Conference napalm::guitar

    Essentially what you do is dip them into melted parifin and leave
    them there long enough that the coils all get saturated with wax.
    
    The problem this fixes is not necessarily noise per say, but the
    tendancy for unwaxed coils to resonate at high gain levels and create
    that shrieking high pitch feedback that doesn't come from the strings,
    ie: your strings are being deadened by your hand but the guitar
    still shrieks.
    
    I have never done this. As I understand it you can ruin your pickups
    if you leave them in the wax too long as the coil wire, which is
    very fine will melt, or the insulation on the coil wire which is
    very thin will melt or something like that.
                              
    Most manufacturers of replacement pickups (Semour Duncan, EMG,
    Dimarzio, Alembec, Shaller etc.) ALL wax their pickups, Fender and
    Gibson don't to my knowledge, but that may be out of date.
    
    good luck and if you do this and it works let me know how you did
    it, my strat has an old gibson humbucker I'd like to wax just for
    precautionary measures.
    
    dbii

    
    Also, that wax needs to be carfully melted over a double burner,
    as Parifin is an oil-based wax and is prone to flamability.
    
    If you leave the pickup in the wax too long, you could damage any
    of the pickups hardware (coil wires, plastic tops, etc).
    
    Less halssle to buy a replacement.

    Thanks, Dave, that was quick.
    
    > The problem this fixes is not necessarily noise per say, but the
    > tendancy for unwaxed coils to resonate at high gain levels and create
    > that shrieking high pitch feedback that doesn't come from the strings,
    > ie: your strings are being deadened by your hand but the guitar
    > still shrieks.
    
    This is exactly the symptom I am having. It seems to be aggravated by
    conditions of high humidity, which leads me to believe that the
    moisture has something to do with causing the pickups to feedback, but
    this is only a theory.
    
    > Essentially what you do is dip them into melted parifin and leave
    > them there long enough that the coils all get saturated with wax.
    
    Am I correct in assuming this is standard paraffin wax such as is sold
    in the grocery store for sealing jars, making candles (and waxing
    surfboards)? If so, no problem getting it. A precaution to anyone else
    who might want to try this is that the wax should be heated in a double
    boiler. That is, float a small pan containing the paraffin in a larger
    pan of boiling water.
    
    > I have never done this. As I understand it you can ruin your pickups
    > if you leave them in the wax too long as the coil wire, which is
    > very fine will melt, or the insulation on the coil wire which is
    > very thin will melt or something like that.
    
    That could be very disconcerting, to say the least. I wouldn't think it
    would take long for the hot wax to enter the coils. Probably a quick
    dip would be sufficient. In fact, I seem to recall having heard of this
    process referred to as "dipping". Does anyone have more details on how
    long this takes?
    
    - Ram                              

    I have a Seymour Duncan STL3 (quarter pounder Tele Lead) pickup
    with the same problem. Unfortuneately, this problem only showed
    it's ugly face a year after a bought it, so the store won't 
    help me out. I called Seymour Duncan, and they said that something
    inside the pickup may have come loose (magnetic pole most likely)
    and the pickup needs to be "potted" or replaced. It is my understanding
    that epoxy could be used as an alternative to wax. Since Epoxy does
    not have to be heated, just mixed, it may be better and less risky
    than using wax. I'm not sure what the audible differance between
    waxed pickups and epoxy-potted pickups would be.  
    
    Actually, I am very dissapointed with the Seymour Duncan pickups
    that I purchased. When I first bought them, I noticed right away
    that the rhythm pickip did not have quarter inch pole pieces,
    so I returned it to the store and confronted the salesman about
    it. He said that it was packaged in quarter pounder packaging that
    had never been opened and was labeled STR3 on the back, so it must
    be the correct pickup. He dismissed the size of the pole pieces
    by saying that the Tele rhythm pickup is so small that SD could
    not use quarter inch pole pieces on it. I wish I had pushed this
    issue harder, because I have since learned that the Tele Rhythm
    pickup should indeed have quarter inch poles. I figure this pickup
    is probably an STR2 instead of an STR3, and was mislabeled.
    
    	Now that I am using this guitar with a high-gain amp, and a 
    compressor/sustainer, the lead pickup microphonic problem has become
    unbearable. I am debating whether to put the original lead pickup back
    in (It would probably be a good match to the rhythm pickup I have, 
    whatever model it is). After having spent $100 on new pickups for
    this guitar, I am really dissipointed that I ended up with such
    a mickey mouse setup.
    
