Wax Potting Pickups - A Primer With Photos!

[El Gringo]

Problem solved, I sent the Gibson Patent # T-Tops to ThroBak and got some nice shiny new gold covers for them .They did not wax pot them as that was not the way Gibson did them in the first place and ditto for my Custombuckers in my 2014 R9 .What they did was use a piece of tape on the slug side of the coil and 3 drops of silicon to adhere the inside of the cover to the coil and then solder the cover in 2 places to the baseplate of the pickup .I had the output measured on both of the pickups and both pickups read at 7.7k,to which I was very pleasantly surprised at ,because I have seen a lot of readings on these pickups in the 7.3-7.5k range .So I am very happy about that and maybe later on I will have these restored into my beloved first guitar my early 70's Gibson Les Paul Custom .I can not say enough wonderful things about ThroBak and specifically John Gundry ,my sincere compliments to ThroBak and I am looking at the ThroBak SLE- 101 Plus pickups for a couple of my other Gibson Les Paul's .

 

[GIBSON67]

^^^El Gringo, did they say why they would not wax pot them besides that it is not the way it was done in the 60's?
I have a T-Top set and the wax so I have been thinking about it. But the tape and glue worked just as well?

 

[El Gringo]

^^^El Gringo, did they say why they would not wax pot them besides that it is not the way it was done in the 60's?
I have a T-Top set and the wax so I have been thinking about it. But the tape and glue worked just as well?[/QUOTE That's all I was told .

 

[El Gringo]

I just recently ordered a set of ThroBak SLE-101 Plus pickups and requested to have them wax potted and I was told that I might lose some highs from the wax potting , well let me tell you I had plenty of highs to spare and then some .I love these pickups in the R8 Les Paul and the junk squealing Burstbucker 1&3 that I replaced because they squealed a ton , which absolutely drove me mad playing thru my Marshall 2555X.

 

[paul-e-mann]

I just recently ordered a set of ThroBak SLE-101 Plus pickups and requested to have them wax potted and I was told that I might lose some highs from the wax potting , well let me tell you I had plenty of highs to spare and then some .I love these pickups in the R8 Les Paul and the junk squealing Burstbucker 1&3 that I replaced because they squealed a ton , which absolutely drove me mad playing thru my Marshall 2555X.

My LP has BB 1 and 2, no squeal what so ever, they are my favorite sounding humbucker, vintage tone and open airy sound.

 

[El Gringo]

My LP has BB 1 and 2, no squeal what so ever, they are my favorite sounding humbucker, vintage tone and open airy sound.

I am glad that yours did not squeal because mine did and the best thing I did was remove them from my R8 and problem solved as the ThroBak pickups rock and now are my favorite pickups . Someone else told me that they had Burstbucker pickups and also had no squeal problems .

 

[paul-e-mann]

I am glad that yours did not squeal because mine did and the best thing I did was remove them from my R8 and problem solved as the ThroBak pickups rock and now are my favorite pickups . Someone else told me that they had Burstbucker pickups and also had no squeal problems .

Did you get them new in a guitar or used? Are they covered or uncovered? Do they have a label on the under side saying what they are?

 

[El Gringo]

Did you get them new in a guitar or used? Are they covered or uncovered? Do they have a label on the under side saying what they are?

new in my R8 , with covers from Gibson Custom

 

[El Gringo]

Did you get them new in a guitar or used? Are they covered or uncovered? Do they have a label on the under side saying what they are?

