Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

eclecticsynergy

eclecticsynergy

Well-known member
I've got two neck humbuckers with very low DCRs: a 3.72K El Rayo clone and a 4.1K TV Jones PowerTron.

Would like to pair them with a Custom3 (13.7K but low output because A3) and either a 12.2K Suhr DSH or an 11.1K Anderson H2, depending on which winds up suiting that guitar best.

Is volume balance in middle position going to be a problem with such big differences in DCR?
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

I vote to try them out.

We all know DCR is not everything.
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

Both neck pickups are wound with thicker wire (40 awg), but the turns of wire on the bobbin are comparabel with a low wound paf. So the out it output is about the same. I see no big problem volumewise.
The most prounced mid canceling sound happens when both pickups are alike or the same wind with a consistent wind like Gibson in the 60 and 70ies.
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - my concern isn't so much about output relative to each other, or about mids canceling out.

I'm just wondering whether having three or four times as much resistance in the bridge will make the neck tone unnaturally dominant in middle position, when the two are in parallel with each other.

Is that irrelevant, and my concern about it needless?
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

What hamerfan said about DCR being irrelevant because due to wire gauge + the fact that TV Jones PU's host a double thick magnet: their stronger magnetism make them hot enough albeit they're low DCR and low inductance.

I don't know if it's the case with El Rayo but what I read on the Lollar website pleads for a stronger magnetism as well.

So, in my understanding, the difference of DCR is not a problem in itself. The key parms would be the resonant peak of the 2 PU's in parallel and, mostly, the location / height settings of these two pickups.

For the record, I've a pair of TV Jones Classic in a LP and it doesn't sound weaker than P.A.F. clones. In fact, once in parallel with a 3,3nF cap to ground, these FT's sound close to regular P.A.F. copies (and when I've tried a P.A.F. variation paired with the TV Jones bridge, there was no mismatching in output levels).

Oh, and... If memory serves me, the Custom has an inductance around 7H. According to TV Jones, a Powertron neck measures 2.24H. It should give 2.31H once the PU's in parallel. The same thing with two regular P.A.F. clones (twice 4.4H) would measure 2.2H. It's not a big difference.

Anyway, you'll have to try the 2 pickups together, I'm afraid. Let us know if a proper height setting avoids a prominent bridge PU (as it should be the case IMHO as long as the 2 PU's are not located too close to each other).

Good luck in your experiments. :-)
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

My Les Paul is setup with a sh-13 pickup in the bridge position (14k ohms) and a Gibson t-top (7k) at the neck. Adjusting the height of the pickups for a good sound with both pickups together yields a louder bridge pickup than the neck when used alone. That’s about the worst of it and I actually like it that way,
 
Re: Any problem having a big disparity in DCR between bridge & neck?

Actually I was worried about the low DCR pickup being overly dominant when both are on, not about the high one.
4k vs 12-or-14K seemed like such a big disparity that I was afraid less voltage would flow through the bridge, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for the advice guys, glad to know that it won't be a problem.
 
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