How to measure output?

[ShannonH]

Hi All,
The big makers list their pickup out put in millivolts. I guess my question is, Is this possible without a ton of specialized equipment, and further, is it worth doing? I wind a bridge pu with 43 and put a ton of winds on it, but would like to get a more exact idea of it's real output comared to a pu wound with 42. I guess there is one more question here: is output related to volume?

thanks in advance

Shannon
NorthStar Guitar

[WolfeMacleod]

I guess there is one more question here: is output related to volume?

Yes, overall volume is related more to Mv output, rather than ohms. I don't measure Mv output. Don't need it, don't care. It ruins the art. Don't go for volume, go for tone

[Possum]

volume...

We've had this discussion before, output and volume in my opinion are two different things. I agree with Wolfe that doing those measurements are really useless and I'm the guy with the LCR meter :-)

PERCEIVED volume of a pickup has nothing to do with its DC resistance, number of winds. Usually when we're at the jams its the guy with the low wind bright/shrill pickups that gets told to turn it down. An overwound pickup has alot of output but isn't perceived as being overly loud because it lacks treble and treble is whats cuts through in a loud band. Clear?

[ShannonH]

totally clear...

Thanks guys... I have this alnico 2 pu I wind to 6 k and put in the neck and it has great volume. I have always found that that interrelation of all the parts and the windings is more art than science, and is hard to elucidate to a potential cutomer without a long sit down chat. Everyone wants the ohm's and I keep telling them it's relative, but I'm just establishing a name for myself so it's hard to get them to listen. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to approach things from the gut and not get tech geeked out on the numbers.

[Possum]

more volume....

the thing is about humbuckers is that even low wind ones, like 5.6k have plenty of volume, remember that you have TWO coils in there both reading and both providing output, so 5.7K sounds kinda low but I really like it in a 335 neck position myself and there's nothing wimpy about it

. Tailoring a humbucker's tone is more tricky for me to get any kind of drastic tonal difference because of the two coils. the best way to change a bucker's tone is change the magnet wire and or the magnets used. Everything else is kinda stuck where it is, unless you use two screw poles. The fun thing about humbuckers though is they are immensely complex little beasts and you can never run out of ideas for trying to get noticeable tweaks in tone.