tictoc Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Being new I am trying to learn more on OHM values and what they change going up or down. I see some PAF types where the neck will be a 8.2 neck 16.9 bridge and others running 8.2 in both. Which is better for heavy metal vs say blues. Could someone shed some light on this... Please. Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hy_dro66 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 The most basic explaination I can give is that the higher the ohm reading, the hotter the pickup is. Typically low resistance gives a more vintage sound and high resistance gives a more modern sound, but neither of those is entirely true. A lot of it depends on how the pickup is constructed and what materials are used. What are looking for in a pup exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tictoc Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 I am looking for or trying to get my LP some aditional crunch for some metal type playing. I have been looking at Mighty Mite Motherbuckers, Gibson gold PAF and more but the OHM values have, until now, been throwing me a loop. I do not have a ton of cash or I'd probably grab IMG 81's but alase I am stuck in the below 80 range of cash. The teenager gets cranky if he's low on snacks<G> Any thoughts? Thank you for the response! It helped clear up allot of issues. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 look for some carvin pickups on ebay.. i got two fo them a while back for 27 usd. not bad.. i love there pickups they have real good clarity and some awesome crunch.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalefish Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 If I'm not mistaken, the higher the resistance, the hotter the pickup, as mentioned.. Also, from my own inference based on my knowledge of electronics, the higher the resistance, the less highs are going to be coming through.. If someone could confirm this, it'll be good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 well look at this.. my x2n has 500+mv output qutie hot indeed and elss than 14k. my dimarzio blaze pickups have a 22k output and are not even half as loud. mly tone zone is a 16k bright as the day is long. and pretty decent output. better than my blaze not as good as my x2n my carvin is a 11k [10k rated] and puts out almost as good as my tonezone. and again this is a balanced pickup all toghether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Also, from my own inference based on my knowledge of electronics, the higher the resistance, the less highs are going to be coming through.. If someone could confirm this, it'll be good.. Yes you're correct. The thing I discovered years ago is high resistance picks are hotter and do roll of some of the frequency range of the pickup (advertised as midrange punch). I turn I went through a handful of heavy output pickups and never liked their sound. Duncan invader is one that comes to mind that sounded like crap. Then I went to duncan live wires, did their high output which was okay, but then got the classic version (more normal PAF tone but warmer and brigher) and absolutely loved it. I think a great tone doesn't come from high output, it's the backend that counts the most. Good tubes, and hot amp will make any pickup sound good. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hy_dro66 Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Totally agree. All about the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I wouldn't say that I have had the opposite experience but pretty close. I had been searching for a great lead distortion sound for a very long time. I tried all sorts of distortion pedals, a few amps (none that were beyond my price range) and never came up with anything acceptable. After switching out my pickups to EMG's (81 and 85), my existing equipment sounded awesome. I later tried some higher end passives (by Seymour Duncan) and was very happy with those as well. For me, the answer was the pickups and not a new amp. I guess it depends on what you already have in you rig and what you have in your wallet. I'm sure a high end amp would be a great help also but if you don't have mega bucks to spend and you have decent equipment, buy good pickups - it's worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tictoc Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Well look like the LP is getting some Gibson Gold PAF's running 8.2 neck and bridge. That should cut the metal ok ya think? As far as amp I runa Peavey Studio Pro 112 (65W) with a Celestion Super 65. Not the "Best" amp but it sounds good. Also have a, don't laugh, Sears 50W TUBED AMP on it way. Old very old but works and sounds great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Also have a, don't laugh, Sears 50W TUBED AMP on it way. Old very old but works and sounds great. Man, that brings back memories!! Years ago, I use to have two Silvertone 35w tube heads with 2x12 cabs, spring reverb. Man I wish I would have never let go of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 If they don't end up sounding quite as good as you wanted, consider trying an onboard preamp like the EMG-AB or the seymour duncan pickup booster. They both do a great job of making "weaker" passive pickups sound like the hotter actives. Just don't go overboard with the gain - they can make it muddy at the highest gain settings. Somewhere around 7 or 8 (out of 10) is usually mud free in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tictoc Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 far as what I would "like" them to sound like you can download a sample of that at my site www.tictoc.us Just look on the first page and you see "Here's a nice riff on a Gibson SG Right mouse click and save target as to play." Thats the sound I am working on so hopfully the Gibson PAF's will get me there. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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