Pickup Resistance Question

D

dilver

New member
I have 3 single coil pickups that are approx 3.4K in a guitar, and I replace one of them with a 7.6K pickup, logic would have it that the 7.6K pickup would be louder than the 3.4K pickups, right?

I've done this in a 3 pickup Danelectro DC-3, replacing the stock bridge pickup with a Ken Armstrong SLHD (7.6K), and yet the Kent Armstrong pickup is lower output than the stock neck and middle pickups. I don't get it. What am I doing wrong?

Only thing I can think of is that the concentric volume/tone pot is 1M/100K and this somehow severely mismatched with the 7.6K pickup?

This doesn't appear to be a wiring issue as I merely swapped out the Kent Armstrong pickup for the original pickup.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thx!!!
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

dilver said:
I have 3 single coil pickups that are approx 3.4K in a guitar, and I replace one of them with a 7.6K pickup, logic would have it that the 7.6K pickup would be louder than the 3.4K pickups, right?
Click to expand...

That logic only holds true for similar pickups. An extreme example is the DiMarzio HS-3, a stacked coil Strat pickup that is often compared to single coils. It has a DC resistance of about 26k, and many would think that makes it a HOT bridge pickup next to a pair of 6k single coils. Yet, most 6k single coils are much louder by comparison. Different designs have different standards. You can typically make better judgements if you have both DC resistance and inductance readings for a pickup. But seldom is that the case...
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

It's not the DC Resistance that determines output, it's the number of turns.

We assume that a higher DC Resistance has more wire = more turns, but this is only true is the wire on both pickups is the same size.

The Dano might have 41awg (or less) wire = less resistance, but as long as it has lots of turns, it will have good output. The result of a pickup designed like this would be a cleaner pickup, very unlikely to get muddied up from loading.

Another factor is magnet strength. A stronger magnet = more output.
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

Thanks for the responses; I kind of figured resistance wasn't the only factor affecting output, but was wondering if the odd pot values Danelectro uses (1M/100K) would affect pickup output. Anyone have any insight on this? Could the capacitor have any effect on output? I don't know what the value is - it's dark green and squarish.

The Kent Armstrong pickup I used to replace the stock Dano pickup is advertised as "a more focused bass response and enhanced mids and highs. This souped up Split-Tube is for the guitarist who loves sweet vintage tones with punch and bite. Add some nitrous to your Danelectro®"

Unless I'm doing something wrong I'm pretty disappointed - it's clearly not "souped up", does not add "punch and bite" and didn't add "nitrous to" my Danelectro. :no: Maybe this description is by comparison to vintage Danelectro pickups.
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

i wouldnt be surprised if the newer dano stuff was ceramic magnet and the kent armstrong used thin wire. those two things would explain the mismatch in output. also the bridge position has way less string movement than either of the other two positions so youll need the bridge pup closer to the strings to get balance unless the bridge pup is significantly higher output than the others
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

My gut instinct is that Kent Armstrong has produced exactly what he described, a slightly beefed up replacement PU built along vintage Dano principles.

Your SE Asian OEM pickups make no claim to vintage accuracy. (Any more than Fender MIM underslung ceramic bar magnet Stratocaster pickups claim to be faithful to vintage USA designs.) So, Evan's suggestion about powerful, modern magnets inside vintage-looking casings makes perfect sense.

Is there any scope for PU height adjustment?
 
Re: Pickup Resistance Question

Yeah, I've adjusted the pickup heights to try to accommodate the difference in volume, and I've got the bridge pickup as high as possible but it's still significantly lower in output. The upside of all of this is that my middle/bridge setting is particularly "chimey".

Thanks for the input everyone!
 
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