Weak pickup(s) question

[jwendt2003]

I've got an A5 single coil about 6.8k, that has been in 2 different strats, the last one; my MIM, and it still sounds weak with little low end; almost like the out of phase sound (position 2) of a 5 position strat. I don't have an accurate turns count, but I know it's 6.8k. I guess I need a gauss meter to see what's going on. I've been magnetizing my pickups with small but stacked pieces of neo magnets, and comparing them with other pickups by touching a small screwdriver against them. It's not as strong as ceramic, but it seems to be charged good. Is it possible it's not charged enough, or 'over charged'? -Jim

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

Sometimes there can be a break in the wire and you'll still get good DC resistance readings. I'm not sure why, but it happens from time to time. If the sound goes away entirely when you roll off the tone, that is a giveaway.

[jwendt2003]

Come to think of it, it would make sense if the windings were shorting out against each other. I guess the ohm meter can't show everything that's going on, unless you have a complete break.

[David Schwab]

If you knew how many turns you did and what resistance that should be, then you can spot shorts, as the reading will be lower.

It's possible you got a good charge on the magnets, but they wont charge as high as a ceramic magnet.

I didn't have a gauss meter until just recently, but I also wasn't charging my own magnets.

Do you charge the magnets after they are in the flatwork? I'm asking to make sure they are all facing the same way.

[Joe Gwinn]

If you knew how many turns you did and what resistance that should be, then you can spot shorts, as the reading will be lower.

This is a very insensitive test because a few shorted turns out of 10,000 turns total will kill the sound, and there are many mostly harmless things that will cause variations in the parts per ten thousand.

A better test is to measure the AC resistance at 1000 Hz with an Extech. A coil with a shorted turn will have an anomalously high AC resistance.

[jwendt2003]

I magnetize after the pickup is wound. I have 2 Neo 1" circle mags from StewMac. They are broke into, and the pieces 'stacked'; 2 halves on each side of a C clamp. It seems to make the field stronger for magnetizing. I can tell the difference; the A5s slightly weaker than a ceramic pole pickup, and my A2's are a little weaker than the A5, so I think I'm getting them charged correctly.

Shorted coils make sense to me logically to be weaker and very little bass response. Looks like I'll need to measure them differently from now on.