60's vs. 70's Jazz bass pickups

[bassfart]

I have read a lot about the coveted 60's Jazz bass pickups and their sound compared to every other era Jazz bass pickup. I own a 78 Jazz bass and I find the sound of these pickups awesome, with very little hum and no irritating ground buzz. I owned a Geddy Lee Jazz and the construction was great, but the sound was lacking and the ground buzz was horrible. All the pickup companies out there have a Jazz pickup with a 60's spec. What makes the 60's pickups greater then all the rest?

[Ray man]

This caught my eye.

Are you talking about the 60's custom shop vs. the '75 reissue pickups?
I think 60's fenders are pretty much 'the standard' for many reasons. This is why everyone wants to reissue according to 60's specs.

I replaced a set of 60's custom shop's with '75 reissues.
The custom shop's are just a recreation of the pickups used at that time. There is nothing realy speacial about them, they just give you a 'middle of the road' standard jazz bass tone. Which is probably why people want them in the first place.
The 75's sound the same but with a fuller fatter more bulky sound. Like 60's custom shop pickups, but with a little bit of steroids.

[narud]

if you took a set of 70's jazz bass pickups and put them in a pre cbs jazz, i doubt anyone would find that big of a difference.

the reissue pickups are a whole other bag. the american 75 reissue pickups sound very different than the pickups from a bass of that era. i put a set of 1980 gray bottoms in a mia 75 ri and it opened it up dramatically. the american ri pickups might sound like something from the 60's depending on what bass your playing.

[Ray man]

Originally Posted by narud

if you took a set of 70's jazz bass pickups and put them in a pre cbs jazz, i doubt anyone would find that big of a difference.

the reissue pickups are a whole other bag. the american 75 reissue pickups sound very different than the pickups from a bass of that era. i put a set of 1980 gray bottoms in a mia 75 ri and it opened it up dramatically. the american ri pickups might sound like something from the 60's depending on what bass your playing.

BTW I never actualy played a real 60's or 70's Fender. But I had both the 60's CS and the '75 RI pickups.
I also had the AERO type 1.

[hands5]

Originally Posted by narud

if you took a set of 70's jazz bass pickups and put them in a pre cbs jazz, i doubt anyone would find that big of a difference.

the reissue pickups are a whole other bag. the american 75 reissue pickups sound very different than the pickups from a bass of that era. i put a set of 1980 gray bottoms in a mia 75 ri and it opened it up dramatically. the american ri pickups might sound like something from the 60's depending on what bass your playing.

I agree,and were n the hell did you get the Gray bottoms ! I've been looking for those for quite sometime......good stuff

[narud]

Originally Posted by hands5

I agree,and were n the hell did you get the Gray bottoms ! I've been looking for those for quite sometime......good stuff

theyre up on ebay all the time. one day i might have carey nordstrand make a repro set and see how they come out. i sent that set i had to him to take notes on for a repro set, but then didnt end up needing them.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by bassfart

What makes the 60's pickups greater then all the rest?

Hype. They aren't all that much different. Since most people have never played a 60's or even a 70's jazz, they have nothing to compare them to. From what I've seen of Fender reissues, they are not very accurate. Two glaring examples are the Tele Wide Range humbuckers, and the reissue Jazzmaster pickups. Neither of these pickups are made anything like the real thing, and they don't sound like the real thing. But they look the same.

I'd expect the rest of their "reissue" line follows suite.

If you want an accurate reproduction, check out Lollar, Fralin or Nordstrand.