04/07/2026
"Too-sday," as in too much of everything. Look closely at my LCR meter's decimal points.
Good friend Pat O'Brien of Exhorder (and formally of Cannibal Co**se, Nevermore and Slayer) asked me to create the most fiery powerful pickup I could muster.
So I made a 74.4K DCR, 64.2h (henries) humbucker.
DCR (direct current resistance) is a product of the coil wire. How thin (copper core wire), how thick (type of insulation coating) and/or how long (length of wire). The latter is why high DCR is usually (and sometimes incorrectly) associated with how "hot" a pickup is. The longer the wire, the more output.
The production humbucker with the highest resistance to my knowledge is the Alegree High-Joule Tufnel (54K). Seymour Duncan's highest resistance production pickup, to my knowledge, is Slug (47.1K).
The Duncan Custom Shop did make a one-off promotional 111K humbucker in promotion of the most recent "Spinal Tap" movie, but DCS appears to have used a modified bobbin assembly to hit their high mark. Actually both Tufnel and Slug appear to have non-traditional blueprints. The Carondelet pickup, however, used standard 50mm bobbins - not even F-spaced.
How? Remember I said DCR often reflects how thin the copper coil wire is? Let's just say I used a wire so thin that it was custom made by the manufacturer to my (bizarre) specs. :)
Inductance describes a pickup's conversion of string vibration into electric signal, or ability to efficiently "induce" current. The Carondelet has an inductance reading of 64.2 henries. Most high output humbuckers are around 10 henries. Alegree doesn't list the Tufnel's inductance, but the Duncan Slug is 18 henries.
Finally, pickups this severely overwound are usually dark, midrange heavy and subsequently muddy. To extract as much high end as possible, the Carondelet is a A9/A8 hybrid magnet humbucker, as in a primary Alnico 9 magnet (yes, there is such a thing as A9) and a secondary Alnico 8 magnet.
It also uses 12 short length high carbon content pole screws to reduce side and underside magnetism and focus it up towards the strings.
How's it sound? I'll post A/V in a few weeks when Pat and I meet up after Exhorder's current tour.
Hint: Its sound is akin to a rodeo bull on methamphetamines.
