Can you predict how an original flatpole pickup will sound based on resistance?

I see a few teles with bridge readings in the mid 5K range in Nacho's book. The tele with lowest reading in the entire book is stated to have a "fat and warm" tone in the bridge position. Anybody pay much attention to the values in your tele? Does it correlate to anything in particular?

It's a bit complicated as I'm sure many with more knowledge than me might explain, resistance is only one of the things that affects the sound of a pickup. What I'm pretty sure does change is the output level. Higher dc resistance readings will normally give you more voltage output and so drive the preamp into distortion sooner - lower resistance sounds cleaner.
Of course you can get the same change by altering the pickup height.

I reckon it depends on the type of magnet and type of wire used as well as the level of degradation of said magnet as well as the string balance of flatpoles vs. staggered &c. &c. &c.

Take 5 different Teles and put the same pickup(s) in them.

They will all sound slightly different depending on what guitar they are in.

it CAN be an indicator of the potential output strength on basic single coils…. but the reading "mid 5K" refers to a resistance in DC ohms. DC meaning direct current…. since there is NO DC in a passive guitar, (one with no batteries to power internal electronics) reading Direct Current resistance is really the most basic elementary exercise.

Since some klutz, somewhere, read a notable pickup’s DC resistance, and thought he had found the secret to a sonic panacea relative to that specific pickup and then published that finding…:rolleyes: that little ‘ripple of inaccuracy” has swollen into a tsunami washing over everything… (mainly ‘cause you guys will grasp at every and anything imaginable as a reason to mod your axe, or use as an excuse for why a guitar's sound sux).. But that’s why, today, people will look to the reading as a viable bit of info, when in fact, it is, as Bill Lawrence has said, about as important as the color shoes the guitarist that’s playing happens to be wearing.

There are many “high output” pickups with, what many would consider anemic DC ohm readings, the Bardens come to mind…. Very hot, very low DC ohms…

Reading in AC ohms is where “the action is” because AC frequency’s, what actually happens inside a pickup when you pick the string, they change at differing AC resistance, at differing temperatures, at differing . . . lotta stuff… so knowing HOW to read in AC ohms, and enter that factor into mathematical equations can actually tell you what a pickups will sound like, whereas reading in DC Ohms will only tell ya if your VOM is working. :shock:

“and enter that factor into mathematical equations” is why Bill’s pickups sound as precise, clear, articulate, etc, etc, as they do, he’s showed me what he does to compute the structure of the pickup… so….

Reading DC Ohms is “pablum”… in a world where you gotta be eating raw meat…

Here’s an experiment…. Only for you guys that think I’m fullovit again… :wink:

I’m sure many of ya have played your good ‘ol #1 early in the day, and thought it sounded one way… only to play it later, in a completely different venue, and thought it sounded like a completely different guitar… weellllllll … that CAN happen ‘cause slight temperature changes will significantly change the DC ohm reading…. Which means the real number, AC Ohms changes too…

So… take a pup, ‘bout any pup will do…. Hook ‘er up to the trusty 19.95 RS Micronta VOM… and note the reading…. Now take a simple hair dryer and warm the little booger up….. you will notice immediately the resistance increasing….. note: “IMMEDIATELY” . . . the hair dryer has not had time to warm more than the most outermost layers of copper…. Think what would happen if ya let it get warm all the way through..

Alternatively, note the reading…… then lay it in the sunlight, perhaps on a window sill… then ignoring how it will have ambered… read it again after it’s warmed for an hour…. Note the substantial difference…

Now… carefully slap yourself on the forehead and repeat… maybe that old fart aint so crazy after all… :mrgreen:

Ron Kirn

The DC resistance of a pickup coil is not a great predictor of what it will sound like, or even it's output level. There are many variables to consider.

