How to Make a Bass Pickup

Step 5 Potting

I dont have a picture of this step, but its pretty important.

What you will want to do is cover/pot the pickup in either natural scented wax or with a potting epoxy. Beeswax works great for this, and is what I used (my pickup does smell a bit like honey). You just need to get some from a craft store like Hobby Lobby, put the wax in a coffee can, and place the coffee can with the wax in a pot with warm water for a few minutes. I say warm because you dont want this to get too hot. If you burn through the insulation on the wire
it can cause a short... which means the pickup will either not work well, or not at all. If you are worried about this, you might just want to use a potting epoxy.


Potting a pickup (dipping in wax) reduces microphonics, preventing the wire from vibrating in the magnetic field. Increasing the turns of wire (5000 - 8000 are somewhat standard numbers) will roll off high frequencies the same way an inductor does in a low pass filter.

Comments

[haysnail]

i prefer to use hot glue gun.

[Koil_1]

I would suggest the epoxy because if the wax get's to hot it will melt. Anyone who has ever gone to a small time gig can understand that not all vehicles have air conditioning. That's not to mention if it has to sit in the car for a while in the hot sun... Just something to think about...

[laminterious]

I've used potting epoxy and it doesnt melt on me.. at least, not enough to notice, i.e. no need to wipe or clean up. Now, if you use beeswax, you will get a honey scent, but thats about it. Even in a hot car on a 6 hour trip in august.