Take another look through these threads:

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2593
http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2021

Manufacturers fill the windings with somehting like varnish or beeswax to keep the wires in place.

And no, a resistor is no substitute for turns of wire. You need windings to interact with the magnetic field.