and call the fire department. Keep water in the under pot and keep a thermometer in the wax and you should be fine.
Temperature controlled wax baths for beauty wax work really well, they have an adjustable thermostat and are designed for holding wax just above melting temperature. I use one for hot hide glue too as they're way cheaper than the same item with a sicker on it saying glue pot.
This is so cool. I was thinking of using shrink wrap around the coil but then I was like why not just use wax. Apparently bees wax capacitors are the best dielectric material for caps. They are super expensive. It would be interesting to test both waxes since a cap and coil use electromagnetic fields
We need at least 3 Dylan Talks Tone videos a day!!! I just can’t seem to get enough of them. Very informative and I’ve learned SOOO much from Dylan about the instruments I’ve been playing for 18 years.
JC I’ve watched most of the old ones. I meant 3 new videos a day. Most people just talk about how the pickups sound but I enjoy learning how they actually work
Cool info Dylan. My personal favourite to melt wax is an old cast iron pan that I put a stainless steel bowl into on a butane stove outside,and once the wax gets mostly melted I just turn the flame off and let the cast iron keep everything even. Only pickups I bother doing this with usually are cheap Kit guitar ones that are usually 11-12K and over and actually does make a surprising difference. Guessing the heat from the process might calm down the Gauss levels on the magnets a little, just speculation but hey... Take care mate and all the best.
Man, I love your vid style! Always so down to Earth and helpful. I need to get a mug or a T shirt or something and support you. You've helped me so many times! Thanks, D!
Man, I love your videos! I have learned a lot from you, as your style of presentation always makes sense to me! I'm a very logical thinker & try to avoid bs. Thanks again!!
Thank you Dylan for the lesson that I have never heard before. Yes, I undertand that using temperature gun is very important since the gap between melting wax temperature and the breakdown of the isolation temperature is only 15 degrees. Cheers from Indonesia.
Yes Sadly I tried it my with my pickups from my1977-8 Tobacco S/Burst Gibson Les Paul in 1993. I was over the years since 1979 for ever having issues with the pickups squealing. So sadly, some one advised me to wax them but didn't go into much detail. They also said to remove the pickup covers. I really not knowing better, using a saucepan over a gas stove top (not a crock pot) unwittingly allowed the wax to get to hot and successfully melted (warped) the bobbins. Sadly in those days there was no TH-cam to check how it should be properly done. Apart from feeling like a complete idiot and messing up the bobbins it was a valuable lesson. Don't do things unless you know how to do things properly, or let the professionals do it. I did however before doing so ask a two repair places if they could do it but was told at the time they usually do do it and if they were to do they would charge me anywhere up $200.00 dollar per pick up. Needless to say I did not pursue them to do it. I still have them in the the guitar and yes they do work but due to warping couldn't put the metal covers back on. So the moral/purpose of the story I think is fairly obvious. I do have a set of classic 57s I bought a year or so ago to replace them when I get round to it. As the guitar would look more ascetically pleasing with metal pick up covers on the pick ups. Thanks for the clip Dylan much appreciated.
my crock pot only has one setting, it was cheap. I have burned a few pickups because the heat was too high. I now have a few bags of marbles on the bottom of the pot.. no more problems burning Tim Bobbins
I've waxed plenty of pickups, ranging from cheap & nasty to custom-made ones. It's relatively easy to do with household items... I'm using a combination of 85% paraffin + 15% bees wax, since that's less prone to drying out and hardening. Never failed me yet :) Some pickups, however, I keep unwaxed since I'm not using those with massive amounts of distortion - for instance on my semihollow guitar. As long as you keep a close eye on the temperature, to avoid some mild mishap like *YOUR HOUSE ON FIRE* 🤣🤣🤣 it's actually a very pleasant job to do 👍
u wax pot your pick ups is one reason they have their unique character and tone as wel as th way you wind each by hand,,like the time you and the other pick up guy both wound the same pick ups using the same spec parts and the same equipment and they were slightly different sounding,,, its the human element and your technique that makes it different.. I still have the Tele pick up you wound that day..I need to find a Tele for my collection to put that pick up in. I finally started the Strat build ..I think I have all the parts and materials to finish it up or maybe I'm going to need a lot more sandpaper...lol endless sanding durring finishing ,,,just striped the body preparing for the finish,, if you remember,I got the cheapest strat around the Chinese craptastic Starcaster all the extra things it'; getting will blow your mind when you see the funushed instrument, that all for now seeeee ya
I never ever use paraffin alone. Its too brittle by itself. Ive taken apart too many bad coils to find paraffin has cracked and broken the wire. Bee's wax is expensive. I just hit the plumbing dept. at the hardware store and get a toilet seal. That wax is soft, its synthetic, and I mix it one part with ten parts paraffin. Been using that for 30 years & never had a problem.