Here's a great source of technical info regarding pickups, from Bill Lawrence:

http://billlawrence.com/Pages/All_About_Tone.htm/Pickupology.htm

If your audience is mainly women, I'd think shoe color would be paramount. :mrgreen:

it CAN be an indicator of the potential output strength on basic single coils…. but the reading "mid 5K" refers to a resistance in DC ohms. DC meaning direct current…. since there is NO DC in a passive guitar, (one with no batteries to power internal electronics) reading Direct Current resistance is really the most basic elementary exercise.

Since some klutz, somewhere, read a notable pickup’s DC resistance, and thought he had found the secret to a sonic panacea relative to that specific pickup and then published that finding…:rolleyes: that little ‘ripple of inaccuracy” has swollen into a tsunami washing over everything… (mainly ‘cause you guys will grasp at every and anything imaginable as a reason to mod your axe, or use as an excuse for why a guitar's sound sux).. But that’s why, today, people will look to the reading as a viable bit of info, when in fact, it is, as Bill Lawrence has said, about as important as the color shoes the guitarist that’s playing happens to be wearing.

There are many “high output” pickups with, what many would consider anemic DC ohm readings, the Bardens come to mind…. Very hot, very low DC ohms…

Reading in AC ohms is where “the action is” because AC frequency’s, what actually happens inside a pickup when you pick the string, they change at differing AC resistance, at differing temperatures, at differing . . . lotta stuff… so knowing HOW to read in AC ohms, and enter that factor into mathematical equations can actually tell you what a pickups will sound like, whereas reading in DC Ohms will only tell ya if your VOM is working. :shock:

“and enter that factor into mathematical equations” is why Bill’s pickups sound as precise, clear, articulate, etc, etc, as they do, he’s showed me what he does to compute the structure of the pickup… so….

Reading DC Ohms is “pablum”… in a world where you gotta be eating raw meat…

Here’s an experiment…. Only for you guys that think I’m fullovit again… :wink:

I’m sure many of ya have played your good ‘ol #1 early in the day, and thought it sounded one way… only to play it later, in a completely different venue, and thought it sounded like a completely different guitar… weellllllll … that CAN happen ‘cause slight temperature changes will significantly change the DC ohm reading…. Which means the real number, AC Ohms changes too…

So… take a pup, ‘bout any pup will do…. Hook ‘er up to the trusty 19.95 RS Micronta VOM… and note the reading…. Now take a simple hair dryer and warm the little booger up….. you will notice immediately the resistance increasing….. note: “IMMEDIATELY” . . . the hair dryer has not had time to warm more than the most outermost layers of copper…. Think what would happen if ya let it get warm all the way through..

Alternatively, note the reading…… then lay it in the sunlight, perhaps on a window sill… then ignoring how it will have ambered… read it again after it’s warmed for an hour…. Note the substantial difference…

Now… carefully slap yourself on the forehead and repeat… maybe that old fart aint so crazy after all… :mrgreen:

Ron Kirn

That's a whole lotta Rosie right there.

"AC ohms" is actually impedance and "DC ohms" resistance. Same term for two different, yet related things.

See this: http://www.etgiftstore.com/ohmslaw.asp

"AC ohms" is actually impedance and "DC ohms" resistance. Same term for two different, yet related things.

Yep…. just tryin' to keep it elementary…
r

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't AC ohms Reactance, or Re? I think impedance is more complicated.

I see a few teles with bridge readings in the mid 5K range in Nacho's book. The tele with lowest reading in the entire book is stated to have a "fat and warm" tone in the bridge position. Anybody pay much attention to the values in your tele? Does it correlate to anything in particular?

Temperature?

Reactance, Impedance?? c'mon guys you aren't addressing an Electrical Engineering graduate class at MIT…

Guys that think the resistance of a pickup influences tone typically have a hard time finding the correct range on the trusty VOM…

Try to keep it understandable, so some will learn… much better than confused….

rk

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't AC ohms Reactance, or Re? I think impedance is more complicated.

Unintentional pun?

In vector analysis of electric circuits, resistance is the real part of complex impedance, while reactance is the imaginary part. Both share the same SI unit, the ohm.
-- wiki