Alnico II Pro uncovered question

[Grey Ghost]

Howdy ya'll. My questions are reference to alnico ii pro uncovered pup. I just got the pup and is paired with pearly gates neck and I love the combo in my LP standard. I read that aph-1 is wax potted. Is it true? I want to flip the magnet, but afraid I would have to potted again. Another question is in regards to wax potting. If I want to cover the aph-1 with nickel cover, do I have to pot the whole pup again? Thanks in advance.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

To cover it you will have to pot the area between the bobbins and cover but to mess with the magnet you dont have to worry. If you are flipping the magnet Im assuming you want an out of phase sound right? Well if youre still afraid to mess with the pickup you can wire it to change the phase of the pickup. An advantage to that would be using a push/pull pot to switch between being in and out of phase so you get the best of both worlds.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Relax. I've switched dozens of magnets & never repotted any PU's. I also put covers on open coil PU's, and don't re-pot the PU. There's enough wax in a PU to take care of these changes.

Don't be misled by some Asian PU's, which have a pound of wax crammed into them; they look like a bar of soap. Totally unnessary & it muffles the tone. Good quality PU's only have a little wax in them.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Thanks guys I have a cover somewhere in my garage will cover it after work thanks for your inputs

 

[uOpt]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Howdy ya'll. My questions are reference to alnico ii pro uncovered pup. I just got the pup and is paired with pearly gates neck and I love the combo in my LP standard. I read that aph-1 is wax potted. Is it true? I want to flip the magnet, but afraid I would have to potted again. Another question is in regards to wax potting. If I want to cover the aph-1 with nickel cover, do I have to pot the whole pup again? Thanks in advance.

You just aim a hairblower at it for a while to re-melt some wax.

Not that you need it, the APH almost always comes with 4-conductor.

SD's method of shutting up a cover is a single large drop of wax on top of one bobbin and put on the cover really string. Can be done at home if you have the right clamping at hand.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Blueman might have gotten away without having to pot when putting a cover on but personally I'd pot it. Any air gap between the cover and the bobbins could make the pickup microphonic.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Blueman might have gotten away without having to pot when putting a cover on but personally I'd pot it. Any air gap between the cover and the bobbins could make the pickup microphonic.

I've played some fairly loud gigs and never had any feedback issues. Since I buy most of my PU's used, they're usually open coil, which I hate the look of, so I put on covers. I never re-pot them, and usually don't solder the covers on. Still no feedback. That's not to say I never will at a high volume venue, or that you never will, but it's not something to lose sleep over. I think a lot of the guys here with (unpotted) Seth's aren't running into feedback either.

Having taken apart dozens of American-made HB's, there just isn't much wax in them. Most of what there is (a few drops) is for the magnet and the pole pieces. The rest of the PU usually has little, if any. I don't see a need to jam a bunch of wax into one, just because you swap magnets or put on a cover. The manufacturer sure didn't go overboard with wax.

 

[FluffChop]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

What you want to do is pot it if it squeals. If it doesn't squeal no need to worry. I've had potted pickups begin to squeal. A Gibson 498T and I just ran a lighter over the cover (cover facing down) until a little wax came out the screw holes. It didn't squeal after that. So that's an easy trick you can do when putting covers onto potted pickups. Use some of the wax that is there.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

What you want to do is pot it if it squeals. If it doesn't squeal no need to worry. I've had potted pickups begin to squeal. A Gibson 498T and I just ran a lighter over the cover (cover facing down) until a little wax came out the screw holes. It didn't squeal after that. So that's an easy trick you can do when putting covers onto potted pickups. Use some of the wax that is there.

+1. And some PU tape or electrical tape on the coil edges will also stop any cover movement and feedback.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Alnico II Pro uncovered question

Just saying, rather be safe than sorry.