Guitar Pickup Evaluator - Lite

Finally - a "horsepower rating" for guitar pickups!

If you’re a guitar enthusiast, you know the struggle of finding your perfect tone - the one that fits your playing style and your instrument.

For electric guitars with passive pickups, evaluating them usually boils down to one metric before you’ve even heard them: DCR (resistance in kΩ). Unfortunately, DCR alone tells you almost nothing about output or tone. The real picture depends on:

• Inductance (L) - in Henries
• Capacitance (C) - in nanofarads
• Magnet type - Alnico 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, or Ceramic
• Pickup geometry - bobbin width, length, height, number of coils

After months of studying sine wave curves and logarithmic formulas, I created a 6-sheet Excel workbook that fully analyzes pickups given their L, C, R, and magnet type. It’s robust, but a bit heavy for casual use.

That’s why I developed a “quick and dirty” metric - one number that gives you:

• Relative output (volume) - taking L, C, R, and magnet type into account
• Musicality assessment - based on resonant peak, Q factor, and other measurable factors

It’s simple enough for beginners, yet accurate enough for seasoned players to recognize it reflects what they actually hear.

So it really is like the ‘horsepower rating’ for pickups that the guitar world has never had!

🎸 Pickup Evaluator (Manual L & C)

Enter the Resistance, Inductance, and Capacitance if you know them.

Pickup Type --Select Pickup Type-- Humbucker Mini Humbucker Filtertron Strat Single Jazzmaster Tele Neck Tele Bridge P90 Dynasonic Goldfoil Lipstick Resistance (kΩ) Inductance L (H) Capacitance C (nF) Magnet Type A2 A3 A4 A5 A8 C

🎸 Pickup Evaluator (Estimate L & C)

Don't know your Inductance and Capacitance? We'll estimate it from your Pickup Type, Magnet, and Resistance. It won’t be exact but is far more informative than relying only on DCR.

Pickup Type --Select Pickup Type-- Humbucker Mini Humbucker Filtertron Strat Single Jazzmaster Tele Neck Tele Bridge P90 Dynasonic Goldfoil Lipstick Resistance (kΩ) Magnet Type A2 A3 A4 A5 A8 C Estimated Inductance L (H) Estimated Capacitance C (nF)

Yes - the L and C estimates are only approximate. But remember: all scores here are approximations. In a world where most players still chase DCR (which only tells you wire length), even an estimate based on resonance, inductance, capacitance, and magnet strength is a huge step forward. Think of this resource as a “supercharged DCR.” It gives a quick ballpark figure while baking in resonance and magnet type, making the number far more meaningful.