    	I have one question that someone may be able to answer. The stock
    Tele lead pickup has a copper plate attached to the bottom. When
    I installed the SD pickup, I removed the copper plate from the
    original, and attached it to the new pickup. Was this the correct
    thing to do ? If not, maybe this is contributing to, or even causing
    the microphonic problem.
    
    Mark Jacques
    
             
    

    I had an old Gibson humbucker which I potted in parafin myself. It
    didn't take too long, but it's been a few years and I don't remember
    exactly how long I left it in there.  I took the cover off and dipped
    it slowly a few times, until I could see the parafin getting down into
    the coils good.  I was really paranoid about it melting the insulation
    or pickup parts, but had no problem.  It did seem to help with the
    microphonics. 
    
    gh

    re .4 Mark Semour Duncan's guarantee is that if you aren't satisfied
    with the pickup you can return it any time in the first 30 days
    for an exchange of equal or greater value. I think you should have
    pushed the issue with your store harder.  You may wan to write duncan
    and explain what happened and how you feel, they replaced some strat
    pickups for me a year later when I told them I had decided they
    were junk (not workmanship but I disliked the sound of the SSL-4's
    and wanted SSL-1's)
    
    dave

    re .4
    	Be careful with the epoxy that you use. The way epoxy resin
    cures is by heat, this is why you mix two parts, causing a chemical
    reaction. As well epoxies have a tendancy to expand or contract
    when curing (hardening), as evidenced by companies (Gandalf's mds
    modem) problems with potting the products they do not want copied.
    Gandalf took al while (and a few production runs) to get it right.
    
    WAX IS MUCH SAFER for your pickup and the temperature required to
    melt the wax is much lower that required to melt the copper windings.
    Just be careful of the plastic parts such as the coil forms, if
    you melt these game over... replace pickup. 
    
    BTW Eddie Van Halen used to do this himself for his pickups. Wonder
    if he still builds his own guitars

   Just like making candles, build-up a thin layer at a time.

   Leaving it in the pan for a long time won't give a thicker coat,
   it just allows more time for the heat to transfer to the innards
   of the pickup.

   Enjoy,
   Dave

    re: .8  I believe that the time required is for the wax to fully
    saturate the wire in the coils.  That's it's purpose, after all, not to
    coat the coils but to permeate them which will keep the wires from
    moving around.
    
    gh 

    BTW it was Eddie himself who said in a GP interview "if youse leave
    'em in the wax too long y'all are gonna buy new pickups...."
    (paraphrased due to time elasped)
    
    dbii

    Well, I took the plunge over the weekend and waxed one of my pickups.
    It was a lot harder than I had anticipated, although I seem to have
    pulled it off ok. That is to say, the pickup still works. I'm going to
    wait until I have had a chance to use it some to see what the effect is
    before I try doing the other one.
    
    After doing this, I would be inclined to advise people against it,
    unless they are prepared to replace the pickups anyway. It really was
    quite time-consuming (about 4 hours), as well as tedious and
    frustrating. However, more detailed information on the technique would
    certainly have helped, so I'll enter my experience here. If I did
    anything that is obviously wrong please feel free to correct it.
    
    1. The first step is to remove the pickups from the body of the guitar.
    Most people probably know how to do this, and it varies from guitar to
    guitar anyway. The only point worth making is that you don't have to
    disconnect the wiring from the pickup to the guitar if it's long enough
    to allow you to get the pickup out and open the case.
    
    2. Next, open the pickup case. For humbuckers this consists of breaking
    the solder joints that attach the cover to the body of the pickup
    (they're usually soldered to ground the cover). If you have a
    "solder-sucker" you can just heat it up and suck it out. Alternatively,
    insert a small screwdriver between the body and the cover and gently
    pry the joint apart. The cover should then simply lift off.
    
    3. Again for humbuckers, there are two sets of coils, each of which is
    attached to the body of the case with two screws. Take the screws out
    from the back. You will also have to remove all of the pole adjusting
    screws in one of the coils. This will release the coils. The only thing
    holding them to the case at that point is two small black wires, one
    connected to the center of the pickup wire, and the other connected to
    the case itself (ground). These need to be unsoldered. When the coils
    are taken out there is a bar magnet underneath them. Note the polarity
    of the magnet so that it can be replaced in the same position (I assume
    this is significant). In fact, it would be a good idea to mark the
    position of the coils relative to the case so that there is no
    confusion in replacing them.
    
