When pickup manufactures measure pickups for their catalogs they usually put down the average D.C. Resistance. Pickups are usually wound to a desired number of turns with a particular gauge of magnet wire. When using magnet wire from different suppliers, the magnet wire can have many tolerances such as this example: Diameter of the bare copper wire for 42 gauge of wire can be .0024″ minimal, .0025″ nominal, .0026″ maximum. The insulation can have tolerances in several thicknesses making the total wire diameter .0026″ minimal, .0028″ nominal, .0030″ maximum.

Even though your pickup may have the same number of turns the catalog may state a pickup being 6.3k Ohms D.C. Resistance, but yours may read 6.1k Ohms D.C. Resistance. The different D.C. Resistance can change your tone slightly. The manufacturer tries to keep close tolerances when making pickups but sometimes the manufacturer winds the pickup with a wrong gauge of wire or number of turns for a particular model pickup. Sometimes it gets past quality control if not checked closely and can cause problems for everyone especially the player. When winding the pickup I use tension devices that control the precise tension on the wire. If the tension is too tight when winding a pickup, the magnet wire can stretch and cause the D.C. Resistance (Ohms) to increase.

I’ve often wound coils to the exact D.C. Resistance. One spool of magnet wire may take 7,875 turns of 42 plain enamel to wind a Telecaster pickup to 6.0k D.C. Resistance and another spool may take 7,945 turns to achieve the same exact 6.0k D.C. Resistance. If in doubt or have any questions about the specifications on your pickup call the music dealer or pickup manufacturer. They will be there to help you.