Resistance readings on stock pickups on older guitars

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 7:05 am

I just noticed something: that older guitars (up to the 1970s), and also some newer cheapies, generally have higher resistance readings on the neck pickups than the bridge pickups. It seems like it's on purpose, then of course from the 1980s/1990s up to the present the opposite seems true (except for some of the cheapies).

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 10:55 pm

High resistance in the bridge is to make up for it being closer to a boundary for the standing wave moving across the string.

So, having a high resistance usually creates a greater signal strength despite the lower amplitude.

Having it the other way around would give you an insanely loud neck pickup and weak bridge pickup.

cur · Post by **cur** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 2:44 am

resistance is futile

Sorry, not adding anything to the discussion, but felt compelled to say that any who.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 8:00 am

theshadowofseattle wrote:Having it the other way around would give you an insanely loud neck pickup and weak bridge pickup.

Actually, if there's two pickups, the sounds with the switch are like: bridge/neck/neck, not really but sounds like that.

The point is, measurements of the values I've seen on the internet or measured myself make me think it was systematic that they did that on earlier guitars.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 9:34 am

Which stock guitars from the fifties, sixties and seventies have you checked pickup resistance on?

This runs contrary to everything I'd head about matched pickup sets.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 11:26 am

My Mustang.

But I remember seeing a thread on the Gretsch forum which had a bunch of readings. Their threads got all messed up though, something happened to their server.

The generally accepted theory is that they are not matched at all until the mid/late 70s, they just threw what ever on.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 2:23 pm

So you've checked one guitar.

I've never heard this "generally accepted theory" that you mention. In fact this generally accepted theory contradicts your post where you state that it was "systematic" that they fitted the hotter pickup in the neck position.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 2:52 pm

I definitely wouldn't use one guitar, especially one from the 70s as a gauge for anything.

AFAIK guitars always have a hotter bridge pickup for the reasons already outlined above.

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:17 pm

From what I've read resistance of both bridge and neck pickups at least for Epis/Gibson was the same till the 70s. Actually it was one and the same pickup that mounted in the bridge and in the neck position. Resistance could vary, but only because the winding process that time wasn't perfect and a lot depended on person who winded pickups. For example bridge pickup could be 6.95 kOhm and neck could be 7.12 kOhm and vice versa. Such little difference didn't bring any notable change in the sound.
Old PAFs, old Melody Maker pickups, old P90s and mini humbuckers had the same resistance for the neck and the bridge position. Actually I have a set of modern Gibson mini humbuckers and they are of equal resistance only with a small difference. So I guess that for some pickups they still preserve this tradition.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 6:31 pm

I did not say my Mustang is from the 1970s.

But those threads on the Gretsch Pages did have a lot of readings I remember, and there certainly were some with more powerful neck pickups from the 1960s, I don't know if all because that site got screwed.

And I've probably seen a few posts here and there on forums about various guitars.

And I've noticed that on some cheap guitars I own.

I know they weren't all that close in measurements within the same brand, but maybe sometimes they measured them and put the higher resistance in the neck?

But really doesn't matter a lot sonically if a guitar has two volume controls, except a lot of guitarists have potentiometerfobia (also to tone knobs).

George · Post by **George** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:01 pm

y'all need to calm down. it is in fact perfectly normal to find a slightly hotter neck pickup in a vintage fender, and this is observable by checking vintage pickup sets for sale on ebay, various project threads and what-have-you. this is because they didn't match things in the same way as we do today, probably because they didn't really care.

i believe this is because they would simply have had a bucket of pickups to grab from in the factory and didn't get hung up on slight variances. it was probably the case that so long as the pickup spent enough time on the winding machine and worked, it would have been good to go. so the particular phenomenon of a hotter neck pickup is really not worth getting excited about. we are talking slight variances here, don't forget.

nowadays of course, we all cry and flip our shit if the bridge isn't slightly hotter, because we have come to the conclusion that it makes a more balanced sounding guitar.

George · Post by **George** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:12 pm

i mean fuck, for all we know they did it intentionally so you could lower the neck pickup further so you'd get less magnetic pull on the strings while still retaining volume.

THE MOJO THEORIES NEVER END!

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:43 pm

George · Post by **George** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:53 pm

and i don't wanna hear from no scientists
those motherfuckers lying and getting me pissed

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:08 pm

Fakir Mustache wrote:
theshadowofseattle wrote:Having it the other way around would give you an insanely loud neck pickup and weak bridge pickup.
Actually, if there's two pickups, the sounds with the switch are like: bridge/neck/neck, not really but sounds like that.

No that's pretty much an exact fit for what I said.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:57 am

Does it really matter if both pups are the same resistance, you can lower & raise the pups to compensate right?

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:05 pm

Johno wrote:Does it really matter if both pups are the same resistance, you can lower & raise the pups to compensate right?

Only can move them so much, but yeah.

George · Post by **George** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:11 pm

Johno wrote:Does it really matter if both pups are the same resistance, you can lower & raise the pups to compensate right?

this is why guitars never sounded good before slightly overwound bridge pickups became a thing in the 80s