    4. Now that the coils are out of the case, handle them very gently.
    They are connected together by a single white wire, and are probably
    wrapped in tape. Very, very gently begin to unwind the tape, exposing
    the wire. Try to separate the coils as you do so. Be very careful as
    you get down to the end of the tape, as the larger wires which are
    attached to the coil will probably be stuck to the inside of the tape.
    This was one place I had problems. The larger wires disconnected from
    the tiny coil wires (which are smaller than a human hair), and it was a
    extremely difficult to reconnect them later (more about that). I don't
    know if there is any way to do this without disconnecting them, but the
    process would certainly be easier if you could. In any case, if you do
    have to disconnect them, note which wire goes to which part of the
    coil. My observation was that the white wires went to the outside of
    the winding, and the black wires to the inside, but this may not be the
    same in all cases.
    
    5. Once the coils are separated and exposed they are ready to be
    dipped. One of the coils has pole pieces inside, which you may or may
    not want to remove. They can just be pushed out from either side. If
    you don't remove them they will help to keep wax out of the holes (more
    on this). To heat he wax, place a jar or can containing the paraffin in
    a pot of boiling water and heat until it melts. I used one bar of wax,
    which was plenty. I dipped the pickups by stringing some thread through
    the holes for the pole pieces and lowering them into the wax. I left
    them in for a max of about 5 seconds. Personally I can't see that this
    heat could do any damage to the wires or shells, but I was being
    cautious. I did try dipping them repeatedly, like doing candles, but it
    wasn't clear that it helped with the penetration. As has been noted
    here, the point is to get the wax *inside* the coils, not build it up
    on the outside. If you get too much wax on it you will have difficulty
    getting the pickup back together. When I was done the coil wires were
    still visible through the wax, which formed only a very thin layer on
    the outside.
    
    6. Let the wax dry somewhat. It is not necessary to let it dry hard, if
    you are careful in handling the coils, and is easier to remove the
    excess wax on the shells while it is still a little soft. I spent a
    considerable amount of time carefully cleaning out the holes for the
    pole pieces and screws. This could have been avoided if I had covered
    them with a piece of electrical tape, which I would advise. I think a
    better procedure would be to put tape over the top and bottom of the
    coil shell, attaching the thread or string to the tape so they can be
    dipped. This would save a lot of time cleaning up later.
    
    7. Now start putting things back together. If you had to disconnect the
    heavier wires from the coil wires, reattach them in the same order. I
    found that the best technique for this was to wrap the thin wire around
    the thick wire a few time, then touch the joint quickly with a little
    solder. The heat burns the insulation off the coil wire in the process,
    and good contact is made. This is the most delicate part of the
    operation, especially since the inside wire of the coil only extends
    about an inch, and if you break it off you are finished. If anyone
    knows of a way to avoid this I'd like to know about it. I taped each
    joint immediately as I completed it, and rewrapped the tape on the
    coils as quickly as I could to avoid further damage to the wires.
    
    8. Now just reverse the disassembly process: solder the black wires
    back to the case (in the right order, or you'll reverse the polarity of
    the pickup), screw the coils back into the case, place the cover back
    on and solder it to the case, and put the pickup back on the guitar.
    
    Sounds simple, huh?
    
    - Ram

    Wow, you went to a lot more trouble than I did!  I just removed
    the cover and dunked the whole thing, magnet and all, without
    seperating the coils.  I don't know if that was right, but it worked
    for me.
    
    Greg
    

    I was wondering about that (*now* he tells me), but I don't see how
    that helps anything. The tape is wrapped around the coils separately,
    so you can't get it off completely without taking them apart. And if
    you don't take the tape off, you aren't getting the wax into the coils,
    just coating them on the outside. Everyone seemed to agree that the
    point was to get the wax inside the coils. So what gives? It just
    coating the whole pickup with wax sufficient to stop the feedback?
    
    By the way, I tried the guitar out last night, and the waxing did seem
    to help a lot. There was a very significant difference between the
    feedback characteristics of the pickup I waxed and the one I didn't
    wax. The unwaxed one still gives out a high-pitched squeal from time to
    time. It looks like I'll have to do that one too. It would be nice to
    resolve this question about the waxing technique before I do.
    
