Waxy Jackson pickup

[Soloist1]

Ok. Today I pulled out an old POS j90 that was beat to hell and replaced it with a fairly new j90c. For the hell of it I decided to take the old j90 apart to get a look at the internals of Jackson's pickups. I noticed the inner pickup and the mount are coated in wax. Did Jackson do this so the pickup would resist corrosion or is there some other reason? I've never pulled any other pickups apart to compare it to. Is this something other manufacturers do also? Visually looking at my Duncans I can't see any wax coating on the wire wraps. Kind of a stupid question, but I was just curious if anyone knew the answer.

[Ace]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

They are "potted" in wax so that the coils don't rub each other and creat microphonic squeal. All pickups are potted.

[The Chase]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

Yeah, that's the cheap way to get rid of microphonics. A properly hand-wound pickup doesn't need potting, and it stays musical.
There are some good potted pickups, so no offense to the Potters [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Ace]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

There are VERY few hand wound pickups out there. I have never seen a pickup that was not potted. Except of course ones that aren't finished being made yet.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

The Duncan Seth Lover humbucker isn't potted. Just thought I'd randomly throw that out here. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Ace]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

[ QUOTE ]
The Duncan Seth Lover humbucker isn't potted. Just thought I'd randomly throw that out here. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm... I guess your right.

[Soloist1]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

Learn something new every day. Thanks Ace.

[Ace]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

Hey, I learned something too!!

[toejam]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

A lot of Gibson humbuckers are not potted either. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[etaeniura]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

I think it is one of the Burstbuckers that is not potted to retain "original" tone. I'm not sure if it is the 1 or the 2. I know it is not the 5.

[jgcable]

Re: Waxy Jackson pickup

All pickups are "potted" one way or another. Some (like Fender) use a varnish type material (similar to red Gliptone). It isn't as good as wax and the reason they use it is its cheaper and faster to apply. Using a combination of beeswax and regular wax is the proven method. You are correct in thinking that a correctly wound pickup doesn't need to be potted but you would have to be EXTREMELY carefull not to bang the guitar around at all. Even the slightest jarring of an unpotted pickup can cause the coil windings to shift or loosen thus creating a microphonic (squealing) pickup.