I used to wax pot all my pickups, but now i just use lacquer, it seems to work just as well, when i do covered pickups i do wax pot. So the metal dont vibrate, but i prefer the way the lacquered pickup feels. I mix acouple white crayons in mine, it makes the wax dry super hard. But it probably dont matter.
Could you also use superglue (cyanacrylate), or does this dissolve the insulation? If that worked, this might be the easiest and must durable solution I think.
@@mercatorjubio3804 super glue might work but it might make a mess and you would need a big bottle, lacquer gets super hard. And i use the spray lacquer so its easy. I only spray the outside when im done i dont like the feel of a fully lacquered pickup. They lose that airy sound. Makes them bland. If you wind tight enuff u dont really even need to pot. Original paf werent potted.
@@destianpatrianagara1119 that's depends what type of pickup bobbins they are, if they are butyrate then can melt if the wax is to hot, I use my wax right after the melting point, as soon as your wax is all liquid, dip them in with the covers on, you don't have to leave them in long. Set them on way paper, screws down to cool. Or you put tape over the screw, masking tape works good and dump the wax in and then push the pickup in the cover, either way will work just fine. Just so it has wax between the bobbins and cover. So it don't squeal. It's not rocket science. Most pickups don't use butyrate bobbins unless there a paf repro. Most are pvc and hot wax won't hurt them. But if you do have butyrate bobbins, do the tape and pour method.
Hey, I’ve been scouring the internet, and can you do a video on the difference between bass pickups vs guitar pickups (as in how they’re built)? That would be amazing
I noticed the bridge pup of the "Texas Specials" Fender pickups does this thing where the notes seem to bloom out of it after the initial attack fades. I now wonder if it wasn't potted or potted very long for this effect... They were designed with SRV, who loved late fifties pickups that were likely not potted. I hope Dylan reads this and pontificates upon it.
The only reason I pay a little extra for the custom guys is to have my pickups unpotted- all of my pups are and if you haven't heard the difference, I understand why you don't understand. Other than the wax, I would happily buy the cheaper fender pups or Gibson or whatever, but those pickups are all potted. Makers like to pot them so the grace period is insured for them (totally understandable btw) they don't want pickups coming back to them in two weeks accompanied by a "WTF" note; potting insures the pups are installed and the customer is happy for at least a few months- transaction done- goodbye. If you are not Pete Townsend and jamming your guitar into amps or Yngwei and play at gain to 10 on 5 stompboxes in front of a cranked amp, I highly recommend you test out an unpotted pup (maybe one 10% underwound??- ok I only get one recommendation a post- ok). try it
Nice walloftext.txt I can barely even follow what youre saying. They only pot then to get by the grace period? Huh? What grace period? You mean the warranty?
That was very informative! Thank you!!! Two questions: did you remove the tape from the covered humbuckers before potting? And what temperature exactly should the wax have?
I see a lot of questions in the comments here and he has answered like.... 1 Makes me think, can you trust what he's saying ? Why haven't you been available to your subscribers ?
Suspend the pickup, grab a hairdryer set on hot and keep it blowing on the pickup until the wax stops dripping. Make sure to have lots of paper towels on hand. It worked for me.
@@jesseshaum2628 You will still have wax between the windings and around the pole pieces. The capillary gap effect will hold the wax there. Therefore, no effect on tone.
Question: With the thought of improving a guitar. Do you think waxing or rewaxing is a step someone can take to improve a less than top of the line guitar
Dylan, I’m thinking about wax potting a Humbucker that was just rewound for me. It already has tape around both coils. I was told to pot it with the tape on, to put a rubber band around it & that the wax would keep it in place when it drys. Prior to being told this, I was planning to remove the tape, & re-tape after potting it. Will the new tape stick to the wax? What do you recommend? Thanks!
It depends on the volume you play at. This isn’t about tone, it’s about controlling squeal and feedback. If you play real quiet in a band, this is not for you.
