Q: I just acquired an early 1960s Fender Stratocaster and it plays beautifully, but the bridge pickup seems weak. I’m pretty handy with electronics, so could you tell me what the correct DC resistance should be on a Fender single-coil pickup from that era?
A: In general, Fender has used 42 AWG (American wire gauge) copper for the windings, insulated with a product called Formvar. There will be about 1,800 turns of wire on your pickup, yielding a DC resistance of somewhere between 5,800 and 6,200 ohms. If you get a far different reading, there may be a break or corrosion somewhere in the windings, but there’s no way to know without unwinding your pickup. If the pickup is damaged, we’d suggest replacing it, but using the original cover to keep the appearance of a ’60s single-coil. You’ll probably want to keep the original pickup in case you ever decide to sell your new baby (doubtful, we know). That way you can safely say you have all the original parts. Another option would be to send the original pickup to a specialist who can rewind it and bring it up to spec, but then you are looking at significantly more money (and down time).