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Topic: How important are the differences in pickup impedances? |
Steve Norman
From:
Seattle Washington, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 10:14 am |
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Im looking into the technical aspects of this, but was hoping to get a quick down and dirty answer. I am about to buy some used Emmons pickups and have to choose from various impedances. I dont really know what I am looking for, but I play through a Hilton pedal into a PV112 or Steel king. I have a GFI with humbuckers (George Ls gfi II's) I am looking for something that really lets the low notes ring out and separate on my E9 neck.
From what I can gather the lower the impedance the darker and smaller the sound?
Thanks for any answers in advance.
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GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 12:03 pm
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| I have an emmons single coil in my Rains, (part No.6190sc) that i think is wound at 19.5 and it's the best sounding pickup of all the PUs i've had in any guitar i've owned, great seperation and great tone. It's well worth cheching out. |
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David Pinkston
From:
Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 12:42 pm Pickups
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I'd give Jerry Wallace a call. Went through this with a GFI once before and he can advise you well. He knows his stuff and is a class guy.
575-746-6022 |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 3:25 pm
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Steve,
The easy answer is the higher the number the darker the sound. Anywhere from 17.5 to 19.5 is standard and will sound fine with those Emmons pickups. I wouldn't go any brighter with a GFI than 17.5.
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Bob |
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Jay Jessup
From:
Charlottesville, VA, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 3:44 pm
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| My e-66 bolt on has two wound at about 13.5!! |
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Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 7:10 pm pick ups
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| The last GFI I had sounded great with a George 10-1 in it. The GFI-I p/u didn't have what I was looking for in tone. I prefer the 10-1 in GFI, Magnum, Carter, Rains, Emmons and Mullen. For a Fessy and others, I like the BL-710. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 11 Apr 2009 9:16 pm
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| Quote: |
| From what I can gather the lower the impedance the darker and smaller the sound? |
There are no hard a fast rules regarding impedance (DC resistance) . In 6-string land, usually lower-impedance means more highs and slightly lower output; as resistance increases, mids become more pronounced.
But with steel pickups, often the higher the resistance the MORE highs you get. And output is really not related to resistance at all - older lapsteel pickups often measure 2-3k but have more output than 6-string or many steel pickups. They have less turns than comparable pickups but with a larger-gage wire.
If you ever want a lesson in pickup theory, call Bill Lawrence - he'll give you more than you'll ever be able to comprehend!
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 12 Apr 2009 9:37 am
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To elaborate on what Jim and Bob said - if all other things are equal, then more winds equates to more DC resistance and inductive reactance, which does tend to darken the sound. So if you're looking at different numbers of winds for a particular pickup design, if you want to darken the sound a bit, more winds makes sense.
But across different pickup designs, not all things are equal. The magnet size, shape, and material, pickup wire, winding method, geometry, and lots of other things affect the frequency response. One of the important variables is the winding method. Carefully stair-stepped winds sound different than scatter-winds. This is one of the things that confounds many attempts to quantify the relationship between DC resistance and sound quality, even with pickups of the same basic design.
I'm sure this is unsatisfying, but I'm only certain I like a pickup after it is in my guitar with me playing it through my equipment. And it depends on which equipment I'm playing through.
Naturally, this all has been discussed in detail many times, for example:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=135450
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=133310
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=125409 |
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Steve Norman
From:
Seattle Washington, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2009 10:50 am
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Hey thanks guys, lot to chew on. getting a couple 19k p-ups to play around with. It will be awhile before I get them installed but will post the results.
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GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS |
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Skip Cole
From:
North Mississippi
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Posted 12 Apr 2009 12:32 pm
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I'm not a tech guru on anything electronic , but i can tell you what I think sounds good. The GFI that Billy Carr played at the Fulton Jam last year had a great tone, sharp , clean , and cut through to the front well. Billy is a fine picker and could tell you what he had on his GFI at the time. Give him a hollar, he's a nice guy.
Skip
" He is risen " |
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Steve Norman
From:
Seattle Washington, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2009 11:24 am
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Will do, I am getting 1 emmons and 2 zums all are around 19, so I guess it doesnt matter, I am looking forward to hearing the differences between the 2 and my stock installs. I know also that the guitar body and my picking/hand/volume control the final deciders on tone, but this is an experiment just to learn about pickups.
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GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS |
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