Trouble with checking pickups impedances

C

Catch22

New member
Hi!
I decided to put SH-2 (Jazz) & SH-4 (JB) on my Vintage V100.
So, I deinstalled them from another guitar and trying to measure impedances of pickups but unsuccessfully.
My DMM does not show any result closely to factory data: 7,72 kOhms for Jazz and 16,6 kOhms for JB.
My question is: between which color wire I have to measure impedance to get factory values?

PU_SD_colorcode1.jpg
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

well... you solder red and white together and measure at black and green. the measurements you got (7.7 and 16.6) seem to be just fine imho.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

You can either check each coil individually (by measuring the Black + White and then Red + Green wires) and add those measurements together or you can get a single measurement for both coils combined by twisting the White and Red wires together first and then measuring the Black and Green wires.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

what measurements DID you get? keep in mind that the DC readings may vary from pickup to pickup due to environmental influences. The resistance goes down when the temperature goes down, if I recall correctly. I wouldn't be concerned too much about this. If there's a signal, it's good (enough). I've seen JB's go from 15,2K to 17.4K. Sounded just the same. The pickups are wound with a computer controlled winding machine: the tone is predominantly determined by the amount of turns, not the DC resistance.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

As a technical note, keep in mind that your DMM will only measure DC resistance. Not impedance, which is AC resistance. ;)
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Technically, impedance is the combination of resistance and reactance.
 
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Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Technically, even armed with super precise meter readings, the only practical difference that the statistics will make can be corrected for with a fraction of a turn with a screwdriver.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Man people are obsessed with DC resistance. Shouldn't there be a sticky on it or something in order to keep the amount of misinformation and redundant posts at bay?
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

I'm confused.... it's mistery for me...

I get only two results ( with two different DMM ):

JB: black-white 7.8 kOhms, and the same result with serial coils: black-red/white 7.8 kOhms.

At every other possible combinations the result was: immeasurable (infinity).

On Jazz: all combinations - immeasurable (infinity).

And now mistery ( for me :onder: ): I installed pickups and they works!

How is it possible?

( btw. I'm not satisfied with sound: both too bright, no warms... but it's another story, it's seems that guitar body not mahagony...).
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Meter readings are no guarantee of functionality.

The bridge/Treble pickup on Roy Buchanan's 1953 Telecaster, Nancy, defies attempts to take meter readings and, hence, to attempt to replicate it with any ease.

http://www.roybuchanan.org/products.html
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Catch22 said:
I'm confused.... it's mistery for me...

I get only two results ( with two different DMM ):

JB: black-white 7.8 kOhms, and the same result with serial coils: black-red/white 7.8 kOhms.

At every other possible combinations the result was: immeasurable (infinity).

On Jazz: all combinations - immeasurable (infinity).

And now mistery ( for me :onder: ): I installed pickups and they works!

How is it possible?

( btw. I'm not satisfied with sound: both too bright, no warms... but it's another story, it's seems that guitar body not mahagony...).
Click to expand...

Measure green/red on both pickups. What does that tell you?
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

orpheo said:
Measure green/red on both pickups. What does that tell you?
Click to expand...

I just measure on Jazz green-red (with green disc. from ground/bare):
at 200kOhm range on DMM nothing (infinitive)
but at 20MOhms range values dances around 15MOhms....

On JB almost the same - infinitive at all range...
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

This means the screw coil is open which would explain the weak bright sound.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Just twist the red and white together and measure at black and green as someone said earlier. Your original readings of 7.2 and 16.6 are well within tolerance considering room temperature variations, variations in the diameter of the wire from one spool to the next. In a cool room, just holding the pickup in your hands for 10 seconds can cause the reading to rise 0.1-0.2k.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Zhangliqun said:
Just twist the red and white together and measure at black and green as someone said earlier. Your original readings of 7.2 and 16.6 are well within tolerance considering room temperature variations, variations in the diameter of the wire from one spool to the next. In a cool room, just holding the pickup in your hands for 10 seconds can cause the reading to rise 0.1-0.2k.
Click to expand...

orpheo said:
well... you solder red and white together and measure at black and green. the measurements you got (7.7 and 16.6) seem to be just fine imho.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure he was quoting the website-specified DC Resistance, and not what he was actually getting.

OP, as mentioned before - Connect red and white, and then don't touch them. Then check the resistance between green and black. When you measure red/white, you're going to going to get the resistance of a single coil.
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

Thank You all, guys, for advices and effort on solving mistery.

For better "to be continued..." status :rolleyes: I must quote myself:

"I get only two results ( with two different DMM ):
JB: black-white 7.8 kOhms, and the same result with serial coils: black-red/white 7.8 kOhms.
At every other possible measure combinations the result was: immeasurable (infinity).
On Jazz: all combinations - immeasurable (infinity)."

Definitely, pickups or some coil are not correct but why did it happen in same time and on the both pickups?
That's what's bothering me...
 
Re: Trouble with checking pickups impedances

If they are working(no weird noise issues) after install, then just measure at the inserted guitar cable tip with the volume & tone knobs at 10. See if its still giving infinte resistance reading on the DMM
 
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