How does potting a p'up change the tone?

[papersoul]

What do you guys think changes with a potted pickup? I have heard in various reviews that it is more difficult to have a pickup sound big and open when it is potted and that is why many of the boutique makers do not wax pot their pickups.

I do agree that there are differences with open coil pickups compared to covered buckers, but what about potting?

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: How does potting a p'up change the tone?

Originally posted by papersoul
What do you guys think changes with a potted pickup? I have heard in various reviews that it is more difficult to have a pickup sound big and open when it is potted and that is why many of the boutique makers do not wax pot their pickups.

I do agree that there are differences with open coil pickups compared to covered buckers, but what about potting?

Yes...Guys say they lose the openess and certain harmonic content when they pot an unpotted pickup..I normally stay away from unpotted pickups so I'm not a good candidate to tell you the difference from experience...Just what I read here on the forums.

John

[papersoul]

bump

[Scott_F]

Well, the Seth lovers and the Antiquities are not wax potted for reasons of historical accuracy. There's also a feeling among folks that play these that they seem to have a bit of a honkiness that the old ones had, contributed mostly to the non-potting.

I don't play high gain stuff enough to worry about it. If that's the way Seymour makes them, then that's the way I play them.

I think there's more of a tone change when you remove a cover than when it's potted or not. And that's pretty slight anyway.