Vintage P pup in MIA P?

[sigmafloyd]

Has anyone tried to put the vintage P pickup (the one found in the avri 62) in a current 2008 or later MIA? I'm curious what the tone difference would be with that setup compared to the AVRI 62

[lonote]

It will make very little difference, if any.

[MrRobert]

There will be a difference, unless your p has the same pickup as an AVRI. As far as I know, those use the Fender Original pickup, while the current USA Standards use a different pickup. I just put an Original in my '11 highway one p, and it sounds totally different, in a very good way. I called a guy at a local bass shop to ask how much he would charge to install it, and he told me I wouldn't notice a difference. Needless to say, he did not get my business and I ended up doing it myself. Leaving wood out, the pickups are the biggest contributor to the sound of your bass, more than any other hardware. I say go for it! I really dig that Original pickup, and they won't break the bank at $67 from amazon...

[walterw]

+1

the american standard pickups are decent, but not the same as a real "vintage" constructed pickup.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by lonote

It will make very little difference, if any.

Not true. The difference is huge.

I just did this in my '08 AmStd P a couple of months ago. I hesitated, and put off doing the swap for a few years, but eventually I grew tired of how tame the MIA pup was.

The tone of the RI pup is firmly planted in the low mids, and is not as "wide" sounding as the std MIA pup.

To the OP, make the swap and you'll see/hear exactly what I'm talking about. Fender should be putting this pup in the AmStd.

[meatwad]

I had debated doing this to my 2011 AmStd Precision since the day I bought it, but I eventually got used to the way the stock pickup sounds (or perhaps it was me getting used to a P-Bass again, altogether), so I've left it in. As is, it very much sounds like it should; a Precision Bass with flats... But, I will probably always wonder if a '62 Original pickup would sound better in there, until I actually try one for myself.

Sometimes, it's best to just get curiosity out of your system, and then finally put it to rest, regardless of what the outcome may be.