What’s the most important part of the pickup to be waxed? I ask because I recently switched a magnet on a super distortion and because the original magnet is so big I had to move the spacers. I also changed the filister heads to hex. Would it be a waste of time and money to re-pot it?
Received a new set of tele pickups. And they are not wax potted. Really annoying - can't just put it into my guitar and play, have extra work to do. Or maybe it's not that important to do, Idk.
Hey Dylan and Dylan fans… I have a Squier Classic Vibe Jag with pickups that squeal with the slighting heat on the signal (minor overdrive or boost). I thought almost all factory pickups were wax potted currently. Does anyone know for sure either way on these? I don’t want to cut the strings, pull the pickups, and pot them if they already are and the issue is just crap pickups. I’d rather wait to take it apart until I am ready to put new ones if it can’t be fixed.
Does it always kill the microphonic feedback? I have some cheap Humbucker pups I like but I can talk into them and slightly hear my voice more than normal. And they experience feedback easier than even Epiphone les paul pups. Tube screamers make it more apparent also. I dont ever plan on playing out live or in a band, so it doesnt seem proper to throw them away and spend money when I can do a $10 project and try this :) Thanks buddy
Thanks for this video! Question: I have a Seymour Duncan Hotrail in the bridge of my Tele. It's squealing of recent in high gain. I'm considering wax potting it. Do you think the heat will hurt the circuit board on the bottom of the pup? Thanks!!
I wax potted my humbuckers, and awful microphonics are dissappeared, but now soon as I put volume pot on amplifier higher than 2.5, high pitch sound (feedback that doesn't stop when you touch all strings) start to whistle as hell, (at higher gain) so I guess it didn't work well, because it never happened before, I don't know what to do?!?
Old videos but if anyone reads this I have a 500T humbucker I’m putting in a cover with no holes. I’m thinking it would be best to lower the pole pieces so the cover is flush with the bobbins when I solder it on and go to wax pot it. Would that be best or leave the poles higher and fill with wax? Any insight is welcomed. Thanks in advance
So I’ve got a CV Jaguar with really bad feedback problem. Seen only a few videos specific to those pertaining to the claw, etc. So if I’m going to try to wax pot those should I leave the cover and claw all intact, then wax pot them or somehow disassemble/remove the claw and cover and then wax pot them? My initial impression is that I should leave everything assembled and just dip the whole thing. Any suggestions specific to Jaguar pickups?
Good video! I have a G&L bass pickup that just started making a tinkling noise when you press on it, and it reverberates through the amp even though the other pickup does not. Has it become microphonic? Thanks!
Hi Dylan I noticed that the pickups have there hot and ground wires wrapped around eachother I've also seen this on wiring harness especially to hot and ground going to the output Jack so is there a reason for this ?
@@dezionlion He can buy unlimited replacement PuPs and guitars and has guitar techs and Luthiers at his disposal. Epoxy is one shot only. But hey, do what you want😂 Fender used lacquer which broke down over the years and most old ones must be re-potted. But hey whatever dude, you know best😂😂😂😂😂
I miss these every time. Why do you do them so early, Dylan? Can't you wait a couple of hours til 9am? A lot of us aren't up at 7am 🤷♂️ you'll get more viewers if you Premier these later than 7am.
How would you do wide-range style pickups? the same as a covered humbucker? (Meaning reissue, I know they're not real wide range but you know what I mean)
Are some pickups 'waxed' with epoxy or other mixtures. I've had untaxed pickups that sounded great but only on particular guitars at specific gain structures.
The Tony Iommy signature Humbucker is filled with epoxy. Thats the one i know .... so the answer to your question is: yes Im not sure though, if its worth the "trouble / mess" using epoxy instead of wax. + if its only waxxed and you want or need to open your pickup (to change magnets, or add coilsplit to a humbucker, or just remove the cover from a pickup) ... epoxy will make that waaaay more difficult than just wax.
Here is the crock pot amzn.to/2zgzRbD
wax amzn.to/3cxdqgv
infared thermometer amzn.to/2Kk4xLf
i love your show
@@DDE_ADDICT ùh
Old videos but if anyone reads this I have a 500T humbucker I’m putting in a cover with no holes. I’m thinking it would be best to lower the pole pieces so the cover is flush with the bobbins when I solder it on and go to wax pot it. Would that be best or leave the poles higher and fill with wax? Any insight is welcomed. Thanks in advance
@dylantalkstone - for covered humbuckers, how long did you leave them in the wax for? I've got a microphonic burstbucker pro that's killing me. Was planning on potting them this weekend.
