Wax your Pickups... Not Your Surfboard!

I just got a Yuriy Shishkov 'Twisted Tele'... ok... I got it on EBay... but I have become an EBay expert (not something to banter around). I was playing this Tele, with the Bigsby™ on it, and happened to notice some strange wax on the bridge pickup. It was smooth all the way around, and then had a lump of wax on the top, that looked like a candle that you might have dropped. The was was yellow-white, so it was definitely nothing I had seen before. My question was... had the guy I bought it from on EBay changed anything on it? Well... here is the answer; since this Guitar has a Bigsby™ bridge, there is a lot of metal around the pickup. This metal vibrates, and can cause microphonic feedback. Because of this, Fender coats these pickups in wax (yes... wax... candle wax, or paraffin with 20% beeswax...). Fender pickups, the vintage ones, used to be potted this way. It also protects the pickups from the elements. The wax is brushed on usually. Tape is sometimes also used to 'pot' a pickup, and prevent feedback problems. Another way pickups are potted is with epoxy, or thin laquer. This is not the way you want them potted... pickups done this way are 'shiny'...and you cannot unwind the winds after this has been done. The wax, however, is non-toxic, easy to deal with, and can be undone again for repair work or rewind. Fralin does their pickups this way. To recap... what is microphonic feedback? Well... get your un-potted bridge pickup and tap on it for an example.