    - Ram

    Ram, I thought you merely removed the electricians tape and waxed
    the entire thing....but then I don't always think that well..but
    this may be why the caution about keeping it in the wax for long
    periods of time was included in the article I read...time is obviously
    necessary for good penetration...
    
    dave

    > Ram, I thought you merely removed the electricians tape and waxed
    > the entire thing....
    
    It's the "merely" that's the catcher. As I indicated in my extended
    description back a few notes, the tape on my pickups was wound around
    the coils in such a way that a) it couldn't be removed without
    separating the two sets of coils, and b) it was very difficult to
    remove without breaking the connections of the coil wires to the
    heavier output wires. You might be able to avoid the latter if you did
    this with extreme care, which I will try to exercise more of now that I
    know the consequences.
    
    Also, I'm still not convinced that much time is required for good
    penetration. We're not talking about porous materials, like cloth.
    It's true that the windings are tight and the wires are small, but it
    seems like hot wax is either going to enter them fairly quickly, or not
    enter at all. In any case, I dipped them fairly quickly, as I think you
    said you did earlier, and it seems to have worked ok.
    
    - Ram

    To be honest with you, I really don't remember about the tape. I
    *think* I left it on, but it wasn't the real wide tape that covered
    everything, so there was room for the wax to get in anyway.  I may have
    remove it or pushed it around, I'm not really sure.  It's been about 4
    years.  I guess I could dig out that pickup.  I still have it, but
    I'm not using it right now. 
    
    I do remember scraping wax off of the outside of the thing for a
    long time, just to get it down in size enough to get the metal cover
    back on.
    
    Greg

    Alright I understand how and why the waxing is done. But this I
    do not understand. When making ciols for any application be it
    a radio or guitar or whatever I have always been perfectly satisfied
    with using laquer to immobilize the ciol thus reducing the
    microphonic/feedback conditions that they cause. Is there a reason
    why wax is better? It is certainly a much more difficult process
    which may result in disaster. I have never lost a ciol to the laquer
    as the possibility of damage is almost nil.
    
    Jim
    
    

    You've raised a good question, for which I have no good answer. It
    definitely would be a lot easier to use lacquer, but I've never heard
    of this as a solution. Could it have anything to do with the
    frequencies of the feedback, or possibly the size of the wires?
    It seems that lacquer would provide a more brittle result than wax.
    
    - Ram

    OK, I did the second pickup over the weekend, and I have considerably
    improved my "technique" based on some of the comments here. Basically,
    I tried to avoid removing the coils from the case, and was extremely
    careful in unwrapping the tape so as not to break the connections of
    the coil wires. I reduced the amount of time from 4 hours to less than
    an hour to do one pickup, including taking off the strings and putting
    them back. If you did both pickups in one pass you could probably
    finish the whole job in about an hour. Here's the revised technique:
    
    1. The first step is to remove the pickups from the body of the guitar.
    Most people probably know how to do this, and it varies from guitar to
    guitar anyway. This time I disconnected the pickup wires from the
    guitar rather than from the case.
    
    2. Next, open the pickup case. For humbuckers this consists of breaking
    the solder joints that attach the cover to the body of the pickup
    (they're usually soldered to ground the cover). If you have a
    "solder-sucker" you can just heat it up and suck it out. Alternatively,
    insert a small screwdriver between the body and the cover and gently
    pry the joint apart. The cover should then simply lift off.
    
    3. Again for humbuckers, there are two sets of coils, each of which is
    attached to the body of the case with two screws. These are wrapped
    with black electrical tape. You need to remove the tape completely from
    both coils. Since it goes in between the coils it is necessary to
    remove one of the coils from the case in order to get at the inside.
    Release the coil with the fixed pole-pieces (non-adjustable) by
    removing the two screws that hold it to the case. Be very careful at
    all times in handling the coils.
    
    4. Very, very gently begin to unwind the tape, exposing the coil wire.
    Be very careful as you get down to the end of the tape, as the larger
    wires which are attached to the coil will probably be stuck to the
    inside of the tape. Do this for both coils. Then screw the coil you had
    removed back to the case for dipping.
        
    5. To heat the wax, place a jar or can containing the paraffin in
    a pot of boiling water and heat until it melts. I used one bar of wax,
    which was plenty. Turn the case upside down and lower it into the wax
    so that the coils get completely submerged. I left them in for a max of
    about 5 seconds. Personally I can't see that this heat could do any
    damage to the wires or shells, but I was being cautious. I did try
    dipping them repeatedly, like doing candles, but it wasn't clear that
    it helped with the penetration. As has been noted here, the point is to
    get the wax *inside* the coils, not build it up on the outside. If you
    get too much wax on it you will have difficulty getting the pickup back
    together. When I was done the coil wires were still visible through the
    wax, which formed only a very thin layer on the outside.
    