Update: pickup was wax potted in my kitchen and no more microphonic squealing!
I've potted some cheap Chinese pickups I got off eBay. Just used a double-boiler to keep the wax from getting too hot. I let them soak in the wax a few minutes, pull them out, wipe them off, and installed. Never underestimate cheap pickups. With a little help, they can sound pretty good.
A few tips: if you do this don't walk away from the hot wax, it can ignite if the temperature gets too high. Most use a double boiler (wax pot inside a larger pot with boiling water) to ensure the temperature doesn't get too high for fire. A pickle jar inside the crock pot may be good too depending on its inner wall temperature cycling. A neighbor when I was a kid burned his house down making candles by ignoring those rules. Paraffin has a lower shrinkage rate than beeswax I've tried, experiment by heating and letting the pot cool to compare the shrink cavity size. If you play mostly super high \Metal/ gain then use vacuum potting -- rig up a sealing lid on that crock pot (or the pickle jar inside) with a hose to a hand automotive vacuum tester as those are under $20. Lastly, don't use your spouse's good pans for this, wax is very hard to remove -- use dedicated containers.
A crock pot never gets too hot. Thats why he's using a crock pot.
I used to think a person picked up a guitar and learned how to play it...wow! Was I ever wrong! I'm replacing every piece of metal (and pickup covers) on my Bullet with gold-tone, including the frets, to match the pearl pre-assembled pickguard I bought. It's as much fun as working on any of the 300+ vehicles I've owned but a lot cleaner work and a whole lot less tools. I had no idea there was such a technical side to electric guitars until I went to TH-cam to learn how to do different things. I've watched hundreds of videos the last 6 months and this site is the "cleanest/clearest/less extraneous talking/highest density of information" than all of them.
I'll probably never need to do that but it's fascinating to know.
I really enjoy your vids Dylan, thanks...
eddie did it so i must. ill probably start with some cheapo's first though lol
This is the same thing with windings in brushed electric motors. Those move a lot more and are subject to a lot of heat, so they pot them with epoxy.
Thanks! I play high gain and wax potting is an absolute must. Controlled feedback is amazing though
Could have used this 30 years ago when I almost set my kitchen on fire trying to wax-pot some Electra pickups. I used the right kind of wax, but I also used an electric stove top, a cast iron skillet, and high heat cause I was in a hurry to melt some wax! It ended in flames. But I soon discovered the world of after-market pickup manufacturers afterward.
Edit: Also worth noting, if you are doing this and your wax is smoking, you definitely should not be smoking too. Lighting another cigarette could, and probably will be, detrimental to the well-being of yourself and your property.
I can relate.
I just had a vintage 1966 Strat neck pickup rewound because I pulled a dumb stunt and broke the winding with a screwdriver. We decided to keep it un-potted and to wind the wire on a little tighter to hopefully stop the squeal. It didn't work. So, I am now in the process of learning how to wax pot the pickup instead of shipping it back to WV just to have it potted for 30 seconds. He told me to use the 3:1 mixture of paraffin/beeswax. I'm not sure of the reason for the beeswax but I have heard that it is used by a lot of pickup makers. I like the idea of the marbles as a base. We are using a minimalist approach to use the minimum amount of potting because the sound of the pickup when it is not squealing is very dynamic and touch sensitive. I don't want to lose that aspect of the sound so we are going to soak it for only 30 seconds and test it to see if it solved the problem. If not, I will have to soak it longer. It could be a long process if the 30 second soak doesn't do the trick.
This is great. Love the simplicity of this. I bought Seth Lovers unpotted and hate them for the feedback issues. This looks so simple and cheap enough to go ahead and fix these pick-ups. And for under $20, its worth it to save these.
I have a pair of unknown HB's from a cheap LP that were really microphonic so I potted them. I did use 25% beeswax, can't remember the exact reason but that's what the forums said. The crockpot is a great idea, especially if you're going to do a few. I used old coffee tins and a bain-marie style pot of water and the capillary action really ensures that wax gets everywhere. They were still a little bit microphonic at the end but a whole lot better and I reckon I can still do several umpteen with my leftover wax.
I used to make candles. If you don’t have a crock pot use a double boiler with the wax in a metal picture. You want to kept the wax just about at the melting point. If wax gets above a certain point (I think around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) it will flash fire. If this does happen cover the wax and leave the house and call the fire department. Keep water in the under pot and keep a thermometer in the wax and you should be fine.
