Pickup Resistance - Effect on sound?

[Fusioninspace]

I just put some GFS P-90s in my Hamer XT Goldtop to replace the stock Hamer ones. It really nailed the sound I was looking for... Based on everyone's suggestions from my previous post, I leaned toward the Duncan Phatt Cats (P90s) cause that's what I put in my Hamer Echotone. The Phatt Cats are designed to replace Humbuckers - and that worked/sounded perfect on the Echotone. But when I went to try to find Duncans that had the same specs in a soap bar, there was nothing that matched.

So I go to GFS and they have some that are close to the spec of the Phat Cats - I end up going with the GFS because their specs are close to the Duncan. The other day I get an email back from Hamer responding to an email I sent them requesting the impedance on the stock Hamer P90s.

Keep in mind that I thought the stock Hamer P90s sucked. The Duncan and GFS both have the exact sound I was looking for. Here's a run down on the DC resistance each pickup:

--------Hamer--GFS---Duncan
Neck____8.4____8.0____7.98
Bridge___8.8____8.8____8.49

Looking at these numbers, there is really no significant diff (at p=.05) between any of these. Why does the Hamer suck and the GFS/Duncan excel? I'm guessing magnets and maybe the wire size.

Is the rule that you really don't know what they're going to sound like until you install them?

 

[ranjam]

As an awful general rule, most pickup makers are using 42 ga. enamel coated wire. The magnets will differ; Alnico II, Alnico V, or even ceramic. Ceramic tends to have higher output, but it's mostly in the terble response. And just my opinion; I don't like ceramic magnet pickups. A lot of my friends don't like Alnico II, but in my Les Paul they sound great. So it's up to taste. There are so many boutique pickup makers out there, that your head spins thinking about all your options. GFS look cool, and have a great price. AllParts sells Razor, and they are also amazing bang-for-the-buck pickups. So you don't have to spend $$$ to sound like a million bucks.