Shuriken stock pickup DCR?

[nonies]

Hi there. I've looked around on here and noted a few people swapping pickups, and the notes to stay within spec of 6-8Kohms DCR. Has anyone measured the stock pickup that's included in the Shuriken? I thought mine sounded - not so great. So I measured it, and it reads 9.097k for DCR on my meter (which has been calibrated).

Perhaps an iffy pickup, or do the stock pickups actually measure outside the necessary range?

Thanks all!

[psarkissian]

Yes, I have, that's where the spec comes from, as I'm one of the guys who services Variax here at Line 6.

It's connected to active circuits, so impedance matching is important, the EQ tone will shift, as impedance

(and associated DCR) is a function of frequency.

 

9k is on the high side. Either an issue with the pick-up, or pick-up to string distance needs adjusting. Something

interfering with the circuit. An iffy or pick-up typically reads around 0.4-0.5 meg-Ohms.

 

[nonies]

Thanks for the reply, psarkissian. I had looked up pickup height spec (some of your previous posts show it), and that didn't make a difference. The pickup DCR reads that, so I suspect the stock pickup is itself iffy or out of spec. I had a neck pickup sitting around (Carvin M22V) which reads around 7.02K. Treble response and harmonics are there in spades now, and the pickup itself sounds like it has greater output compared to stock.

I can at least confirm that the 9K DCR is indeed "too dark" for me. Kind of a bummer it happened that way, but at least I had a spare pickup.

Thanks again.

[psarkissian]

Stock pick-up is the same as the JTV-59 or 89F bridge pick-up. Stevic McKay,

a couple players here and I like it. Tyler spec'd to match a Duncan humbucker,

without the Duncan price tag.

 

Bridge PU's are 6-7k and neck PU's are around 8k and can get good power.

Would be interesting to find out what's up with that one.

 

 

[nonies]

I would say the example I have is not standard, and I probably would like the pickup more if it wasn't anomalous. 

I'm not going to dissect the pickup, but with it reading a bit high (I don't know the standard DCR) my first guess is a break in a wind that happens to function, or perhaps it was left on the winding machine for a few extra turns. Ambient temp can have an effect, but the room was mid 60s, making it unlikely.

I've designed and wound my own pickups before, so this is nothing new - but interesting given the spec. I'd considered sending the guitar in for troubleshooting, as it's only a couple months since purchase, but cost of shipping and time without were two additional issues I wanted to avoid. 

If you want to take a look at the stock one I have, and can spare a return label, I'll send it your way.

[psarkissian]

Purchased September last year from our web store,... log a support ticket in your account, Support can let you know what the options are.

 

[rwinking]

I also bought a Shurican and really dislike the pickup. It just sounds tinny. I was thinking about putting a Dimarzio PAF 59 neck in it. Would that be any kind of problem? MAybe it is the nature of the guitar, but if I am to use the Shuriken in guitar mode, I would love a fatter sound. I have not measured the pickup in it as I don't know how. I do have a multi meter. What would the steps be?

[psarkissian]

Stock pick-up is going to be around 6.8k to 7.2k Ohms.

DiMarzio will have the DCR spec on their website, which they have as 8.2K Ohms.

 

[rwinking]

Does anyone have any ideas for a replacement pickup that might be fatter? I really like the feel of the Shuriken but the pick up sounds kind of cheap and thin. Maybe it is the nature of the wood and body style of the Shuriken but I don't thinks so as acoustically it sounds pretty big. I don't really want a hotter pickup....maybe something more vintage sounding?

[rwinking]

I checked out Larry's site and the 36th Anniversary PAF has a  7.31 Kohm. Almost all of his pickups are over 8 Kohm. Is that pretty common for pickups? If these Variax guitars need something between 6-8 Kohm, that doesn't leave a lot of selection out there. Or am I misunderstanding this?

[psarkissian]

No misunderstanding. It's an impedance thing when dealing with active circuit electronics.

It's not like changing out gum drop capacitors for different EQ curve, like in a passive electronic guitar.

That also goes for all the other Variax guitars of this generation (post 2010).

 

[nonies]

On 1/9/2023 at 2:06 PM, rwinking said:

I checked out Larry's site and the 36th Anniversary PAF has a  7.31 Kohm. Almost all of his pickups are over 8 Kohm. Is that pretty common for pickups? If these Variax guitars need something between 6-8 Kohm, that doesn't leave a lot of selection out there. Or am I misunderstanding this?

Impedance matching is often necessary in various circuits, and depending on how sensitive the Variax electronics are, a change in the impedance match will affect its performance I'd imagine. 

I'd thought about trying an Alumitone Deathbucker, but at 5.2K it's probably on the "thin" side, and those pickups are already trebly. 8K-ohm is pretty bog standard for "PAF" style pickups, and it will be fairly trebly as well. More winds = higher DCR and inductance, which decreases treble response. 

Since the spec is 6-8k, the nominal is probably 7k, which is what a hotter strat-style single coil can use, or a "PAF" style humbucker. Even a mini humbucker can work. Tons of options.

This raises another question: has anyone tried wiring a resistor between hot and ground leads of a higher DCR pickup to mimic something within spec? It would load the pickup, which would decrease volume, and possibly treble response, but would be interesting to note the differences.