When did pickup potting start?

[rmcfee]

Would this wax potting process have started with Gibson ? It is my understanding that the original PAFs were not potted? Thanks. - Rpb

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

Would this wax potting process have started with Gibson ? It is my understanding that the original PAFs were not potted? Thanks. - Rpb

Good question. Thanks for asking, because I'm curious about that too. Because while the unpotted set of Duncan '59s I got recently has a slight tendancy to feedback, it can be dealt with. The microphonic tendancy gives them a lot more character!

So why aren't pickups named after '59 PAFs normally unpotted? Because there're plenty of Duncan PUs aimed at people who want modern style pickups.

Pete

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

According to this Tonequest webpage, a pdf file that google'll open as an html if you want, Gibson didn't start potting pickpu till very recently.

http://www.johnnya.com/tone_quest_0905.pdf

As html:
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache...ted+potting+pickups&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=19&gl=us

See page 14

Gibson had just started potting pickups prior to the time we
were working on the Classic, and they had never wax-potted
pickups prior to 1988-89. Fortunately, at the time we were
working on the Classics we were also going through a com-
plete re-tooling, so all of the usual restraints and resistance to
change had been removed

 

[LoFiBrian]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

I bet Seymour could shed some interesting light on his first experiences with potting.

I was pretty sure it came about in the mid 70's and out of nowhere and became a simple home brew'd mod for players with a loud amp..

then again EVH has claimed potting was his idea if i remember right?

 

[johnny blackwater]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

Gibson was potting t-tops(pat # pickups) with black epoxy in the early to mid 70`s, I have several of these

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

Tele pickups from the early 50's were dipped in black wax. Lew

 

[rmcfee]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

I have Strat and Tele pups that squeal and that "about to self destruct" vibe does make the sound better (or different), but does potting affect tone when the volume is lower?
I have late 70s Bill Lawrence labelled pups (not actually made by Bill I don't think) that are encased in epoxy.
Perhaps Dimarzio popularized this in the mid 70s with their Super Distortion pups which were made for louder levels. - Rob

 

[BRHGM]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

It's hard to say. It could have been Seth Lover or Doc Kaufman or some hobbyist in their kitchen table. The idea is not new. Thomas Edison's engineers experimented with combinations of waxes and resins at least 60 years before to solve problems with feedback and hum in electronics. I know that Doc Kaufman and Leo were ham radio fans. Doc had a guitar repair shop in his home and repaired pickups for friends. Bernie Rico also did repairs too. Lacquer dipping was another popular anti squeal method. It's a mess to fix a pickup with lacquer potting. I wouldn't bet on Gibson because even Seth Lover got tired of the slow down in innovation that started in the Norlin years and went to work for Fender. The same thing happened in the 1990's when Tim Shaw and the custom shop guys who brought back quality to Gibson left to work for Fender.

 

[blueman335]

Re: When did pickup potting start?

I bet Seymour could shed some interesting light on his first experiences with potting.

I was pretty sure it came about in the mid 70's and out of nowhere and became a simple home brew'd mod for players with a loud amp..

then again EVH has claimed potting was his idea if i remember right?

I think it was Al Gore who invented it.