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Pick up Ohms?

#2
CM63 said:
How does Ohm effect pickups?
Low ohms = ?
high ohms=?
Click to expand...

You can't change just the resistance without changing other parameters, too.

There also is wire gauge which prevents you from assuming that higher resistance always means a specific thing. If you were to make coils with identical resistance from awg42 and awg43 you would get very different results.

So, just forget it unless you are willing to look at more details.
 
#3
uOpt said:
You can't change just the resistance without changing other parameters, too.

There also is wire gauge which prevents you from assuming that higher resistance always means a specific thing. If you were to make coils with identical resistance from awg42 and awg43 you would get very different results.

So, just forget it unless you are willing to look at more details.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
I am so confused that I did not even know how to ask the question! Derp!
I was thinking of changing out some stock Ibanez pups in mt AGB200, and saw some that had like 1/7 ohms, and others with 10 ohmsand was curious
 
#4
ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL*:

Low ohms = lower output, but more treble
Higher ohms = higher output, less treble

*This is an over-simplification and generalization. Magnet type and strength, wire guage, the shape of the coil (tall and narrow vs. flat and wide) and so on also affect a pickup's output and tone.
 
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#7
First ...

A pickup does not have a resistance but an impedance ...
I AM NO ELECTRICIAN! So my post is just a post of an amateur (sorry if I hurt an electrician) ...

You can measure the resistance of a pickup.
But how does the pickup resistance act/behave with different frequencies???
A pickup has a totally different resistance at 50 Hz than it has at 5 kHz ...
But we can only tell the resistance measured (without having professional equipment).

uOpt already mentioned the thickness of the wire.
Other things are the windings, the diameter and material of the magnets +++
Making a pickup is like backing a cake or making a meal. You can give the same ingerediants to a house wife and a chef de cuisine. The result will be toally different!

There are some hints like "higher impedance > higher output, more mids", "lower impedance > lower output > a flatter sound". BUT these are only hints like "Brazillian women are the hottest girls in the world" ... :smug:

A humbucker with 7k Ohms will / has to / must sound different to a 7k Ohms SingleCoil! Which magnets / wire / how many windings???

So, line6man is 100% right ...
Sad - but true ... :hmm:
 
#8
Cadfael said:
A pickup does not have a resistance but an impedance ...
I AM NO ELECTRICIAN! So my post is just a post of an amateur (sorry if I hurt an electrician) ...
Click to expand...

Sorry, this is dead wrong. Impedance is the vector sum of resistance and reactance. A pickup has a resistance, a reactance, and an impedance, and all three are measured in the same unit, the Ohm.

Resistance is the real part, which is the opposition to the flow of current. Reactance is the complex part, related to the effects of the inductance and capacitance of the coil. In this case, the reactance is predominantly inductive.


200px-Complex_Impedance.svg.png


Of course, anyone can get a resistance measurement from an Ohm meter, but this is only resistance to direct current. Determining impedance is much more complicated, because the reactance is frequency-dependent.
 
#10
The only item that can be said about resistance is that all else being equal, and I mean ALL else being equal, meaning the same pickup bobbin, the same magnet(s), the same wire, and wound the same way, at the same tension and speed of the winding machine, that the higher resistance means there is more wire on the coil, and it will have a little more midrange and a little less treble than a lower resistance reading, meaning a little less of the same wire on the coil. It may or may not have a higher or lower output in millivolts.
 
#13
I play at church, also. Instead of worrying about the pickups, get a set of strings that will slot the mix with the brighter tone for your other gigs, and roll off the tone knob on Sunday. Been there, done that, wiped the spilled beer off the bass with the T-shirt before service started.
 
#14
iiipopes said:
I play at church, also. Instead of worrying about the pickups, get a set of strings that will slot the mix with the brighter tone for your other gigs, and roll off the tone knob on Sunday. Been there, done that, wiped the spilled beer off the bass with the T-shirt before service started.
Click to expand...
Good advice!

Actually just slapped some LaBella black tapewounds on it, they are so much brighter than the D'Addario tapes, I can use my tone knob now, and even had to lower the pickups a bit! They are amazingly versatile!
However...
The with stock Ibanez humbuckers you can't adjust the pole pieces, and my D string is still a bit weak for my liking
 

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