Microphonic pickup - junk?

[alex1fly]

Curious to hear from folks with experience using microphonic pickups. I know from reading that unpotted pickups can be a bit microphonic due to the internal parts vibrating... hence the wax to solidify things. Are there other reasons, like poor manufacturing? I'm asking because I have this Tele pickup from a partscaster that sounds great, but squeals like a beast and picks up all kinds of tapping and other sounds like when I touch the magnet - nothing seems loose (except the baseplate, which I glued overnight), and it's sealed pretty tight (maybe with epoxy) so I don't know if I could pot if without disasembling the thing.. It's a no-name junker from what I can tell, so I'm debating whether it's worth trying to save or if I should just pony up for a new pickup?

The internet lore says microphonic = mojo, and I guess I can see that from an intentional perspective (like the Seth Lover), but on the other hand it seems like an experiment in accidental deafness.

 

[idsnowdog]

I don't like anything unpotted because I like predictability in how a guitar works. You may be able to find a sweet spot with unpotted pickups but you may not be able to consistently attain it.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

I have a Chibson Les Paul “replica” with a real T-Top in the bridge. It sounds incredible, but can get a little squealy with too much gain and volume. I deal with it because I love how it sounds.

 

[ICTGoober]

OP says "sealed pretty tight (maybe with epoxy)".

Please explain further, or maybe post some pix.

 

[Mincer]

If the way you play depends on dynamics, where you shape the volume of every note you play as part of your style, there is nothing like a well-made non-potted pickup.

 

[AlexR]

Tele bridge pickups (in vintage style Teles) have a few places for microphonics to occur: The pickup bobbin and the baseplate, the pickup as a whole and the bridge, and the bridge against the body.
If you are using a lot of overdrive/distortion, any benefit from an unpotted pickup is pointless, as you've squashed it with the compression of the drive.
But all Fender style pickups are wax/lacquer potted anyhow (as in around the coil) and have been so since the start. Its only humbuckers and p90's where more vintage styled models don't get the wax.
And mojo never has anything to do with squealing anyhow.

 

[gsammo79]

I learned a good lesson about unpotted pickups a while back. I had a samick les paul style copy. Not a bad guitar at all, outside of it's unpotted pickups squealing uncontrollably.

Hands down, the worst experience with unpotted pickups I've ever personally seen. It made my guitar unplayable, at any volume level or gain level. I had an antiquity bridge (unpotted) model handy that i threw in there to replace it. That guitar never had a microphonic feedback issue again.

Potted pickups are what I prefer, but quality does make a difference in my experience.

 

[Dave Locher]

I played a vintage Vox for a while with pickups so microphonic I could scream at the guitar and my voice would come out of my amp. It would squeal anytime I turned toward my amp while playing. This was back when Jesus & Mary Chain were a thing so I went with it for a while.
I will say that guitar was NOT one of the better sounding instruments I have owned.
Later I had a '62 SG Special with an early DiMarzio Super D that would squeal under high gain and volume. That guitar WAS one of the better-sounding guitars I have owned,
So I guess I'm suggesting there is a lot more to it than microphonic or not. And there is definitely such a thing as too microphonic!

 

[freefrog]

Curious to hear from folks with experience using microphonic pickups. I know from reading that unpotted pickups can be a bit microphonic due to the internal parts vibrating... hence the wax to solidify things. Are there other reasons, like poor manufacturing? I'm asking because I have this Tele pickup from a partscaster that sounds great, but squeals like a beast and picks up all kinds of tapping and other sounds like when I touch the magnet - nothing seems loose (except the baseplate, which I glued overnight), and it's sealed pretty tight (maybe with epoxy) so I don't know if I could pot if without disasembling the thing.. It's a no-name junker from what I can tell, so I'm debating whether it's worth trying to save or if I should just pony up for a new pickup?

The internet lore says microphonic = mojo, and I guess I can see that from an intentional perspective (like the Seth Lover), but on the other hand it seems like an experiment in accidental deafness.

To extrapolate on the reasons evoked by AlexR, I'd say that a loosely wound coil can do that... but in this case, I'd suspect some rod mags (or slugs) touching "uncompletely" the baseplate and my reflex would have been to put something between these components.

Also: what is around the screws holding the PU? If there's springs there, I'd try to replace them with surgical tubbing....

Anyway, and to answer to your questions: although poor manufacturing certainly favors squealing IMHO, I don't see any systematical correlation between poor quality and squealing. I've here a set of boutique unpotted PU's which don't squeal... except if I fit them with a defined pair of A4 bars. IOW, squealing can happen for random reasons, very difficult to track down. Hence the wax potting thing, meant to control this randomness - albeit potted pickups can squeal like pigs too....

 

[alex1fly]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like, as it often is, the answer is "it depends". :18:

I wish I'd taken pics! The guitar is already re-assembled. Both pickups amplify tapping on various places - the body, the bridge, the pickguard, the pickup. The bridge pickup seems to pick up more extra noises. The baseplate's been glued down, and since it's a partscaster I added another screw at the top of the bridge plate. I'm going to leave it as it is for now, and eventually will try it out at gig volume (maybe during soundcheck!) to see if it's stage worthy. Gotta say though, there is some magic in this guitar - the sound is very round and dynamic.