Different Ohms (?) in an Aerodyne Bass

[Shazam]

Hello people of TalkBass. I've been searching for basses a lot lately and I came across a well priced Fender Aerodyne. I'm a bit confused though since in the listing it says: Pickups Read Neck 8.51k ohm Bridge 5.54k ohm. My question is is this normal?

 

[bholder]

It's commonly, but incorrectly, believed to be a measure of how "hot" the pickups are. I don't know if those are normal, but seem to be in the right range.

 

[line6man]

It's a measure of how "hot" the pickups are. I don't know if those are normal, but seem to be in the right range.

False. DCR is not a measure of output. It's a measure of resistance to direct current. It's a largely meaningless measurement that really does not matter.

To answer the question, however, it is normal for the DCR of the bridge pickup to be higher than that of the neck pickup. The reason is that DCR increases as the amount of wire on a pickup increases, and bridge pickups are usually wound hotter than neck pickups, to achieve a balance. This is due to the fact that there is less string movement, the closer you get to the nut or bridge saddles, so you need a louder pickup, to balance everything out. It is important not to confuse output and DCR, though. DCR is not solely affected by the amount of wire on a coil. It changes with many factors, ranging from wire gauge, to winding pattern, to temperature.

As for your specific case, the neck pickup is significantly more resistive than the bridge pickup, which intuitively seems a bit backward, but it most likely indicates that there are different kinds of pickups in each position. Is this a PJ bass? Or a standard J?

 

[bholder]

False. DCR is not a measure of output. It's a measure of resistance to direct current. It's a largely meaningless measurement that really does not matter.

To answer the question, however, it is normal for the DCR of the bridge pickup to be higher than that of the neck pickup. The reason is that DCR increases as the amount of wire on a pickup increases, and bridge pickups are usually wound hotter than neck pickups, to achieve a balance. This is due to the fact that there is less string movement, the closer you get to the nut or bridge saddles, so you need a louder pickup, to balance everything out. It is important not to confuse output and DCR, though. DCR is not solely affected by the amount of wire on a coil. It changes with many factors, ranging from wire gauge, to winding pattern, to temperature.

As for your specific case, the neck pickup is significantly more resistive than the bridge pickup, which intuitively seems a bit backward, but it most likely indicates that there are different kinds of pickups in each position. Is this a PJ bass? Or a standard J?

Thanks for the correction of my misunderstanding. Rewording.

 

[khutch]

Aerodynes are usually PJ so that probably explains the difference.

 

[Shazam]

False. DCR is not a measure of output. It's a measure of resistance to direct current. It's a largely meaningless measurement that really does not matter.

To answer the question, however, it is normal for the DCR of the bridge pickup to be higher than that of the neck pickup. The reason is that DCR increases as the amount of wire on a pickup increases, and bridge pickups are usually wound hotter than neck pickups, to achieve a balance. This is due to the fact that there is less string movement, the closer you get to the nut or bridge saddles, so you need a louder pickup, to balance everything out. It is important not to confuse output and DCR, though. DCR is not solely affected by the amount of wire on a coil. It changes with many factors, ranging from wire gauge, to winding pattern, to temperature.

As for your specific case, the neck pickup is significantly more resistive than the bridge pickup, which intuitively seems a bit backward, but it most likely indicates that there are different kinds of pickups in each position. Is this a PJ bass? Or a standard J?

Thanks for the in-depth answer man. The configuration is P/J so this is normal in a P/J?

 

[Shazam]

Aerodynes are usually PJ so that probably explains the difference.

Thanks for the info man. So does that mean it's normal? Sorry for sounding a bit paranoid I'm not good with electronics at all and I just don't wanna buy a defective bass

 

[two fingers]

Yep. Good to go. They are well made basses....and dead sexy too.

 

[walterw]

Sorry for sounding a bit paranoid I'm not good with electronics at all and I just don't wanna buy a defective bass

then this is good, because the main thing those Ohms readings tell us is that the pickups are not broken.

 

[Shazam]

Well that definitely made my day. Thanks for everyone's help! Last question before I leave is that I can just replace the pickups like any other bass right?