Temperature controlled wax baths for beauty wax work really well, they have an adjustable thermostat and are designed for holding wax just above melting temperature. I use one for hot hide glue too as they're way cheaper than the same item with a sicker on it saying glue pot.
That’s what I have too
Pot is great, but wax is AMAZING!!! 👌
I'll let you know next month 🙂
Great vid Dylan.! I've purchased from America, custom shop pickups, their all wax potted. "Pearly Gates" PAF's, P90's & Gretsch Filtertron's.
This is so cool. I was thinking of using shrink wrap around the coil but then I was like why not just use wax.
Apparently bees wax capacitors are the best dielectric material for caps. They are super expensive.
It would be interesting to test both waxes since a cap and coil use electromagnetic fields
We need at least 3 Dylan Talks Tone videos a day!!! I just can’t seem to get enough of them. Very informative and I’ve learned SOOO much from Dylan about the instruments I’ve been playing for 18 years.
He's got over 200. Get to watching 🤷♂️
JC I’ve watched most of the old ones. I meant 3 new videos a day. Most people just talk about how the pickups sound but I enjoy learning how they actually work
By the way, I love the "meh the jury's always out on that!"
Bang on!
That's the same croc pot I use to pot pickups. I got mine at Wally World. I think it was $8.00 a few years back.
Cool info Dylan.
My personal favourite to melt wax is an old cast iron pan that I put a stainless steel bowl into on a butane stove outside,and once the wax gets mostly melted I just turn the flame off and let the cast iron keep everything even.
Only pickups I bother doing this with usually are cheap Kit guitar ones that are usually 11-12K and over and actually does make a surprising difference.
Guessing the heat from the process might calm down the Gauss levels on the magnets a little, just speculation but hey...
Take care mate and all the best.
Man, I love your vid style! Always so down to Earth and helpful. I need to get a mug or a T shirt or something and support you. You've helped me so many times! Thanks, D!
Man, I love your videos! I have learned a lot from you, as your style of presentation always makes sense to me! I'm a very logical thinker & try to avoid bs. Thanks again!!
A lot less complicated than I had thought it to be.
Great knowledge share, ta 😎🎙🎸✅
Thank you Dylan for the lesson that I have never heard before. Yes, I undertand that using temperature gun is very important since the gap between melting wax temperature and the breakdown of the isolation temperature is only 15 degrees. Cheers from Indonesia.
Okay, going outside into the ghetto to wax pot some pickups. Wish me luck guys. ☺
That's pretty cool. I have some pickups that could use more wax. Extremely microphonic, but they sound awesome as is if you're not playing too loud...
But would that be because it is not wax potted? I'm about to wax pot some pickups
Yes Sadly I tried it my with my pickups from my1977-8 Tobacco S/Burst Gibson Les Paul in 1993. I was over the years since 1979 for ever having issues with the pickups squealing.
So sadly, some one advised me to wax them but didn't go into much detail.
They also said to remove the pickup covers. I really not knowing better, using a saucepan over a gas stove top (not a crock pot) unwittingly allowed the wax to get to hot and successfully melted (warped) the bobbins.
Sadly in those days there was no TH-cam to check how it should be properly done.
Apart from feeling like a complete idiot and messing up the bobbins it was a valuable lesson.
Don't do things unless you know how to do things properly, or let the professionals do it.
I did however before doing so ask a two repair places if they could do it but was told at the time they usually do do it and if they were to do they would charge me anywhere up $200.00 dollar per pick up.
Needless to say I did not pursue them to do it.
I still have them in the the guitar and yes they do work but due to warping couldn't put the metal covers back on.
So the moral/purpose of the story I think is fairly obvious.
I do have a set of classic 57s I bought a year or so ago to replace them when I get round to it. As the guitar would look more ascetically pleasing with metal pick up covers on the pick ups.
Thanks for the clip Dylan much appreciated.
Thank you, Dylan. I remember watching this one a few years back when you posted it. Always great information in your tutorials.
Thanks for this, I have a set of invader knockoffs and they sound great but they are very microphonic
my crock pot only has one setting, it was cheap. I have burned a few pickups because the heat was too high. I now have a few bags of marbles on the bottom of the pot.. no more problems burning Tim Bobbins
I prefer wax potted pickups. It helps my tone by reducing feedback and increased stability. For me it's necessary.
