Can someone who knows what they are doing (not me in other words!) answer this for me? If you took a reading w/ an extech lcr meter (series, 120Hz,) and the pickup was 8.12 K and 4.84 H, then you make a simple change (not coil windings) and it reads 8.33K and 5.625 H, how would you *in general* expect the sound to be affected? Or not at all? Im just learning here so maybe it's a silly question!
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Originally posted by EFK View PostIf you took a reading w/ an extech lcr meter (series, 120Hz,) and the pickup was 8.12 K and 4.84 H, then you make a simple change (not coil windings) and it reads 8.33K and 5.625 H, how would you *in general* expect the sound to be affected?
Sounds like you added more steel to the magnetic circuit.
The AC resistance reported by the ExTech may indicate more eddy currents
but no one can say until we know more about the pickup design.
What is the DC resistance reported by an ordinary meter?
-drh"Det var helt Texas" is written Nowegian meaning "that's totally Texas." When spoken, it means "that's crazy."
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Well you're reading at 120Hz you're down in the bass range so it means your bass clarity got more muddy. INductance shouldn't be the only thing you look at, yes generally the higher the inductance the darker the tone is, but also when you put a baseplate on a tele bridge or a P90 or a humbucker the inductance will DROP, but the AC resistance will go up...http://www.SDpickups.com
Stephens Design Pickups
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Originally posted by Possum View PostWell you're reading at 120Hz you're down in the bass range so it means your bass clarity got more muddy.
Originally posted by Possum View PostINductance shouldn't be the only thing you look at, yes generally the higher the inductance the darker the tone is, but also when you put a baseplate on a tele bridge or a P90 or a humbucker the inductance will DROP, but the AC resistance will go up...
I think the Extech is letting you down.
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Well this sure got too complicated to me very quickly! I was just curious what would happen if you put a 1/8" thick piece of steel on the bottom of a bright HB. Sounded like crap! Weak - I'd guess it was pulling too much magnetic field away from the strings. Just playing around.
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It depends on what kind of pickup we're talking about here. Humbuckers have problems in the bass area, single coils much less. If you change something in a humbucker that loads the pickup down more you will see a significant muddying of the bass end of things, but it may read as an inductance decrease depending on what you did, add metal, or add winds or change magnet type. Single coils have way less problems in the bass frequencies so your readings at 120HZ are much less seperated than what you get from a humbucker.http://www.SDpickups.com
Stephens Design Pickups
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Originally posted by Magnut View PostTypically a higher inductance will create a darker sound with less highs and a lower inductance will sound brighter.
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I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a drop in low end as much as an extended high end. Often what sounds "warm" to people is less high end instead of more low end. Low inductance pickups wont have the hump in the mids either.
But higher inductance pickups do have a fuller tone.It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure. — Albert Einstein
http://coneyislandguitars.com
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When making a chance in loading though when inductance goes lower it gets muddier not clearer. Thats the bitch of this stuff, and thats why you need to watch AC resistance. Sometimes you have to look at all 3 readings to make any sense of making a change in a pickup design, the inductance drops, the AC resistance goes up at the same time, what does Q do as well? Its not cut and dried...http://www.SDpickups.com
Stephens Design Pickups
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Originally posted by Possum View PostWhen making a chance in loading though when inductance goes lower it gets muddier not clearer.
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its not an error and its easy to do, take a strat pickup for instance and put a steel bar across the pole, sticking it to it, the inductance drops, the AC resistance goes UP....http://www.SDpickups.com
Stephens Design Pickups
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Originally posted by Mike Sulzer View PostNo. The pickup is unloaded at low frequencies because the impedance of the inductance is low. You must be hearing some other effect and misinterpreting what it is the result of. Have you looked carefully at the stated errors of the Extech when the Q is low?
Could you summarize the kind of things one can learn about a pickup coil from using the full features of the Extech LCR meter at both the 1K Hz and 120 Hz test frequencies.
The Extech measures AC resistance (AC-R), L, Q and D. I found that when I multiply the AC-R times the Q, I get a value very close to the coil's XL. Do you find this to be useful?
If the Q of a coil is below 1, how would you interpet that?
Joseph Rogowski
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