How To Measure Pup Output ??

[rammer69]

I just got my PARKER pup back from MJ this week, it was a dimarzio , but now its a *** DUNCAN***.. im heading to chicago tommorow to get my GTR, but would like to MEASURE the pup, what wires do you use? it has red - blk- green- white- gray... it does not have a bare grnd wire.. the white & black are soldered together.....i have never used a meter before, i'm going to borrow one, if you can tell me what to set the switch on,that would be great.. BTW, i tried a search before i posted this , hoping to not bother anyone, but didn't find anything........thanks rammer]

 

[crazytooguy]

Measuring the output of a pickup requires a good bit of electronic gear. An easier way to measure pups is to measure the DC resistance of the coils. This usually correlates to the output pretty well.

 

[jeremy]

there is no easy way to measure output in a maner thats useful for comparison. like crazy said, you can measure the dc resistance but thats only one indicator of output. a high dc rating, like 16k ohms will have strong output. a lower rating like 6k probably wont.
for your pup id try using the red and green wires. im assuming the gray is ground but i could be wrong

 

[shreddin_ED]

Re: How To Measure Pup Output ??

I just got my PARKER pup back from MJ this week, it was a dimarzio , but now its a *** DUNCAN***.. im heading to chicago tommorow to get my GTR, but would like to MEASURE the pup, what wires do you use? it has red - blk- green- white- gray... it does not have a bare grnd wire.. the white & black are soldered together.....i have never used a meter before, i'm going to borrow one, if you can tell me what to set the switch on,that would be great.. BTW, i tried a search before i posted this , hoping to not bother anyone, but didn't find anything........thanks rammer]

take the red probe of the meter to the black duncan wire and the green and bare wire to ground(black probe) make sure the red/white wires are twisted together and not touching anything.
this will give you a resistance reading,which is only a partial way to determine output and not a very good one at that.
i have seen pickups with a very high resistance but have a lower output,
dimarzio uses a millivolt rating which is the best bet,

 

[jeremy]

the fact that the black and white wires are connected togeather leads me to believe that the red and green wires would be used as hot and ground as in dimarzios

 

[rmcfee]

It seems that 12Kohm resistance with Ceramic mags (for example) will give a different a different output than if it was 12 Kohm with Alnico II. - Rob

 

[jeremy]

sure cause the ceramic magnet is much stronger

 

[rammer69]

THANKS -crazyguy-jeremy-& shreddin.. jeremy, ill try the GRAY for ground, shreddin i DONT have a BARE wire as stated in my post, im not sure what the wiring code is ,being that it was a dimarzio, before being rewound to duncan..and didn't want to just start touching wires, not knowing if i would damage the pup... anyways THANKS..rammer

 

[shreddin_ED]

THANKS -crazyguy-jeremy-& shreddin.. jeremy, ill try the GRAY for ground, shreddin i DONT have a BARE wire as stated in my post, im not sure what the wiring code is ,being that it was a dimarzio, before being rewound to duncan..and didn't want to just start touching wires, not knowing if i would damage the pup... anyways THANKS..rammer

My fault! it is still a dimarzio even though you had it rewound by duncan!OPPPSS! lol!!!!!
you would have to follow the standard dimarzio wiring which is,
red=hot
black+white= twisted together
green/gray= ground

 

[rammer69]

Shredin- no problem, thanks for the quick reply, ill try as you stated....what should the meter be set on ?

 

[jeremy]

dc ohms, your reading should be between 6k and 17k (6,000 to 17,000 ohms)

 

[Kent S.]

Re: How To Measure Pup Output ??

I just got my PARKER pup back from MJ this week, it was a dimarzio , but now its a *** DUNCAN***.. im heading to chicago tommorow to get my GTR, but would like to MEASURE the pup, what wires do you use? it has red - blk- green- white- gray... it does not have a bare grnd wire.. the white & black are soldered together.....i have never used a meter before, i'm going to borrow one, if you can tell me what to set the switch on,that would be great.. BTW, i tried a search before i posted this , hoping to not bother anyone, but didn't find anything........thanks rammer]

Like all the replies said, it's not that simple ... DMZ uses a set set of parameters to measure the mV output. You can connect the red of the DMM to the hot on the pup, and the black to ground, set the meter for auto range, and on AC volts, it's beat to use a true RMS reading meter ... note that DMZ has the pups set at *normal heigth* (you can only infer from the pup measurements given on the site as to waht distance they are set at from the strings), the load is given, the measurement is taken after the initial attack, on the open A string ... Note that string gauge is not given, nor is any indication of the actual picking force on the string... although it's still more precise than anyone else's pup output guides (no offense SD) ... It' still only at best a way to judge how one pup relates roughly to another, figure an A string to be 110Hz. ... well that's pretty consistant with the low end of a chord, and the overall omph that we hear (actually it higher, but well you get the idea).
RMS meter, AC mV range for single strings, V range for chords,
stick to single strings though, it will give a better indication of the overall level difference without regard to the upper harmonics, and treble range ... which is where one pup's eq is drastically different than anothers ... read that ... why one model sounds different than another.
:fing2:

 

[shreddin_ED]

Shredin- no problem, thanks for the quick reply, ill try as you stated....what should the meter be set on ?

20K range

 

[jeremy]

the dimarzio output rating is cool, but only works for dimarzio pups. even if other manufacturers did their own millivolt ratings you couldnt compare different companies unless all the testing was done by an independant body so the variables could be as controlled as possible

 

[rammer69]

I was suprised that i did not recieve any specs on my custom shop rewind when it was returned, anyways THANKS Shreddin & Jeremy

 

[59paul]

If yer usin an analog meter, be sure to zero the needle. When ya set the meter to ohms, touch the red and black tips together, and see if the needle goes to zero. If not, there should be an adjustment knob ( or thumb wheel ) to set the needle.