Can I ask what amp were you using when you played yours? Because I was using my 2555X with the gain up and like I said before the squeal was unbearable . I talked to someone else that also said he had them in a Les Paul and they worked fine for him with his Marshall ,so maybe I just got a bad pair .I have to count my blessings because I discovered ThroBak earlier this spring when I found my original Gibson Patent# sticker T-Tops from my 71 Gibson Les Paul Custom that did not have covers and I sent them to ThroBak for shiny new gold covers which I wanted to have them wax potted but instead ThroBak used a piece of two sided tape on the slug coil with 3 drops of silicone to adhere the cover to the tape on top of the slug coil .Which my Les Paul Custom has the Gibson 57 classic in the neck and the Gibson 57 Classic + in the bridge and they are nice(someday I will restore the originals back into my Custom, the reason why I did not wax pott them was because ThroBak told me that I would de value them by altering them and then not being original as the way they came from Gibson ) and my R9 has Gibson Custombuckers (lightly wax potted) which used to be my favorite pickups .The ThroBak SLE-101 Plus just take it to the next level -holy grail of tone to my ears ,because I don't have 10 grand laying around for a vintage set of Gibson PAF 's and I kick my self because in the early 90's I could have had vintage PAF's for 500 a pop and I was like no way am I paying that much and now looking back I was a little to tight back then and I didn't have the funds .To describe the ThroBak's to my ears the neck pickup is so clean and none of that bottom end mushiness and bassy sounds a lot of neck humbuckers are known for and the bridge pickup where my bread and butter is just pure sonic heaven because I like to crank the volume and the gain and this bridge pickup has so much sustain and tone and it is perfect with my 2555X .Just like the way a good PAF in a Les Paul is supposed to sound and I did have them wax potted and ThroBak warned me that I might lose some high tones but let me tell you I have highs to spare ,and the pickups are just perfect and the sustain is endless and I know I am repeating myself but I have to. I thought that I might have had a tone turd piece of wood with the R8 but with the ThroBak pickups this R8 just sings and to my ears the ThroBak are best pickups next to Vintage PAF's and they are wound on the same machines that Gibson used in the old KZOO factory and made the same way with the same materials and they are very period correct and source the same materials that Gibson used in the Golden era and the same machines and it is like they are making them in a time machine and really knocking it out with the details and materials . They have me sold on them which you can probably tell . To answer your original question the Burstbuckers have the Patent Applied For sticker on the underside and a 1 & 3 and I can't remember if there is something else written on them because I only seen the underside for a second when I got them back from the tech .

 

[paul-e-mann]

Can I ask what amp were you using when you played yours? Because I was using my 2555X with the gain up and like I said before the squeal was unbearable . I talked to someone else that also said he had them in a Les Paul and they worked fine for him with his Marshall ,so maybe I just got a bad pair .I have to count my blessings because I discovered ThroBak earlier this spring when I found my original Gibson Patent# sticker T-Tops from my 71 Gibson Les Paul Custom that did not have covers and I sent them to ThroBak for shiny new gold covers which I wanted to have them wax potted but instead ThroBak used a piece of two sided tape on the slug coil with 3 drops of silicone to adhere the cover to the tape on top of the slug coil .Which my Les Paul Custom has the Gibson 57 classic in the neck and the Gibson 57 Classic + in the bridge and they are nice(someday I will restore the originals back into my Custom, the reason why I did not wax pott them was because ThroBak told me that I would de value them by altering them and then not being original as the way they came from Gibson ) and my R9 has Gibson Custombuckers (lightly wax potted) which used to be my favorite pickups .The ThroBak SLE-101 Plus just take it to the next level -holy grail of tone to my ears ,because I don't have 10 grand laying around for a vintage set of Gibson PAF 's and I kick my self because in the early 90's I could have had vintage PAF's for 500 a pop and I was like no way am I paying that much and now looking back I was a little to tight back then and I didn't have the funds .To describe the ThroBak's to my ears the neck pickup is so clean and none of that bottom end mushiness and bassy sounds a lot of neck humbuckers are known for and the bridge pickup where my bread and butter is just pure sonic heaven because I like to crank the volume and the gain and this bridge pickup has so much sustain and tone and it is perfect with my 2555X .Just like the way a good PAF in a Les Paul is supposed to sound and I did have them wax potted and ThroBak warned me that I might lose some high tones but let me tell you I have highs to spare ,and the pickups are just perfect and the sustain is endless and I know I am repeating myself but I have to. I thought that I might have had a tone turd piece of wood with the R8 but with the ThroBak pickups this R8 just sings and to my ears the ThroBak are best pickups next to Vintage PAF's and they are wound on the same machines that Gibson used in the old KZOO factory and made the same way with the same materials and they are very period correct and source the same materials that Gibson used in the Golden era and the same machines and it is like they are making them in a time machine and really knocking it out with the details and materials . They have me sold on them which you can probably tell . To answer your original question the Burstbuckers have the Patent Applied For sticker on the underside and a 1 & 3 and I can't remember if there is something else written on them because I only seen the underside for a second when I got them back from the tech .

