Microphonic pickup - what can I do?

[Supernautilus]

I believe the Jazz pickup in the neck of my single cut guitar is microphonic. I just realized this today. I was noticing a weird tone from the guitar over the last couple weeks. I couldn't figure it out at first. Then I narrowed it down to the neck pup. Makes a loud noise when I tap it. MUCH louder than the bridge pup. And I can hear my voice ever so slightly if I talk loudly into it. And it just has a really bad hollow sound that I know is not right. It just sounds bad.

I have had this pup for almost 15 years at this point. I have no doubt that all my monkeying around with it has caused this in some way. I've had it apart several times recently to change magnets and I feel like that's when it started going bad. I opened it up again to check it and everything seems tight.

From what I've read online, wax potting is the solution. But I don't have any experience with that. Is that my only option? Are there any other solutions for this that I can try at home? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[jeremy]

i think you should gift it to me

having it potted would most likely fix the issue. you could do it at home, but if you dont have bees wax, paraffin, a thermometer, and a way to double boil... its easier to have someone else to it. unless you plan to do more in the future

[idsnowdog]

I just use a mason jar and paraffin wax in a pot of water.

[Supernautilus]

So I can just double boil a mason jar in a pot of water? I have those I think. The only stuff I think I would need to buy is the wax and a thermometer. Any ideas on where I can I get that stuff cheap?

[beaubrummels]

Does it have a cover? You could just put double-sided tape over the slug coil and press the cover onto it.

If it doesn't have a cover, and you've been changing magnets, you could just take a blow dryer (not too hot) to warm the wax potting that is there and squeeze it gently but firmly to put it back together in your hand, just hold it until it cools down. (Don't squeeze the coil wires, just press the bobbins to the plate.) Then perhaps retighten the coil screws once more.

[Supernautilus]

Does it have a cover? You could just put double-sided tape over the slug coil and press the cover onto it.

If it doesn't have a cover, and you've been changing magnets, you could just take a blow dryer (not too hot) to warm the wax potting that is there and squeeze it gently but firmly to put it back together in your hand, just hold it until it cools down. (Don't squeeze the coil wires, just press the bobbins to the plate.) Then perhaps retighten the coil screws once more.

No it doesn't have a cover so that's not an option.

Forgive me, I'm a little unclear on your next suggestion. Are you saying to raise the coil screws first? How far up? And then heat the pup and squeeze the bobbins against the baseplate until it cools? Then lower the coil screws again? Do I have that right?

[Supernautilus]

Oh wait, do you mean the bobbin screws? The 4 screws on the bottom of the baseplate? Is what you're saying to tighten aftewards?

[Mincer]

I kinda like non-potted pickups. They translate dynamics really well. I could see it being a problem for people using a lot of gain and volume, though.

[Supernautilus]

I kinda like non-potted pickups. They translate dynamics really well. I could see it being a problem for people using a lot of gain and volume, though.

Yeah I have a Seth Lover which is non-potted and it sounds fine. But there is definitely wrong with this pup. It sounds bad. It's picking up every vibration that hits it. If I hit it with my pick, it sounds like someone tapping on a glass ashtray lol.

[freefrog]

Yeah I have a Seth Lover which is non-potted and it sounds fine. But there is definitely wrong with this pup. It sounds bad. It's picking up every vibration that hits it. If I hit it with my pick, it sounds like someone tapping on a glass ashtray lol.

If it was for me, I'd start by checking if the screws holding the coils are lot loose... If the magnet or mag poles vibrate on the baseplate, it can be very annoying.

If wax potting is a problem with a not covered PU's, there's 'ghetto tech" solutions. A lenght of soft adhesive tape under and over the mag can help (as well as under the slugs, BTW). Plumber tape (the white one) around the screw poles can be useful too and shouldn't be seen if properly put.

I know it sounds totally amateurish but I've used these reversible tricks to tame microphonic transducers without ruining them with wax potting (which is not reversible and risks to increase the stray capacitance, making the pickup less open and alive, if not a bit dead harmonically if overdone).

Now do what you want and be happy. :-)

[Supernautilus]

If it was for me, I'd start by checking if the screws holding the coils are lot loose... If the magnet or mag poles vibrate on the baseplate, it can be very annoying.

If wax potting is a problem with a not covered PU's, there's 'ghetto tech" solutions. A lenght of soft adhesive tape under and over the mag can help (as well as under the slugs, BTW). Plumber tape (the white one) around the screw poles can be useful too and shouldn't be seen if properly put.

I know it sounds totally amateurish but I've used these reversible tricks to tame microphonic transducers without ruining them with wax potting (which is not reversible and risks to increase the stray capacitance, making the pickup less open and alive, if not a bit dead harmonically if overdone).

Now do what you want and be happy. :-)

Thanks for the tips! I have already checked the bobbin screws and they seem tight. I'm guessing the vibrations are coming from somewhere else. I'll try the hair dryer thing first and if that doesn't work I'll try putting some plumbers tape in there and see it that quiets things down.

[GuitarDoc]

+1

[idsnowdog]

You can find canning wax at hardware stores, home stores, and grocery stores. You can also find candy thermometers at grocery stores. I used to use a thermometer but don't anymore. In my experience the point where the wax melts and becomes semi-cloudy is in the right temperature range.

[GuitarStv]

wax potting (which is not reversible and risks to increase the stray capacitance, making the pickup less open and alive, if not a bit dead harmonically if overdone).

Wax potting increases capacitance???? I had no idea! I thought it was more or less electrically invisible to the pickup.

[freefrog]

Wax potting increases capacitance???? I had no idea! I thought it was more or less electrically invisible to the pickup.

Yes... There's a topic about that here: https://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/th...e-microphonics

It's not that I'm friend with the guy who did these tests but his thread and my own data tell the same thing about this capacitive effect of wax. It's variable and doesn't necessarily harm the tone but it's there, simply because any material has a dielectric constant.

That said, not sure that my geeky rambling is useful in this case, since the Jazz pickup evoked above was normally wax-potted initially, AFAIK... :-P