pickup DC resistance

[Turdus]

Should 2 pickups, with similar DC resistance, produce the same volume in the same guitar?

I've tested a set. One pickup sounds weak, while the other is louder. Curious as to why this is.

[seeker]

Should 2 pickups, with similar DC resistance, produce the same volume in the same guitar?

I've tested a set. One pickup sounds weak, while the other is louder. Curious as to why this is.

The answer is maybe.

Differences that could affect "loudness"

Magnet Type - Alnico 2, 5, Ceramic. Alnico 5 is more powerful than 2.

Magnet Strength - Yes, they do vary even with a particular magnet type

Size of Bobbin - Larger bobbins result in more of the windings further away from the magnet; weaker

Number of windings per bobbin- If you have more windings on one bobbin than the other, it affects the crunch factor, which could or could not affect volume. The higher the disparity, the more the sizzle.

Additionally, make sure your pickup and screw pieces are -exactly- the same distance to the strings.

[Mickb]

Should 2 pickups, with similar DC resistance, produce the same volume in the same guitar?

I've tested a set. One pickup sounds weak, while the other is louder. Curious as to why this is.

Not really, are they the same make and model?

If they are different models then they could also be using different grade magnets? alnico 5 is strong bright and punchy, Alnico 2 is softer sounding with less attack( I'm just generalising..)

DCR isn't really a great indicator of a pickups output, it's a reasonable guide in some ways ( if you had 2 pickups, one with a DCR of say 9k and one at say 7k, then you could reasonably say the 9k one would/should go in the bridge position )

But there's more to a pickup than DCR and it's not a great indication of true output...

Hope this helps..

Oops,

apologies seeker..you post wasn't there when I started replying, I type with one finger so it takes me a while....

[Mike Lee]

Don't forget wire gauge. Thinner wire has a higher resistance than thicker wire. So the same number of turns on the same bobbin size with two different wire gauges will have different DC resistances. To get the same DC resistance, the thinner wire would have to be wound with less turns, making it weaker in volume (most likely).

To get the extra turns on a high output pickup, they use thinner wire and wind more turns. This really increases the DC resistance - I have Duncan JB's that measure 15-16 Kohms. But they don't have twice the windings of a PAF.

[analogsystem]

Should 2 pickups, with similar DC resistance, produce the same volume in the same guitar?

I've tested a set. One pickup sounds weak, while the other is louder. Curious as to why this is.

In the same guitar as in one pickup is in the neck and one is in the bridge position?

The neck position will seem much louder.

Usually a "balanced" set has a higher output bridge pickup to compensate for how much less the strings vibrate close to the bridge.