    6. Let the wax dry somewhat. It is not necessary to let it dry hard, if
    you are careful in handling the coils, and is easier to remove the
    excess wax on the shells while it is still a little soft. Scrape off
    all wax on the top of the coils and any excess that may have gotten
    around the case itself.
    
    7. Now start putting things back together. Release the one coil again
    and rewrap the tape around each coil. Then screw the coil back to the
    case, put the cover back in place, solder the cover to the case, and
    replace the whole thing on the guitar.
    
    Now that I've gotten through this again it doesn't seem as bad as it
    did the first time. It would definitely help to have someone show you
    the ropes the first time.
    
    - Ram

    So, Ram?  Can you notice any difference between the pickups done
    using the different techniques?  Just curious.
    
    Greg
    

    I'll let you know after I get a chance to crank it up on Thursday. I
    doubt that there'll be any perceptible difference, though. I think I
    got about the same amount of wax on the pickups both times.
    
    - Ram

    Thought I'd add my horror story here.
    
    I took the directions that were so painstakingly typed in here and
    went home to wax my old 335 humbucker that used to sit in my strat.
    Well the old electrical tape was so munged to the bobbin that when
    it finally let go it took out one of the coil wires (ya know the
    40 gage one that comes out from under the coil) one humbucker=history.
    
    So in the process of looking for an inexpensive PAF type humbucker
    I spoke with a guy at stewart McDonald's, his comment. DON'T USE
    PARRIFIN! Use shellack, take the entire pickup and soak it for several
    days, allow a week or so to dry and use it, no dissassembly required.
                                                               
    If I'd only called him yesterday......
    
    dbii

    PS: anybody know typically how many turns of wire are used in a
    pickup? I got these two bobbins, magnet etc....

    dbii

    re: -1
    
    Seriously??  On the average about 7500 turns, more or less depending
    on your voicing.  Hey DBII, is you don't want the pickup's `skelton',
    I'll gladly take it!
    
    Buck

    
    Why not send it to Seymour for rewiring??
    
    

    I spoke with Mr. Duncan's rep yesterday.
    
    6-8 weeks turnaround time. $65 minimum, possibly more depending
    on what Semour himself decides to charge as he personally rewinds
    the pickups....cheaper to just buy a PAF from Duncan....
    
    dbii
    
    ps: anybody got a used gibson humbucker they're not using?

    re .22 read .17
    
    Jim
    

    I recall seeing some spec sheets a few years back and the average
    amount of windings were in the 4000 to 5000 turn range (a heck of
    a lot of winding on some mighty thin wire). I could never find a
    good source of wire for winding pickups tho...

    As for parrafin versus shellac, I doubt that it will effect, or
    damage anything. The shellac would probably harden up tighter,
    and in general might work better, but, the parrafin won't cause
    any electrical problems, or irreversable damage to the pickups.

		Jens_who_has_rewound_pickups_but_would_rather_just_save_
		the_time_effort_(and_pain)_by_buying_a_pickup_that_already_
		sounds_like_I_wanted_it_to.

    Something I had never noticed before... I took apart the Tele yesterday
    as i was considering dipping the pickups in varnish to seal them and
    found the bridge pickup to be wrapped with string. I am not sure
    how/if this affects the sound but I am sure varnishing it would
    not be a good idea. I think, however the problem with the neck pickup
    is a result of the cover being loose. Does anyone have any ideas
    how I might secure it better without damaging the pickup? Or any
    thoughts on what the string is for.
    
    Jim
    

    Funny you should mention the Fender "string". I also have this "string"
    or "cord" wrapped around my '66/'67 Tele bridge p/u. I LOVE the tone,
    but it's very microphonic and squeels at high gain settings. So here I
    am in the "Pickup_Potting" note. I also have this problem with my neck
    pickup as well, but not nearly as bad as the bridge. Changing the
    pickups would be an answer, but I know guys personally that change
    pickup as many times as their mood and they're still not happy with their 
    sound. I LOVE the tone that I get with my current pickup selection, but I 
    *need* to get rid of this high gain squeel! I'm going to need more
    information before doing anything. The "do this", "don't do that" has
    me questioning everything. I wonder if Seymore Duncan will just "pot"
    pickups and nothing more? Maybe I'll contact Dimarzio in NY and ask
    them as well. I'll let you know what I find out.
    
