Pickup Question - Which is the Neck?

[Chiba]

I've got a set of Rio Grande Tallboys to drop in a friend's Strat, but I can't tell which is the bridge and which is the neck.

I thought - 'well, Chiba, just use the one with short wires for the bridge'. Great idea - all 3 pickups have the same length wires.

I know which is the middle, because it has a different color hot wire and is conveniently marked "RW" (reverse wound), so that was easy.

They look exactly alike and like I said the wires are pretty much the same length - one has about a quarter-inch more. Not enough to make a determination.

Only difference is in the resistance:

Pickup #1: 7.43
Pickup #2: 6.71
RW Pickup: 7.38 (if that helps)

So, gurus - which (#1 or #2) is the neck pickup?

:D

--chiba

[mouldynudger]

My understanding is that the pickup with the highest resistance will have the greatest output, so I`d put that one at the bridge.

[rockinlespaul]

#2 is the neck, #1 is the bridge.

[Pedro58]

Ditto! Hottest one in the bridge is the common wisdom.

[Chiba]

Thanks fellas! I went with y'all's recs and it sounds goooooooood.

--chiba