DESIRABILITY OF SIMILAR RESISTANCE BETWEEN PICK UPS

Gstring

New member
I will shortly be re- pupping and re- potting a Squier Affinity Tele which has previously been thru the hands of possibly more than one would be modders trying to “Nashville” it into a 3 pick up Tele. The existing pups are a Wilkinson WVTB in the bridge and two ceramics which are probably Squier originals. The current owner likes the Bridge PU but wants to upgrade the neck and middle. He is a pretty talented player but fairly penniless. He plans upgrading with an Entwistle AS 57 in the middle which costs around £15 ($22) shipped and an Irongear Steel Twin in the neck £30 ($44) shipped. These pick ups may be unfamiliar to many US members but they probably equate to GFS equivalent in the UK and could be made by Artec in the Far East.

My question relates to the desirability of compatible resistance between the pick ups. All will be Alnico V .The bridge is 7.2 k . The proposed middle is 6.5 k and the proposed neck is either 7.3 k or 11k depending upon whether 1 or 2 coils are selected. The Irongear Steel twin is a single coil which has 2 hot leads. When one is engaged the pup is normal. When the other is engaged further windings are engaged and it becomes hotter. Here is a link which explains. .

http://www.irongear.co.uk/irongear_pickups_026.htm

A mini 3 way switch will be placed between the pots which will give bridge pick up on (to get neck and bridge together ) and an on off for the hot neck windings. The Tone and Vol pots will be push pulls giving out of phase and series options depending where the 5 way is.

I have asked the guy to delay ordering his pups until I do some research. Although I have been helping people rewire for many years ,my knowledge of pup compatibility is limited. I do recollect reading that pups should be compatible in resistance. All comments and guidance will be appreciated.

For the avoidance of doubt I am strictly an amateur .I offer my assistance free. If I am lucky I will get a bottle of something and sometimes a discarded set of pick ups.
 
Re: DESIRABILITY OF SIMILAR RESISTANCE BETWEEN PICK UPS

No, resistance doesn't equal output, so without a whole heap of other info on the pickups, it is a useless way of choosing.

For example, the 11K will be from thinner wire, which makes it have more resistance per unit length.
Other pickups could be wound in a way that gives more output in a frequency range which makes the amp seem louder, or drive harder.
 
Re: DESIRABILITY OF SIMILAR RESISTANCE BETWEEN PICK UPS

don't worry at all about mis-matches between different pickups with regards to the DCR. i have a G&L fallout with a JB in the bridge (huge DCR) and a P-90 in the neck. the neck pickup probably has half of the DCR and together they sound fantastic. on their own they sound flawless too. there's no volume difference going from one pickup to the other.
 
Re: DESIRABILITY OF SIMILAR RESISTANCE BETWEEN PICK UPS

I'd put the 11K in the bridge slot, and the 7K in the neck. Just because they were labeled for different means absolutely nothing; they were intended for being part of different pairs anyways. Hot PU's in the neck slot tend to be dark and loud; underwound PU's in the bridge slot are bright, thin, and weak.
 
Re: DESIRABILITY OF SIMILAR RESISTANCE BETWEEN PICK UPS

Thanks for the feedback guys. Will inform owner there is no big NO NO to his choice of pups so he will presumably place order.

Note what you say Blueman but the guy likes the existing Wilkinson bridge pup, It is made I believe in Korea and has a good Tele bridge sound although single notes do sound a bit thin above the 12th fret on the thinner strings. Quite frankly FWIW I think this guitar sounds pretty good with its existing cheapo ceramic middle and neck pups but this probably has a bit to do with the playing skills of the youngish owner.
 
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