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Post by TonyMan on Feb 15, 2023 16:20:59 GMT -5
If I want to modify a two humbucker guitar for a warmer sound, what kind of resistance should I look for in new pickups?
Thanks
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Post by Pinetree on Feb 15, 2023 17:31:08 GMT -5
This is the beginning of a trip down a long road..
What kind of music do you play?
What kind of guitar do you have?
Maple neck? Ebony? Rosewood?
Are there any particular artists whose tone you like?
Most manufacturers, like DiMarzio have an interactive pickup choosing thingy (highly scientific) on their website.
DiMarzio also has a good guarantee, so if you don't like the sound you can return it.
Me personally, DiMarzio Tone Zone for Rock, Fralins Blues Specials for "Texas tone".
Switching to a different brand/type of strings can also affect your tone, but that's a different road.
*Generally speaking* A higher output pickup like the type commonly used for Rock and Metal will be in the 12K Ohm area, low power, which is usually "warmer" in the neighborhood of 7K Ohms.
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Post by Jim D. on Feb 15, 2023 17:38:22 GMT -5
Resistance is just one factor. Humbuckers range between 7.5 K and 16 K Ohms. The lower the number the less you overdrive the amp's pre-amp. The lower values can be called warmer. The classic PAF humbucker pickups are at about 8 K-8.3 K Ohms. The gauge of the coil wire has a bearing as well and affects the number of turns required to get to the resistance target. In general though, stay on the low end of the range above. The really high resistance ones are really hot and by no means what can be considered mellow. It would be interesting to learn the resistance of the ones you have.
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Feb 15, 2023 20:59:17 GMT -5
My experience has been that higher output in a pickup adds up to (mostly) a fatter mid-range. While it's true that there have been pups that I just couldn't seem to get along with, more often or not it's been the cast that height adjustments and amp tweaking can make me happy.
Don't know what you're comparing to, but yeah, sounds like lower output might be a good place to start.
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Post by Leftee on Feb 15, 2023 21:10:21 GMT -5
Piney nails it. What guitar? What music? What tones are you looking for?
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 418
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Post by DrKev on Feb 16, 2023 9:58:49 GMT -5
What brand and model humbuckers do you have in the guitar already?
As mentioned, as a very loose general rule, higher DC resistance can mean more output. That also usually means and a darker, warmer sound BUT other factors in the humbucker design will also influence the final sound. Vintage style or PAF-style humbuckers tend to be lower output and brighter.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Feb 16, 2023 10:24:38 GMT -5
DCR doesn't say much. It tells you how much resistance the coil has. Normally wire will just read open/zero resistance, but pickup wire is very thin and very long, so a regular meter will get some readings, even though it is passing current from the meter. The DC resistance has almost zero impact on tone (AC resistance has some), it just can be broadly indicative of how much wire there is. A longer length will have more resistance. But, so will a pickup with thinner wire. Thinner wire is usually used when someone wants to wind a pick up more with a finite amount of space so the higher number can be doubly indicative of a hot pickup, and often comparing two pickups as an apples-to-apples comparison will show the higher DCR one is hotter, so guessing the tone of a pickup by its DCR works better than it really should.
What kind of guitar is it? If it is a cheaper Ibanez or Epiphone, you may find that the old pickups are so lack luster that you can get pretty much anything in there and perceive the tone as "warmer" just because it is more pleasing.
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Post by TonyMan on Feb 17, 2023 21:04:38 GMT -5
Well, here's the deal. I haven't done any work on a guitar for maybe 8 years. The combination of boredom & just coming off COVID got me antsy to do something. I bough one of those guitar kits from Pango & realize they are probably not quality parts. It's Jaguar with two humbuckers. I haven't started anything yet and need to get the body stained first, but got thinking about the pickups. The neck is 10.4K and the bridge is 11.4K. From looking around I felt that was kinda odd that they would be that close. I got the impression that necks run around 7 to 8K, and bridge around 14 to 16k. After reading the comments here I feel I jumped into this too fast and maybe should wait till the build is done, see what it sounds like, and make any changes from there.
As far as strings, I typically use 10s, but could see moving on to 11s. Don't usually like a real tinny sound so wind up playing with the tone controls to take some of it out, so there is that to consider too. Like I said, I got a little impetuous and need to get it built, check the sound and move on from there.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 18, 2023 10:43:37 GMT -5
maybe should wait till the build is done, see what it sounds like, and make any changes from there. ^^THAT^^ is the best plan right there, TonyMan. It's good practice to give the cheaper pickups a shot because many 'cheap' pickups sound really good. If you're like many of us here...we all like to tinker and we enjoy the challenge of making any guitar play and sound as good as it possibly can with the components it already has. One of the real joys in this process is when another player picks up that 'cheepo' guitar, thinks "how good can this be," and after a few minutes is having some real fun with it. That is my goal with these kits and glove-save guitars I find at garage sales for peanuts. It's also a fantastic way to hone your tech chops. |
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Post by TonyMan on Feb 18, 2023 13:36:28 GMT -5
Thanks Peegoo, like I said it's been years since I've done anything like this. And, I definitely remember you from the old Fender Discussion Page!
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Feb 18, 2023 16:41:33 GMT -5
It'll probably also help to have a reference of what the guitar sounds like. If you chased "warm" really hard, you might end up with a honky muddy mess by the time it gets into a Jaguar style guitar. Cheap pickups often have brass bass plates and can be very muffled sounding, kinda like a blanket is thrown over the speaker. I haven't done a lot of pickup swaps on 24" scale instruments except replacing bad pickups, so I'm not quite sure what works best, but my guess is that anything reasonably clear sounding would be ideal. Too hot could have its charm, but be kinda strange.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 18, 2023 22:52:13 GMT -5
Thanks Peegoo, like I said it's been years since I've done anything like this. And, I definitely remember you from the old Fender Discussion Page! Right back atcha, TonyMan. It's been YEARS since I..."saw ya" on the ol' FDP. |
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Post by Pinetree on Feb 18, 2023 23:00:44 GMT -5
I just wanna say that it's "question".
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Post by Pinetree on Feb 20, 2023 13:22:27 GMT -5
I just wanna say that it's a really subjective subject and good luck. |
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Post by Leftee on Feb 20, 2023 14:44:18 GMT -5
There is a little budget-minded trick you can do with humbuckers. I've done this to a couple SX humbuckers - from Rondo music - back in the day.
The afore-mentioned pickups were a vintage-ish wind, but were a tad bright and harsh. I change the bar magnets from the stock ceramics to AlNiCo 2. It actually worked out pretty well. I think I spent less than $10 for the new magnets, at the time.
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