Maybe a fake of a fake?

[Rabbit]

Since a genuine Gibson Mudbucker seems to be very elusive to find (which kinda surprises me, every man and his dog seem to swap them out of the ES0), but a Korean company makes one that looks the same with pretty much the same specs.

I bought one of these from a Chinese vendor, and I suspect it's a Chinese copy of the Korean copy. There was no label on the back as shown in the picture for the ad. the chord doesn't come through a hole in the back of the pickup like the picture on the add shows, and the output value is supposed to be 29.7K +/- 10%.

There are just a bare earth wire and a hot wire. Am I correct in assuming that the resistance through these two should be 29.7k, or close to? I was getting about 0.5k

[Simon Barden]

Well, 500 ohms is next to nothing in terms of winding. Sounds like something is very wrong with it indeed. If it's a proper copy of a mudbucker, then yes, you should be able to measure almost 30k ohms. Even if it's a standard pickup in a mudbucker cover you should be getting at least 6k ohms or so.

Can you return it? Not easy I know, but sending them a pic with 500 ohms reading on the meter should prompt some replacement action if they are genuine.

Any link to the Chinese website?

[McCreed]

What about ordering the "original copy" from the Korean company?

I concur with Simon that there is something wrong, like a broken coil wire.

[Rabbit]

What about ordering the "original copy" from the Korean company?

I concur with Simon that there is something wrong, like a broken coil wire.

Couldn't find anywhere on their site to buy direct from, nor a list of distributors. I will try another vendor. As for a broken coil wire, I'd have thought that would put the resistance up rather than down. All in all it's kinda weird. luckily the pups are not all that expensive.

[Simon Barden]

Yes, a broken coil wire would give an open circuit. All I can think of is that either they’ve used just a few turns of wire, or the ‘insulation’ material on the wire is semi-conductive, so the overall resistance has dropped significantly.

You may as well open it up to see inside.

Artec do a low-cost mudbucker-style pickup. Maybe that’s what you thought you were getting?

[Rabbit]

Yes, a broken coil wire would give an open circuit. All I can think of is that either they’ve used just a few turns of wire, or the ‘insulation’ material on the wire is semi-conductive, so the overall resistance has dropped significantly.

You may as well open it up to see inside.

Artec do a low-cost mudbucker-style pickup. Maybe that’s what you thought you were getting?

Yes, It was "supposed" to be an Artec, but the genuine article is a0 suposed to be 29.7k +/- 10% and has a label on the back with the model number . neither was as it should be. Reviews suggest that the Artec pup sounds very similar to the Gibson "mudbucker".

Being an inquisitive sort I'm way ahead of you and had a butchers inside. I checked both coils, and using another multi meter (I was a bit unsure about the readings I was getting), and I was getting 0.6k per coil. When I connected to a bare end and tried it against the exterior of the coil where it was shiny and not covered in wax. There was no continuity. the wire used is very fine, and *if* it's as many winds as it seems, the values I'm getting are a bit puzzling. I'll unravel one of the coils and see I guess. I might look up what combinations of diameter and length should get to 15k ... not sure, is a humbucker wired in series or parallel?

[Simon Barden]

For almost 30k, I'm pretty sure you'd be looking at 44AWG. Humbucker coils are normally connected in series, and would be here, though they can be connected in parallel and still be humbucking.

[Simon Barden]

It's strange that you get 0.6k per coil but a similar reading for the whole pickup. You'd expect 1.2k or so if the coil readings were true.

I'm just wondering if there's an issue with the pickup lead itself, and a partial short in that is driving the low readings.

[Rabbit]

I think it must be an issue with the wire used in the windings, I suspect much as you hinted before, there was an issue with the coating on the wire not being fully insulating. BTW with the same meter I got 600ohms per coil also gave 1.2k for the two together.

Being not only inquisitive, I'm also apparently a masochist. I unwound one of the coils and counted the windings. It came out at approximately 4400. I don't have a mic, but calipers measure it as 0.15mm for the thickness of the wire.

[Simon Barden]

Insulation on it will be some of that diameter.