BUT...I hear a lot of talk about "after market" pickups, and got a particularly glowing review of Wallace True Tone pickups. I know talking about tone is like whistling about calculus, but how would you guys describe the characteristics of the Wallace pickup as opposed to Mullen's stock single coil??

And here comes a question from the amateur seats in back : ).....What does the resistance/ohm rating generally say about how a pickup will sound??

Larry

[This message was edited by Larry R on 07 January 2004 at 02:02 PM.]

There are just to many variables and we all just dont hear the same things.Also different amps, effects, playing style etc. all are factors as well..

As far as DC resistance is concerned, comparing the DC of a pickup is only useful and relative to the same type and really the same brand of pickup..In other words, where everything is the exact same other than the DC ohms..
While on this subject I feel its important to point out that a pickup is an AC device.. By that I mean that the output of a pickup is an AC signal not a DC..
AC signals both in and out of a pickup are varing in frequency constantly..Probably the main factor{there are many others} in determining the sound/tone characteristics in a pickup is the inductive reactance..Because this is an AC measurement it is different at every frequency..For example say at 120hz its 13 henries but at 1000hz its 14 on a particular pickup..

AC test equipment to measure inductance, AC impedance, capacitance etc. is expensive and a little hard to use and to evaluate all of the results from.
DC resistance is easy to check and DC meters are widely available and not expensive..What the DC resistance is telling you is how much wire is in the coil..Since wire has a certain resistance per foot the higher the DC ohms the more wire..The lower the DC, equals less wire..
Since there is a direct relationship between the DC resistance, number of turns,inductance and so on, the DC resistance will tell you quite a bit about the coil in your pickup..Of coarse it will also tell you if its open or shorted.

So what has been the "rule of thumb" since just about the beginning of pickups is to state the DC ohms resistance..The second most widely used method of "how much" wire is the give the number of turns..

Many people are not aware that there is also a AC resistance sometimes refered to as impedance or total resistance, that is a much better measurement as far as giving more information about the signal chararistics of a pickup.However these numbers vary depending on the test frequency.

This is my opinon on the DC ohms resistance of my TrueTone single coil pickups..

I use a winding of 18.5K ohm as my center point or normal sound/tone..
A winding of 17.5K will have a brighter sound/tone.
A winding of 19.5K will have a mellower sound/tone.
Even on the same brand of PSG's I have some customers who prefer a 17.5K while others the 18.5 or 19.5..

Yes, as a general rule of thumb, the more wire the more mellow and the less wire the brighter..Of coarse there are limits going either way that if exceeded can produce a thin or muddy tone.I try to talk with my customers and decide their personal prefrence as far as the particular sound/tone they are wanting from their guitar..

So basically, most people can relate better to the DC ohms resistance than they can to the number of turns or the henries of inductance..Also its easy for anyone to check the DC without expensive, lab type test equipment..
Comparing the DC of a single coil to a humbucker is not of any value..This is due to the humbucker having 2 coils usually in series as opposted to one coil.

Also the winding of the coil as far as tension, the ratio of turns to scattering or spreading across the coil height etc. are things that do effect the sound/tone of a pickup..DC measurements tells nothing what so ever about these things and the "Q" meaning the quality of the coil..AC measurments will.

But if most people were asked "what inductance, or AC impedance or number of turns do you want or have on your current pickup".. They probably would not know..Since most people are more familiar with its a "17K, 20K etc." thats the most common term heard to refer to the coil..

The numbers I gave above are for 10 string pickups..Twelve string values will be a bit different..

I hope this helps with the original questions in this posting..

------------------
Jerry Wallace-2001 Zum: D-10,8+6, "98 Zum: D-10,8+8,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Session 400 head only amp,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico
http://www.jerrywallacemusic.com

[This message was edited by jerry wallace on 08 January 2004 at 02:15 AM.]