DC Resistance

[ineedanewamp]

Hey guys need some help understanding DC resistance in pickups.

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[theroan]

Re: DC Resistance

It basically refers to the amount of output the pickup has.

Vintage strat pickups would be about 5k where as a hot single coil bridge may be around 9k
A typical PAF humbucker may be around 12 and a passive high gain humbucker may be 14k or more.

[ineedanewamp]

Re: DC Resistance

It basically refers to the amount of output the pickup has.

Vintage strat pickups would be about 5k where as a hot single coil bridge may be around 9k
A typical PAF humbucker may be around 12 and a passive high gain humbucker may be 14k or more.

Thanks cause there is a Seymour Duncan prototype that has a 48 DC resistance so I was trying to figure out why that pick up was so different

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[DarkMatter]

Re: DC Resistance

All new members of the forum should be required to check a box indicating that they have read and understand the following statement.

DC resistance does not equal output.

[LonePhantom]

Re: DC Resistance

I was about to say! DC resistance has more to do with compression than output.

[AlexR]

Re: DC Resistance

There is not much you can tell about a pickup based solely on its K rating. Its one of the most misleading elements of pickup spec, mainly as people immediately assume it refers to pickup strength. The most you can say for the K rating is that it will tell you whether your pickup is functioning in normal range.

[VHTJay]

Re: DC Resistance

Yes, resistance can certainly be misleading, especially in reference to a pickups output. It is really only an indicator in an "all other things equal" scenario. Like, if you had say two humbuckers wound with 43AWG wire and the magnet gauss was the exact same, the one with the higher resistance value will have more output. It gets further complicated when you try comparing pickups using different gauges of wire and of course, different magnet types. For some reason, many people immediately look to the resistance value as an indicator of output, but I think the magnet actually plays a more important role.

[DreX]

Re: DC Resistance

It would be nice to get a sense of which factor affect approximately how much of the tone, for example how much impact does magnet gauss have on the tone, all other things being equal, or how much impact does wire gauge make, or what the wire is insulated with, and then whether it's scatter wound or not (if that even has any impact whatsoever), because it seems that people say "it's lots of factors" but the reality is that some factors matter much more than others, and some factors are so small that the color of the pickup cover probably has a bigger influence on what people believe they're hearing.

[AlexR]

Re: DC Resistance

I think the amount of influence that each factor has depends on all the others. They are co-dependent.

[DreX]

Re: DC Resistance

I think the amount of influence that each factor has depends on all the others. They are co-dependent.

That's true, but I think pickup makers must see a trend where some aspects are always above others. This would have to be their starting point when crafting any sound profile; you'd begin with the big factors and then work your way to the smaller ones.

[ItsaBass]

Re: DC Resistance

The resistance value of a pickup is an almost useless figure to know. Everything it tells you about a pickup is extremely "rough." It can roughly tell you how much wire has been used to make the pickup...however, that will vary depending on the wire gauge, as skinnier wire has more resistance per unit of length. How much wire has been used in a pickup can roughly tell you how many turns of wire have been placed in the pickup...however, that will vary depending on the wire gauge and the bobbin dimensions. Number of turns can roughly tell you what a pickup's e.q. might sound like...however, that will vary depending on the dimensions of the completed coils. E.g. exactly 5000 turns each on three different types of bobbins will sound three different ways. Then there is the strength of the magnets used...and where they are placed in order to make the coil...and whether they are pole-piece magnets, blade magnets, or under-slung magnets using slugs and/or pole-piece screws to direct the magnetic field.

If all other things were equal, resistance would help you roughly compare the basic tone and rough output of two pickups...however, all other things are rarely equal between two different models of pickups...and output is never as simple as across-the-board power. It's always frequency-specific. So, as you can see, using resistance to determine a pickup's tone will almost always steer you wrong.

IME, the most telling specification about how a pickup will actually sound is inductance. Once you know that, you not only know the rough tone of the pickup, and the rough output, but you can also figure out how it will interact with your particular wiring setup (i.e. pots and caps). I.e., you can design a tone circuit that works best with that pickup, instead of using a bunch of trial and error, like we have to do most of the time when figuring out what pots and caps to use to achieve a certain sound.

The one thing that resistance value is actually good for is basic troubleshooting. If you know what the resistance spec is, you can quickly and easily measure resistance as a way to test for internal problems with a pickup.

[orpheo]

Re: DC Resistance

DC Resistance does not equal output or power.


It's worth saying again.


And again!

DC Resistance is NOT a measure of output.

[LtKojak]

Re: DC Resistance



HTH,

[tonelabequa]

Re: DC Resistance

Another pretty useless measure by itself is the resonant frequency, since this is indicated for the pickup alone, without the wiring. Once you add the wiring , guitar cord, etc. you end up with a different res. Freq. , usually between 1 - 2 kHz. Now, if you knew inductance, resistance and res freq of the pickup on its ow you could infer its freq response when wired up ... and make a fair comparison between different PUs.. A very high resistance does usually mean high output, but also darker sounding PU ( more windings --> higher inductance --> lower res freq when wired ) But that is only a very general and rough thing...


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[darthphineas]

Re: DC Resistance

Wouldn't the wiring be indicative of the respective guitar? If people know what's going on with their guitar, they can factor in things like that. The same as people are best served by knowing if their guitar is inherently dark or bright


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