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Partial- or half-potting

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4/3/2006 1:20 PM

Partial- or half-potting

Had heard a variety of opinions on the effect of potting on tone (most of them negative) but there's nothing like firsthand experience. My waxpot arrived last week and off I went experimenting.

The rule of thumb as far as I had heard and read is to dip the pickup for about 10 to 20 minutes, or until all the bubbles are gone. So I dipped a Tele bridge I made for about 25 minutes to make sure -- and it flat-out killed the tone. The top was gone and the overall output was noticeably down.

So I figured, maybe I overdid it with the time, so I went to the other extreme and dipped another Tele bridge I made for about 7 minutes. VOILA! It not only sounded about 99% the same, it still passed my feedback test with flying colors.

I also dipped a 'bucker that had been returned due to major feedback problems for only 5 minutes and same result, though I was able to get it to squeal a little when I crammed it up against the speaker at 12. (Previously, it was out of control by 4 on the master). I think it even improved the tone, smoothing the top ever so slightly. I think I'm going to keep it for my LP.

Anyway, the lesson for this newbie appears that there is a wide enough margin for error in potting that it can be used also as another tool to refine the tone, not just for reducing feedback -- but probably you veteran winders already knew this?

4/3/2006 1:45 PM
nobody special	Yup...

4/3/2006 1:55 PM

Everybody has a different idea or way of doing something , to end up with a similar result , if this works for you , great , it sounds like you have found your way of doing it ,For me It can also depend on the type of pickup and also how high the output of the pickup is , situation its going to be used in , etc , I really don't know how much it kills the tone , theres plenty of people out there using stuff that should sound average but they seem to manage with it , its mostly in the hands of the player , look at the really great players , they sound good with anything.
Mick

4/3/2006 2:04 PM
nobody special	U may want to look at your winding tension a little more closely too, sometimes if you back off on it a little the potting will tighten it up back to the original point. This takes practice to get the desired results but i'm sure you are up for the task.

4/3/2006 3:04 PM
Zhangliqun	I was winding them tighter to the point that the bobbin would bend up slightly on the ends. But the shorter potting time seemed to have the same effect on both higher and lower tension winds that I dipped. The humbucker was very low tension (hence the big feedback problem with it).

4/3/2006 2:05 PM
nobody special	Hmmm, I have different results, maybe just me???

4/3/2006 3:48 PM
Zhangliqun	I wasn't complaining. My original point was that what I'm doing seems to be working great -- at least so far...

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