    	Fred (who wants to keep the tone, but lose the squeel!)

    RE.29
    The "cord" is used as protection, just as the black tape on newer pickups 
    to keep from damaging the wires, bobbins etc.
    
    	Rock on (without squeel),
    				 Fred

    Fred,

    I had a '68 Tele that was horribly microphonic. It drove me nuts and I
    sold it long ago. On my current Tele I have a Seymore Duncan bridge PU.
    It's really really nice sounding. The neck PU is an original '50s Tele
    PU, it's nice too -- smooth and mellow sounding.

    Regarding having a PU potted: what's-his-name down at what's-the-store
    does that kind of stuff. Gimme a minute here...SPRUNG. John Sprung at
    American Guitar Center in Wheaton, MD. Call 'im. He's famous and
    actually does answer the phone. If you call after 8PM you might even
    interrupt his band practice. Numbers in here somewhere. Maybe Neil Orsi
    has it handy...


                NEIL!  NEIL!  YOU GOT THAT NUMBER?

    Anyway, John can po'lly tell you what can be done. He's quite
    knowlegable about reworking pickups. He owns (and uses) Leo's original
    PU winding jig, but beware it winds 'em the opposite polarity of what
    most Fender PUs are -- just like the early '50s Fenders. He's also the
    owner of that one-of-a-kind clear lucite Strat that Leo made for his
    marketing guys. It was the center spread in GW a few years back.

    --Ron

    Hey, speaking of American Guitar Center, I called their number about
    a month ago and got a recorded message saying they were moving around
    October to Vermont!  So now you can just drive that pickup over for a
    waxjob.
    
    /rick

    Fred's guitar was more than microphonic last night, it was radiophonic.
    
    We were getting NPR amazingly loud and clear until I loaned him a
    shielded cord.
    
    I've heard radio coming thru amps before but never this clearly.
    
    	db

    My Les Paul Deluxe is so microphonic that when I turned up my Kitty
    Hawk to about '7', I could speak into the pickups and amplify my voice
    at my speaker cab!  They squeal bad, too.....
    

    RE: .34 and .35
    
    	No, I can't sing through my p/u's Steve, but with that old
    unshielded cable I had last night at rehersal I was receiving a 
    very clear radio signal. Change the cable and *poof* the radio is 
    gone. The squeel was still there until I turned down the pregain 
    and increased the postgain. Still didn't sound bad, but it wasn't 
    what I wanted.
    
    Sounds like I'll wait till late October and contact the guys in Vermont.
    Excuse me...   could you pot this while I wait?  ;^)
    
    
    Thanks for all the info guys!
    
    		Fred (who doesn't need this done right away)
    

    As long as they're not moving to White River Jct. or (ee-gads)
    Burlington. That'd be more than a hop, skip and a jump.

>    My Les Paul Deluxe is so microphonic that when I turned up my Kitty
>    Hawk to about '7', I could speak into the pickups and amplify my voice
>    at my speaker cab!  They squeal bad, too.....
    
    Yeah, mine is too.  At least the bridge pickup is.  The neck pickup's
    ok.  But I don't think I'm gonna bother worrying about trying to pot
    the pickup that's in there 'cause it's output is kinda low too, so I
    think when I get around to doing something about it, I'll just replace
    it.  Duncan makes some nice replacements for these that I think I'll
    enjoy playing through.
    
    Greg<

       Years ago, I replaced both pickups in my Telecaster with Seymour
    Duncan 1/4 pounders.  The SD bridge pickup squeeled uncontrollably,
    so I put the original bridge pickup back in.  I eventually sent the
    SD pickup back to Seymour Duncan and they potted it for me. The SD
    pickup is sitting in a drawer. I never bothered to install it. 
    
       I've come to like my Tele just the way it is with the stock bridge
    pickup and 1/4 pound rhythm pickup. The original neck pickup had such 
    low output  that the  bridge pickup completely  drowned it out in the  
    center switch position. The 1/4 pound rhythm pickup has about the same 
    output as the stock bridge pickup and the center switch position has a 
    lot more fullness to it now. 
    
        I'm not sure if I'll ever install the SD bridge pickup. 
    
    	Mark
    

    I should have pointed out that the Seymore Duncan bridge PU in my Tele
    is the 54 Vintage Replacement model.