My goldtop is a custom shop 57 reissue, came stock with Burstbucker 1 and 2, the most glorious pickups I ever heard. Any amp I ever played it through no squeals. I will give you an instant where I did get squeal with Gibson humbuckers but not these, I put a 57 Classic Plus and 57 Classic in my SG and love them, they were uncovered pickups and my high E string frequently caught the edge of the pickups and got stuck (I'm an aggressive player). So I put covers on them to fix that problem but then the pickups squealed like a pig with any gain on them, so I fired up my wax pot on the stove and wax potted them and no more squeal. Its an easy fix and I suggest you wax pot your squealing pickups, it did not affect their tone at all to my ears. Another story, I bought a pair of Burstbucker 1 and 2 to put in another guitar, I wanted the pickups to be uncovered so I unsoldered the covers and to my surprise there was plenty of wax in it, I thought these pickups were supposed to be unwaxed, I guess not.

 

[El Gringo]

Thanks for they're no good to you how much do you want for them


My goldtop is a custom shop 57 reissue, came stock with Burstbucker 1 and 2, the most glorious pickups I ever heard. Any amp I ever played it through no squeals. I will give you an instant where I did get squeal with Gibson humbuckers but not these, I put a 57 Classic Plus and 57 Classic in my SG and love them, they were uncovered pickups and my high E string frequently caught the edge of the pickups and got stuck (I'm an aggressive player). So I put covers on them to fix that problem but then the pickups squealed like a pig with any gain on them, so I fired up my wax pot on the stove and wax potted them and no more squeal. Its an easy fix and I suggest you wax pot your squealing pickups, it did not affect their tone at all to my ears. Another story, I bought a pair of Burstbucker 1 and 2 to put in another guitar, I wanted the pickups to be uncovered so I unsoldered the covers and to my surprise there was plenty of wax in it, I thought these pickups were supposed to be unwaxed, I guess not.

The Burstbucker pickups are in the box and I will not be using them as I have the ThroBak's . From things I have heard from others I was the only one with the bum pair and that's enough for me because it was a pain in the neck .

 

[freefrog]

^^^El Gringo, did they say why they would not wax pot them besides that it is not the way it was done in the 60's?
I have a T-Top set and the wax so I have been thinking about it. But the tape and glue worked just as well?

I'm not El Gringo but Pat. Number's were wound on butyrate bobbins: this material would melt in boiling wax - and it smells like vomit when touched with a hot soldering iron, for those who'd want to check which kind of plastic their bobbins are made of...

And yes, tape + silicon work fine most of the time (although there's other tricks to kill squealing feedback).

FWIW.

EDIT - Oups, I've replied to a post wrote 2 years ago, sorry. Maybe at least my answer will be useful for other readers...

 

[pat_rocks]

Hey there, folks!

As I've been asked a question or two about wax potting pickups since I've been on here, I wanted to go over the tips and tricks that I've learned over the years as to the most effective way to do this process. The perfect opportunity has recently presented itself because I just took in 3 vintage cream 1970s DiMarzio "Dual Sound" pickups in a trade for some guitar work. While these pickups DO sound amazing, they were never potted, so since I had to do this process three times in a row, I figured it would be fun to document my work and share it with the Forum.

First, a word on why this needs to be done. In the olden days, pickups were never potted (largely because amps had FAR less gain in the 50s and 60s then they do now), so almost all really old pickups are microphonic. Conversely, almost ALL mid to high priced modern pickups are potted at the factory. How can you tell if your pickup is microphonic? Have you ever had a guitar or pickup that had a high-pitched squeal or noise when you turn up the amp? I'm not talking of good, musical feedback that swells from your notes. I'm speaking of a shrill, ear-piercing noise like when a microphone is too close to the PA speakers/monitors. This is caused by sound waves from the amp/PA penetrating the pickup and vibrating the coil windings themselves causing this HIGHLY unpleasant noise. In the following process, we will immerse the pickup in melted wax (namely paraffin) to stabilize the coil as well as all other elements of the pickup. This should make it impervious to microphonic feedback, and you can then mute your strings at high volume without that annoying squeal.

