Pickup Output Specs

rrhea · #1 06-28-2006, 02:08 PM

Hey guys!

I have always wondered what exactly the spec numbers mean on the DiMarzio website. I have various DM pickups in a bunch of guitars, and based on personal experience I have mentally assigned a meaning to an output of "375" vs. an output of "275", etc. But where does DC Resistance come into play? And can you really base the "hotness" of a DM pickup on the output rating, or is it more complicated than that?

Also, how would one compare a Duncan pickup's output with a DM pup based on the specs given on each company's website? The Duncan specs don't have an "output" figure, only DC Resistance and "Resonant Peak".

I am pretty ignorant when it comes to the science of electronics, so I'd like to be enlightened.

Ryan

rgr · #2 06-28-2006, 03:06 PM

First, go here, www.billlawrence.com, and read Pickupology

There isn't a standardized way to measure output, so, there is no way to really directly compare outputs.

DC resistance is the resistance of the turns of wire around the bobbins, is it a direct way to measure output? No. Usually (not always) higher DCR means more output the tone is more focused in the mids, but different wire guages, magnets, polepieces, etc... can change that. I find that even DiMarzio's tone ratings don't exactly correspond to Duncans. The best thing to do is either try different pickups in guitars and develop are relative sense of how the manufacturers rate the tones.

As a rule (again, a general rule, not set in stone) DiMarzios tend to be more hi-fi, yet compressed sounding, with a lot of mids (although the Steve's Special breaks this rule). Duncans tend to be more raw and vintage-y sounding, and don't have as much mids (the JB does have a spike in it's upper mids, but not in a DiMarzio way). So, coming from using Duncans and looking at the DiMarzio tone ratings, you might expect a Norton to be very nasally, but it's not, it's quite open sounding.

Oh yeah, the "resonant peak" on the Duncan chart, usually a higher number means a brighter pickup.

I won't say I hope this helps, but I hope it doesn't confuse the issue too much more...

Demiurge · #3 06-28-2006, 03:35 PM

The whole DC-resistance thing has to be one of the biggest misconceptions regarding pickup output. Years ago I bought a Kent Armstrong "motherbucker," which is two "hot rail" style humbuckers wired together and was listed at 27.5k. Of course, you see most "hot" pickups listed around 13-16k so I bought it, wired it up, and expected it to melt my amp (not literally, but you understand).

Well, it didn't. It had fairly high output, but not more than your average ceramic-magnet pickup. Like it's said in that link in the above post, DC has more about the frequency curve of the pickup. It was a bright pickup that sounds phenomenal in a heavy Les Paul-style body (comping the brightness with its density and low-end), though.

JJEMMER777 · #4 06-28-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgr

I won't say I hope this helps, but I hope it doesn't confuse the issue too much more...

And to think, to this day, Rog still denies being a rocket scientist

rgr · #5 06-28-2006, 06:16 PM

You're just trying to blame that Mars lander thing on me, it won't work...

rrhea · #6 06-28-2006, 07:42 PM

Thanks rgr! That has helped me more than you know. Reading the Lawrence stuff was particularly enlightening.

And now I understand why Duncans and DiMarzios have a certain "sound" that seems to permeate through each model of their respective pickups. I tend to prefer the DM "sound", and you decscribed it perfectly as "hi-fi and compressed".

Thanks again for the info! This is apparently a very, very deep subject that one could study quite a while.

Ryan