I've waxed plenty of pickups, ranging from cheap & nasty to custom-made ones.
It's relatively easy to do with household items...
I'm using a combination of 85% paraffin + 15% bees wax, since that's less prone to drying out and hardening. Never failed me yet :)
Some pickups, however, I keep unwaxed since I'm not using those with massive amounts of distortion - for instance on my semihollow guitar.
As long as you keep a close eye on the temperature, to avoid some mild mishap like *YOUR HOUSE ON FIRE* 🤣🤣🤣 it's actually a very pleasant job to do 👍
u wax pot your pick ups is one reason they have their unique character and tone as wel as th way you wind each by hand,,like the time you and the other pick up guy both wound the same pick ups using the same spec parts and the same equipment and they were slightly different sounding,,, its the human element and your technique that makes it different.. I still have the Tele pick up you wound that day..I need to find a Tele for my collection to put that pick up in. I finally started the Strat build ..I think I have all the parts and materials to finish it up or maybe I'm going to need a lot more sandpaper...lol endless sanding durring finishing ,,,just striped the body preparing for the finish,, if you remember,I got the cheapest strat around the Chinese craptastic Starcaster all the extra things it'; getting will blow your mind when you see the funushed instrument, that all for now seeeee ya
Dylan! Thank you for all the sweet content!
Big hugs over there!
I'm going to Hobby Lobby to get wax asap! Thank you! You're awesome, bro!!🤘
I never ever use paraffin alone. Its too brittle by itself. Ive taken apart too many bad coils to find paraffin has cracked and broken the wire. Bee's wax is expensive. I just hit the plumbing dept. at the hardware store and get a toilet seal. That wax is soft, its synthetic, and I mix it one part with ten parts paraffin. Been using that for 30 years & never had a problem.
I would love to do this to some cheap Chinese pickups I have. Thanks for showing me how!
We use Beeswax. Also available at hobby lobby or Michaels
I used to wax pot all my pickups, but now i just use lacquer, it seems to work just as well, when i do covered pickups i do wax pot. So the metal dont vibrate, but i prefer the way the lacquered pickup feels. I mix acouple white crayons in mine, it makes the wax dry super hard. But it probably dont matter.
Could you also use superglue (cyanacrylate), or does this dissolve the insulation?
If that worked, this might be the easiest and must durable solution I think.
@@mercatorjubio3804 super glue might work but it might make a mess and you would need a big bottle, lacquer gets super hard. And i use the spray lacquer so its easy. I only spray the outside when im done i dont like the feel of a fully lacquered pickup. They lose that airy sound. Makes them bland. If you wind tight enuff u dont really even need to pot. Original paf werent potted.
@@wesleymorris1 Hi I have an uncovered humbucker that I'm planning to put a cover on it, Should I wax the pickup with or without the cover?
@@destianpatrianagara1119 that's depends what type of pickup bobbins they are, if they are butyrate then can melt if the wax is to hot, I use my wax right after the melting point, as soon as your wax is all liquid, dip them in with the covers on, you don't have to leave them in long. Set them on way paper, screws down to cool. Or you put tape over the screw, masking tape works good and dump the wax in and then push the pickup in the cover, either way will work just fine. Just so it has wax between the bobbins and cover. So it don't squeal. It's not rocket science. Most pickups don't use butyrate bobbins unless there a paf repro. Most are pvc and hot wax won't hurt them. But if you do have butyrate bobbins, do the tape and pour method.
Hey, I’ve been scouring the internet, and can you do a video on the difference between bass pickups vs guitar pickups (as in how they’re built)? That would be amazing
... 04/20/2020: Wax-on ... Wax-off. Very interesting demo .... Thanks.
Great video . Can you show us how to (re) magnetize a single/humbucker pickup and how to choose how to polarize it? Thanks
I noticed the bridge pup of the "Texas Specials" Fender pickups does this thing where the notes seem to bloom out of it after the initial attack fades. I now wonder if it wasn't potted or potted very long for this effect... They were designed with SRV, who loved late fifties pickups that were likely not potted. I hope Dylan reads this and pontificates upon it.
Thanks, always wondered how
Wax Potted my 1979 Dimarzio X2N s 3 days ago :)
I discovered a world of great feedback tones when I started waxpotting my DiMarzio Super D's a long time ago ;-)
x2n is an awesome pickup. the highest output DiMarzio makes 510 mv. piard with a super 2 for the neck awesome.
Good demo.