First, here are the tools I use:

This is my wax melter. I got it on eBay for around 50 bucks. It was designed for spas and salons, although I have no clue what THEY use it for. It keeps the wax melted at a nice and stable 150-160 degrees Farenheit, which is the ideal temperature for our needs. If you get the wax much hotter, you can melt the actual pickup bobbins, and if you have the wax too cold, it won't properly penetrate the coils and you won't solve the problem. If 50 bucks is too steep, you can also do what I did during my college days: use a Rival Hot Pot like you get at a drug store. Basically, you NEED a double boiler, because you don't want hot, molten wax anywhere NEAR an open flame for reasons that I hope are obvious. In those days, I filled an old, cleaned-out tuna fish can with wax and put it in the hot pot with boiling water around it. If you use this method, take care not to over-heat the water, as the turbulence caused by the boiling can shake your tuna can and water can splash into it, which would be unfortunate at best. As to the paraffin, you can get it cheaply at any online hobby store and a lot of drug stores. Get unscented PURE paraffin ONLY, or you will wind up with lavender or patchouli scented pickups, which might suck. Also, some mix beeswax with the paraffin, but I have never done that and so can't speak for it's effectiveness or not. Straight paraffin has always done the trick for me.

This is a look inside the pot of the wax melter. The wax is pre-melted here, and note the blue marbles at the bottom. These standard size flat style marbles (round ones would work just as well) keep the pickup from making any direct contact with the hot metal bottom of the pot and provide a bit of over-heating insurance.

This is my thermometer for measuring the temperature of the wax while I work. It's a standard meat thermometer that you can buy at any grocery store for a couple of dollars or so.

This picture shows the thermometer in action. It's just over 160 deg F here, which is a BIT hot, but the relatively cold room-temperature pickup going in will drag it down a bit, so we should be fine.

Here is our guest of honor - a 70s DiMarzio Dual Sound that squeals like a pig when the Marshall is turned up. Not for long... We have all the tools we need now, so let's get to work!

Here the pickup has just been placed into the wax. Note the tiny air bubbles on the surface. That's what you want to see. The air in those bubbles coming from the pickup are being displaced by the hot wax, and they mean that the process is working and is under way. You want to let the pickup soak in the hot wax (while monitoring the temperature) for anywhere from 15-30 minutes. This is because the entire pickup needs to warm up to the temperature of the wax, thus allowing the wax to fully saturate the entirety of both coils. Some people like to put rubber bands around the pickup to keep the black cloth tape around the edges from unravelling, but I have never done this for two reasons. One, the tape has never unravelled on me, and two, the rubber bands leave unsightly "scars" in the wax when the pickup is dry, and I don't like to leave ANY kind of marks on anything I work on.

I occasionally tap the pickup with a chopstick or jiggle it by it's cable while in the wax to jar any trapped air loose. I usually do this every couple of minutes or so. When you can do this consistently and NO air bubbles come up to the surface from the pickup, you're done.

Here I am lifting the pickup out of the wax and letting the majority of the excess drip back into the pot to avoid a big mess at cleanup. When the drips stop, it's time for the next step:

Here I am tapping the pickup onto a paper towel to shake out additional excess wax.

Now, I take a piece of paper towel and wipe the outsides, top, and back of the pickup clean from excess wax WHILE THE PICKUP IS STILL HOT. That's important because once the paraffin dries and hardens, it's a PAIN to clean off.

All done and cooling on the towel. In about 45 minutes or so, this pickup will be ready to rock any high gain amp (or arena!) in a noise-free manner.

Some notes on other pickup types:

For standard single coils like Strat pickups, the process is much the same...just set the plastic covers aside - do NOT immerse them with the pickup!

For chrome/nickel covered pickups (like a lot of humbuckers and Tele neck pickups), LEAVE THE COVER ON. Any attempt to remove it may damage the coil windings if you're not careful or do not FULLY understand what you're doing. Plus, you want the wax to fill the cover and fully encase the coils. If not, the air between the coils and the cover can create a mini reverb chamber for the sound waves and the whole operation could prove futile. I actually tape over the pole piece holes in the covers to allow the maximum amount of wax to dry inside the pickups for just this reason.

Anyway, I hope this long winded thesis hasn't bored you and that you were able to glean a thing or two from it. Pickup potting is actually fun to do, and the results are undeniable. Enjoy yourselves and have fun with it. Feel free to respond with any questions or rants about this post and I (or any of the other techs around here) will, as always, do our best to answer them!

Cheers!

-Lane

good job you did a better job than eddie van halen with it. He destroyed 3 of them before getting it right hahaha. I have one my self i will probably do it this summer ^^ !