Guitar pickups are a vital part of any electric guitar; without them, the vibration from the strings can’t be transformed into an electrical signal and transported to the amplifier. In essence, without a pickup, your electric guitar won’t work. So, if you are experiencing technical difficulties such as hum, buzz, or even no sound, you might wonder how to check if your pickup is working.
The easiest and most accurate way to check whether your guitar pickup works is to test it with a multimeter. Multimeters can read the resistance your pickup is giving out, indicating whether the pickup is faulty or in good working condition.
It can be frustrating when you want to jam and your guitar has pickup issues—but there are several ways to determine the cause of the problem. This article will discuss the different ways to test if your pickup is working and share some handy information on pickups, so if you are experiencing some issues with your pickup, please read on!
Related: acoustic electric guitar not working with amp? 4 fixes. New to this topic? Start with our guitar maintenance basics.
1. Test Your Installed Guitar Pickup With a Multimeter
Multimeters are handy tools. They are affordable and can be used to test an array of different electronics, not just your guitar pickup. When using a multimeter, you can accurately read your pickup’s resistance.
Multimeters are also widely available, so if you don’t already have one, you can run to your local electrical shop or even purchase one online.
This process might sound complicated if you have never used a multimeter before, but let me assure you, they are super easy to use. Once you get the hang of it, testing your pickup will be easy and fast.
What Is Guitar Pickup Resistance?
The resistance of a guitar pickup is a measure of the electrical current that runs through the wire coils.
The more copper wire wound around the magnets—the higher the resistance. The wire is not the only factor that comes into play; the material of the pickup magnet also plays a big part in determining your pickup’s resistance.
To check if your pickup is working, you want to see if the electricity is moving from the hot wire to the ground wire.
How To Test a Pickup Using a Multimeter
Whether the tone of your guitar sounds off or your guitar has suddenly stopped working, testing your pickup with a multimeter will give you a clear indication of its health.
If the pickup you want to test is on your guitar, you can test it from the guitar’s output jack.
Follow these steps to test your pickup with a multimeter:
- Set the multimeter to 20K ohm – Ω. You will have this option, so turn the dial.
- Plug your amp cable into your guitar, but do not plug it into your amp. It would be best to locate the cable’s free end to test the resistance.
- Turn the tone and volume on your guitar to the highest possible setting. If you have mistakenly turned the volume setting down, the test will not give accurate results.
- Select the pickup you want to test if you have more than one pickup on your guitar. You should test both or all three pickups on your guitar.
- Connect the multimeter probes to the cable you plugged into your guitar. One multimeter probe goes on the cable’s sleeve—the other on the cable’s tip.
- The multimeter will give you a reading. This measurement is your pickup’s resistance.
When measuring resistance, ensure you select the correct range on your multimeter. The usual range is 20K ohm, but you get a wide variety of different multimeters, so check your manual to ensure the correct range is for the multimeter you have. If you select the wrong range, you will get an incorrect reading.
Suppose you don’t own a multimeter but would like to invest in one. In that case, you can get this AstroAI Multimeter and Ohm Volt Amp Tester (available on Amazon.com).
It is a high-speed digital multimeter with a built-in backlight LCD. This multimeter is easy to use and will help you accurately determine your pickup’s resistance. It is also super safe as it has a double ceramic fuse which protects it from overloading, and the silicone cover protects against electric shock.
You can also use an analog multimeter or, as some people know it, a needle meter. Analog multimeters work perfectly to test your guitar pickup’s resistance but remember to always set it to zero before using it, or you will not get an accurate reading.
You can get this super cool Gardner Bender GMT-319 Multimeter Tester (available on Amazon.com) to ensure your pickup’s resistance is in the correct range. The Gardner Bender offers replaceable test leads for your convenience, a color-coded analog display, so it is easy to read, and a manual range selection. Wit