I think the only way to know if you're doing it right or wrong is looking at the results, and I've heard a lot of good things about your pickups.
Thank you for this! I've got some squealy sc-sized humbuckers, guess they're gonna take a bath soon...
The only reason I pay a little extra for the custom guys is to have my pickups unpotted- all of my pups are and if you haven't heard the difference, I understand why you don't understand. Other than the wax, I would happily buy the cheaper fender pups or Gibson or whatever, but those pickups are all potted. Makers like to pot them so the grace period is insured for them (totally understandable btw) they don't want pickups coming back to them in two weeks accompanied by a "WTF" note; potting insures the pups are installed and the customer is happy for at least a few months- transaction done- goodbye. If you are not Pete Townsend and jamming your guitar into amps or Yngwei and play at gain to 10 on 5 stompboxes in front of a cranked amp, I highly recommend you test out an unpotted pup (maybe one 10% underwound??- ok I only get one recommendation a post- ok).
try it
lol I prefer unpotted pickups as well. they are fantastic. it is a much more lively sound.
Nice walloftext.txt I can barely even follow what youre saying. They only pot then to get by the grace period? Huh? What grace period? You mean the warranty?
Kapton tape, will survive the heat
very informative. thank you
Thanks Dylan very interesting at the least. Definitely interesting and helpful for certain.
Thanks! Gonna try that at home
Very cool! Nice cheap easy fix!
That was very informative! Thank you!!!
Two questions: did you remove the tape from the covered humbuckers before potting? And what temperature exactly should the wax have?
I thought that you needed to remove the cover from the humbuckers to properly wax them.
Dylan Talks Tone: Your Friendly Guitar Tech.
I have changed a pickup's cover and then just used silicon sealant instead
I see a lot of questions in the comments here and he has answered like.... 1
Makes me think, can you trust what he's saying ?
Why haven't you been available to your subscribers ?
We have a live Q&A every Thursday at 5pm. Come hang out!
@@DylanTalksTone Thanks for the invite, I just may do that.
Subscribed 👍👍
Fantastic!
Thanx for this excelent tutorial. How would one go about to wax pot P90’s? Is it the same principle as with covered humbuckers?
really enjoyed this video. very interesting
Been doing this since 1997
Since folks recommend using un-potted pickups, can you do a video on how to un-pot a pickup?
you can't
@@DylanTalksTone why not ?
Suspend the pickup, grab a hairdryer set on hot and keep it blowing on the pickup until the wax stops dripping. Make sure to have lots of paper towels on hand. It worked for me.
@@jesseshaum2628
You will still have wax between the windings and around the pole pieces. The capillary gap effect will hold the wax there. Therefore, no effect on tone.
Question:
With the thought of improving a guitar.
Do you think waxing or rewaxing is a step someone can take to improve a less than top of the line guitar
Very cool.
Dylan, I’m thinking about wax potting a Humbucker that was just rewound for me. It already has tape around both coils. I was told to pot it with the tape on, to put a rubber band around it & that the wax would keep it in place when it drys. Prior to being told this, I was planning to remove the tape, & re-tape after potting it. Will the new tape stick to the wax? What do you recommend? Thanks!
thank you sir for detailed info :-)
So, should I remove the cloth string wrapped around a tele bridge pickup before waxing?
Chad O'Callaghan no wax-em-all!!!
But what about 59 unpotted hums and new unpotted like Dimarzio 59 paf copies, they sound fantastic without wax.
It depends on the volume you play at. This isn’t about tone, it’s about controlling squeal and feedback. If you play real quiet in a band, this is not for you.
What’s the most important part of the pickup to be waxed? I ask because I recently switched a magnet on a super distortion and because the original magnet is so big I had to move the spacers. I also changed the filister heads to hex. Would it be a waste of time and money to re-pot it?
Received a new set of tele pickups. And they are not wax potted. Really annoying - can't just put it into my guitar and play, have extra work to do. Or maybe it's not that important to do, Idk.
Hey Dylan and Dylan fans… I have a Squier Classic Vibe Jag with pickups that squeal with the slighting heat on the signal (minor overdrive or boost). I thought almost all factory pickups were wax potted currently. Does anyone know for sure either way on these? I don’t want to cut the strings, pull the pickups, and pot them if they already are and the issue is just crap pickups. I’d rather wait to take it apart until I am ready to put new ones if it can’t be fixed.
