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Testing an old pickup?


uk_lefty
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I've got an old "project" bass that I need to either sell or strip for parts. I need to test the pickup for output, my father in law is an electrician so he may have the kit...  It what tool would I need and what would I need to do? 

I've already tried putting a string on the bass and I got very low volume, but this is with no nut in place so it's hardly an accurate test. I'd like to know how to see for certain if the pickup is able to be saved or not. 

Thank you 

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First thing I’d do would be to measure the DC resistance of the p’up. Get a multimeter that’s set to read resistance (ohms) up to 20k and put one probe on each of the wires.
 

pickups can vary wildly between 6 or 7 up to 15 or 16. Generally the greater the resistance, the louder the pup is. 

Edited by paul_5
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If you have the pup in a bass and have played a string in the bass, with or or without a nut, if it worked, then you're pretty safe in saying the pup works.

You can't say much more about the pup until you have a nut and the bass is set up. Yet, as you're stripping it for parts, I guess what you have is a working pup of unknown origin.

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