Some customers are interested in knowing if our pickup is waxed. Well, the short answer is yes and we do that using vacuum wax potting. Let's find out more...
What are wax potting & vacuum potting?
Wax Potting
Wax potting is an essential step in manufacturing. It involves immersing guitar and bass pickups in wax to give them a longer life and clearer signal conversion.
Vacuum Wax Potting
Before being immersed in wax, the pickup is put into a vacuum chamber to remove the air, minimizing the chances of air bubbles.
Why do pickups need potting?
Guitar pickups are a crucial component of an electric guitar, responsible for picking up string vibrations and converting them into an electrical signal. To ensure that they last for a long time and make their best, they undergo a process of potting. This solves two main problems microphonics and corrosion.
Small Noise
Guitar pickups tend to produce a small amount of unwanted noise which is called microphonics, especially under high gain. Any physical vibration from a pickup's metal elements can cause microphonics. Wax Potting remedies this problem by coating the metal parts in wax, when dampens, the wax prevents any vibration coming from the coil or pickup parts.
Corrosion
Corrosion from moisture in the air is the main threat to the health of a guitar or bass pickup. Moisture most likely enters the coil around the magnets and damages the pickup. By potting the pickup effectively in wax, the pickup is protected from moisture that comes into contact with its coil and other metal elements.
How do you wax pot a pickup?
Wax Potting
The pickup is put in a mixture of melted wax, typically 80% paraffin and 20% beeswax. Once saturated, the pickup is removed and allowed to cool.
Vacuum Potting
The pickup is placed in a vacuum chamber, and the air is removed, it is then placed in melted wax. Once saturated, the pickup is removed and allowed to cool.
