Bridge V Neck pups. Kohms difference

[fleabag]

I'm going to replace a  bridge pickup, and the new pup is 11.3 K ohms which is 3.1 K ohms lower than the neck, which is 14.4 K ohms

As far as i'm aware, for obvious reasons, the higher resistance pups tend to be at the bridge position, but in reality, is 3.1 K ohms a small enough

difference for it not to matter ?

Of course i can lower the neck pup and set the bridge pup as close to the strings before i hit magnet pull.

The other option is to swap them round and put the lower K ohm pup at the neck, but this will require more work

Hopefully, the small difference means i can get past a volume in-balance by using the pup height adjustment

[paul_5]

11 & 14 k? Them’s so hot you could fry eggs on ‘em!

[fleabag]

Schaller 232 Bassbucker ( very hot ) &  Dimarzio Model 1 DP 120 ( almost as hot )

[MoonBassAlpha]

Could you wire the neck pickup in parallel, rather than series?

This would on be possible if you have a 4-conductor cable coming out of the humbucker.

Hth

MBA

[fleabag]

Indeed i guess that could be one answer, though TBH, i'd prefer not too.

I'll ask my local guitar tech if 3.1 k ohms difference is nothing or something

[Ghost_Bass]

Not allways true that you have hotter bridge pickups, in PJ basses the split coils tend to be almost allways hotter than the single coils IME.

[fleabag]

Always exceptions, sure.

I'm sure it wont be a problem - pickup heights can be adjusted etc,  but i'd just like to know how big a difference 3.1 k ohms is between the pups,

Maybe  its small enough not to even notice

[Ghost_Bass]

I don't think you'll notice much difference too.

[ikay]

43 minutes ago, fleabag said:

I'm sure it wont be a problem - pickup heights can be adjusted etc,  but i'd just like to know how big a difference 3.1 k ohms is between the pups,

Maybe  its small enough not to even notice

If the pickups are otherwise of the same construction (same magnet type/strength, same winding wire/gauge) then the difference between 11.3 and 14.4 is nearly 30% which is pretty substantial. I'd expect there to be a noticeable difference in tone and output between the two with the 14.4 being louder and darker. With this one being in the neck position (where string movement is greater) the difference would be even more noticeable. By way of comparison, a regular vintage type jazz pickup would generally be somewhere around the 8k to 9k mark with a difference between neck and bridge of around 1k or less.

[fleabag]

I'd better lower that neck pup some, then

Or, the other option which i really didnt want to, is  move the neck pup to bridge, and put the new lower output pup at the neck

But this might be the only option. At this point, i have no idea if i can lower the neck up enough, and raise the bridge pup high enough to get a volume balance

I'd only find this out if i routed, and fitted the lower output pup,  and then i've had routing done for no reason if it doesnt work out.

Dilemma

[ikay]

Sorry, I've just read the full thread again and see that the two pickups are completely different (Schaller 232 &  Dimarzio DP 120). The construction, magnets, winding wire etc are likely to be quite different in which case the DC resistance really doesn't tell you anything about how they compare in terms of output or tone. They might work well together - or not! What's the bass? Can you just drop in the new bridge pickup and see how it sounds?

Edited March 14, 2018 by ikay

[fleabag]

Nah, cannot just drop a bridge in to check because there's no rout. Its a one off bass

[MoonBassAlpha]

You could hover the bridge pickup ABOVE the strings. Some small offcuts of wood and a load of Blu-tak should do the trick. This will give you an idea of how loud it will appear, and the compliance of the blu-tak will afford some adjustment.

[fleabag]

That sounds like a trick