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what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:35 pm
by Greenfuz
???
and can you have a pickup custom wound to be microphonic?
Re: what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:53 pm
by Mike
Loose windings.
If the windings aren't tight and are able to move around, the pickup will be microphonic. That is why potting in wax cures a microphonic pickup. The wax fills the tiny little gaps between the coils, and secures them in place.
Once I had a microphonic Tele pickup that was caused by the magnet being poorly secured to the bottom of the pickup.
I imagine you can get a custom loosely-wound pickup, but I doubt it is predictable enough to guarantee a certain microphonic quality.
Mike
Re: what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:06 pm
by bob the r0bot
^Nailed it.
Random anecdote: before I changed pickups in my jag, the pickups in it were so microphonic that, when plugged into a high-gain amp, it chorused.
Re: what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:25 pm
by IEatCats
Note to self: loosely wind a shitty pickup.
Re: what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:44 pm
by Achtane
IEatCats wrote:Note to self: loosely wind a shitty pickup.
Just buy an ancient cheapo nothing pickup off of ebay and carefully heat gun that shit.
BAM, un-potted.
Re: what makes a pickup microphonic?
Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 1:37 am
by Greenfuz
bob the r0bot wrote:^Nailed it.
Random anecdote: before I changed pickups in my jag, the pickups in it were so microphonic that, when plugged into a high-gain amp, it chorused.
that sounds beautiful