Does it always kill the microphonic feedback? I have some cheap Humbucker pups I like but I can talk into them and slightly hear my voice more than normal. And they experience feedback easier than even Epiphone les paul pups. Tube screamers make it more apparent also. I dont ever plan on playing out live or in a band, so it doesnt seem proper to throw them away and spend money when I can do a $10 project and try this :) Thanks buddy
Hi, Thanks for the video. How many time do you leave a covered humbucker in the melted wax? Thanks
Thanks for this video!
Question: I have a Seymour Duncan Hotrail in the bridge of my Tele.
It's squealing of recent in high gain.
I'm considering wax potting it.
Do you think the heat will hurt the circuit board on the bottom of the pup?
Thanks!!
It's my understanding that you have to wax pot pickups if they're going to be covered. Is that correct?
I wax potted my humbuckers, and awful microphonics are dissappeared, but now soon as I put volume pot on amplifier higher than 2.5, high pitch sound (feedback that doesn't stop when you touch all strings) start to whistle as hell, (at higher gain) so I guess it didn't work well, because it never happened before, I don't know what to do?!?
Old videos but if anyone reads this I have a 500T humbucker I’m putting in a cover with no holes. I’m thinking it would be best to lower the pole pieces so the cover is flush with the bobbins when I solder it on and go to wax pot it. Would that be best or leave the poles higher and fill with wax? Any insight is welcomed. Thanks in advance
Can you adjust the post height at this point? I’ve got some staggered fender pickups I’m considering changing to the 9.5” arch.
So I’ve got a CV Jaguar with really bad feedback problem. Seen only a few videos specific to those pertaining to the claw, etc. So if I’m going to try to wax pot those should I leave the cover and claw all intact, then wax pot them or somehow disassemble/remove the claw and cover and then wax pot them?
My initial impression is that I should leave everything assembled and just dip the whole thing. Any suggestions specific to Jaguar pickups?
Good video!
I have a G&L bass pickup that just started making a tinkling noise when you press on it, and it reverberates through the amp even though the other pickup does not. Has it become microphonic? Thanks!
Hi Dylan I noticed that the pickups have there hot and ground wires wrapped around eachother I've also seen this on wiring harness especially to hot and ground going to the output Jack so is there a reason for this ?
I think it helps stop noise from penetrating the wires, however i am not certain.
@@matthewturner5773 that is correct. They do this on Amps also .
Iommi said epoxy potting is far superior!
meh...
DylanTalksTone so I guess you don’t think so? I don’t really care. Never felt the need to do either
@@dezionlion He can buy unlimited replacement PuPs and guitars and has guitar techs and Luthiers at his disposal. Epoxy is one shot only. But hey, do what you want😂 Fender used lacquer which broke down over the years and most old ones must be re-potted. But hey whatever dude, you know best😂😂😂😂😂
I miss these every time. Why do you do them so early, Dylan? Can't you wait a couple of hours til 9am? A lot of us aren't up at 7am 🤷♂️ you'll get more viewers if you Premier these later than 7am.
Is the term microphonic accurate?
I’d like to put nickel covers on a set of dimarzio tone zone and air norton pickups, any chance the covers will make them microphonic?
what about soap bar P90's? Do you have to remove the plastic cover?
Am I high or does Dylan’s head look YUGE in this video?
Camera lens and angle
13:15
can u do a thing on Wal pickups ,.,. they are different than many others ???
How would you do wide-range style pickups? the same as a covered humbucker? (Meaning reissue, I know they're not real wide range but you know what I mean)
Is wax potting necessary?
Are some pickups 'waxed' with epoxy or other mixtures.
I've had untaxed pickups that sounded great but only on particular guitars at specific gain structures.
The Tony Iommy signature Humbucker is filled with epoxy. Thats the one i know .... so the answer to your question is: yes
Im not sure though, if its worth the "trouble / mess" using epoxy instead of wax. + if its only waxxed and you want or need to open your pickup (to change magnets, or add coilsplit to a humbucker, or just remove the cover from a pickup) ... epoxy will make that waaaay more difficult than just wax.
What do you do with the wax when you’re done?
What do you charge for waxing a pickup?
Can you re-wax pot a covered humbucker
Got any tips on doing a filtertron?
Dylan i have a question for you
is it really worth shielding a humbucker cavity on a guitar if the humbucker outer is all metal?
u got FULLY shielded wiring?
@@rabokarabekian409 yes
Sunburst?