Pickup neck/bridge ohm mistmatch--will it matter?

[backporchmusic]

I've got Gibson SG with P90s, which measure 7.6 neck and 7.7 bridge. I know henries is a more accurate measure of how 'loud' they will be, but this ohm thing is all I got right now.

Anyway. I have an old late 60s/early 70s Gibson mini-humbucker I would like to put in the bridge position on the SG. It measures 6.7. Kinda Neil Young old black like pairing the mini with the P90.

Would this mismatch of 7.6 P90 neck and 6.7 mini-hum bridge cause an issue with balance/loudness? I know that pickups have an optimal height for full sound fidelity so just 'cranking it down' will not be a reasonable solution to any mismatch.

Any expert advice here?

 

[backporchmusic]

I should point out that I know I can just do the operation and wire it up, but I thought I could save myself the trouble if it is definitely a no-go.

 

[bendercaster]

Typically, you want the bridge pickup to be a little "hotter" to compensate for less string movement down there. But DC resistance isn't necessarily going to tell you that unless all things are equal, ie magnet, construction, wire---which in this case they probably aren't. I would just go for it--its a classic combo.

 

[Wildeman]

It will be about the same as that P90, those are all vintage output pickups and should work well together.

 

[Bruxist]

Typically, you want the bridge pickup to be a little "hotter" to compensate for less string movement down there. But DC resistance isn't necessarily going to tell you that unless all things are equal, ie magnet, construction, wire---which in this case they probably aren't. I would just go for it--its a classic combo.

+1

Obligatory reminder that mini humbuckers and firebird pickups have a similar form factor but are actually quite different in construction and tone.

 

[backporchmusic]

+1

Obligatory reminder that mini humbuckers and firebird pickups have a similar form factor but are actually quite different in construction and tone.

Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, I should be more clear to help with the issue--it is a mini-humbucker with one row of visible screw/pole pieces, likely pulled from LP Deluxe late 60s early 70s. The SG it's going in is a 2011 special with TOM and stop tailpiece.

 

[Wallaby]

I suspect they'll be close enough in output to balance. I really don't have a clue about how their voices will blend and what the middle position will sound like.

The P90 in the neck might have tendencies to overpower the MiniHB, just guessing really?

 

[NICQ]

The difference in resistance should not matter at all - you can always adjust the height of the pickups and find a balance...

 

[Bruxist]

I suspect they'll be close enough in output to balance. I really don't have a clue about how their voices will blend and what the middle position will sound like.

The P90 in the neck might have tendencies to overpower the MiniHB, just guessing really?

I wouldn't think so. The minimum still has 2 coils in series, so that adds up. Quite literally I suppose.

Some P90s, maybe, but that sounds like nice vintage wound pickup.

I think it sounds like a great combo.

 

[Killing Floor]

It won’t matter. No harm.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Minor difference. I think that mini will still kick as much butt as the P90. Worse case scenario is to set the mini for the tone you like, then set the neck to match volume. The neck might end up sort of low, but that only enhances their sweetness IMHO.

Also, pole pieces are huge in this. A little makes a big difference. You can tweak those uniformly up or down a turn or less (assuming up already have them balanced the way you want) and get some significant changes in output and sound. Don't come up too much on the bridge pickup poles - it gets harsh fast down there.

 

[bendercaster]

I have a Deluxe Goldtop with minihumbuckers that sounds killer. Every once in a while I think about swapping one of them out for a P90, but then I play it and those minihumbuckers sound so good in every position. Most of my guitars have single coils, but t really like the humbuckers for recording. I say go for it.

 

[TX_Slinger]

Does anyone switch pickups completely without any other signal chain changes? No, it doesn't matter. Set your drive pedal level to comp for it, or even better if you have a modeler and one click to level everything out.

 

[hopdybob]

I should point out that I know I can just do the operation and wire it up, but I thought I could save myself the trouble if it is definitely a no-go.

you will never know if you don't try it first.
Kohm reading does not say a lot about output/volume off different pickups.
i have a single coil, noiseless single blade Bill Lawrence pickup from the 70'
as i recall a high Kohm reading but output is more single coil than humbucker

 

[Rob DiStefano]

DCR values are NOT gospel with regards to both output and tone. DCR *might* only matter if comparisons are apples to apples, meaning bobbin footprint, coil wire gauge and turn count and magnet Gauss rate (strength) at the very least, but there are other factors to consider. Most anything else is comparing apples to oranges. Them damn 70s bean counters done screwed a lotta good folks up with their DCR nonsense and 50 years later it's still poisoning good folks gray matter.

 

[sjtalon]

Dcr is not like horsepower.

 

[Wallaby]

The reason I mention the possibility of the P90 being overpowering is it's inductance relative to the Mini.

This is just guesswork based on reading and looking at other people's measurements found online.

I think average inductance for a vintage ( steel poles, not magnets ) style P90 can be greater than 6-7 H, and I *think* and inductance for a vintage ( steel poles, not magnets ) style MiniHB averages about 1/2 to 2/3 of that.

Plus the location of the P90 in the neck position.

It will be interesting to see how it actually works out!

 

[Humbuckers]

My experience is that inductance can be a useful way to get an idea of how the outputs of pickups of the same construction type compare, but it doesn’t really hold up across different pickup types.

A Duncan Quarter Pound for Tele is around 10H, but it can be overpowered by a 5H humbucker.

 

[Jakedog]

What I have learned about pickups is that I do not understand pickups. So I just use whatever I like the sound of and I don’t try to use any numbers to analyze how they’re going to perform beforehand.

Case in point- I have an HH Tele that I’ve loaded with DiMarzios. It sports a Bluesbucker in the bridge position, and a PAF Pro at the neck. On paper, this doesn’t indicate that it will work well. On paper the PAF Pro far overpowers the Bluesbucker. In reality, it does not. In reality the Bluesbucker is a totally weird-ass pickup that somehow manages to be louder than the PAF Pro (despite having significantly lower output numbers) while simultaneously not driving the amp as hard. If someone can explain that one I’d love to hear it.

I say try your mini with the P90. If it really doesn’t work, it’s easily reversible.

 

[Timbresmith1]

I've got Gibson SG with P90s, which measure 7.6 neck and 7.7 bridge. I know henries is a more accurate measure of how 'loud' they will be, but this ohm thing is all I got right now.

Anyway. I have an old late 60s/early 70s Gibson mini-humbucker I would like to put in the bridge position on the SG. It measures 6.7. Kinda Neil Young old black like pairing the mini with the P90.

Would this mismatch of 7.6 P90 neck and 6.7 mini-hum bridge cause an issue with balance/loudness? I know that pickups have an optimal height for full sound fidelity so just 'cranking it down' will not be a reasonable solution to any mismatch.

Any expert advice here?

I’d put the mini hb in the neck position…