Lollar Pickups Blog

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Temperature and Guitar Pickup DC Resistance

This is a follow-up to our previous Blog entitled, “How Important is Guitar Pickup DC Resistance?” 

We decided to further demonstrate an important property of guitar pickup DC resistance.  That is, how temperature can affect the DC resistance reading on the SAME pickup.

So we did a simple experiment for you.  This will help demonstrate the point.   

We took the SAME pickup, a 2009 Lollar Vintage T Series bridge, and placed it in three different temerature settings and photographed the results.  As you will see, the same pickup will have different Ohm meter readings when the pickup’s temperature changes.

Here goes:

Setting Number 1 – Room Temperature

This particular Lollar Vintage T Series bridge reads a little over 7.1K at 68 degrees fahrenheit.
This particular Lollar Vintage T Series bridge reads a little over 7.1K at 68 degrees fahrenheit.

Here you will find our stock Lollar Vintage T Series bridge (one of our most popular, by the way).  The DC resistance is taken at room temperature, as indicated by the thermometer.

Setting Number 2 – Warm

This same Lollar Vintage T Series bridge has a reading of almost 7.9K after it has been warmed up for about an hour.
This same Lollar Vintage T Series bridge has a reading of almost 7.9K after it has been warmed up for about an hour.

This next photo shows a higher DC resistance reading, taken on the very same Lollar T Series bridge pickup.  We let this pickup sit at the warming station for about an hour.  (We warm all of the pickups at the warming station before they are immersed in the molten wax at the potting station.)

Setting Number 3 – Cold

Now this same Lollar Vintage T Series bridge has a reading of just under 6.4K - it has been sitting in the refrigerator.
Now this same Lollar Vintage T Series bridge has a reading of just under 6.4K – it has been sitting in the refrigerator.

This final photo shows how a colder temperature affects the DC resistance.  We let the same Lollar Vintage T Series bridge pickup sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. You can see how lowering the temperature of the pickup also lowers the DC resistance reading.

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