What are "Vintage" pickups?

[Growler]

I've been reading this forum for a while and I hear people describe pickups as either vintage or modern. What is the difference, is it a manufacturing/design difference, does it emphasize certain tones (low end/high end, scooped mids...)?

Are there classic/undebatable examples of each?

When I bought my current bass, I was told it had "Vintage" pickups. That adjective meant nothing to me, but for this bass I like the sound. I'm also a fan of the Seymour Duncan S-PB3 (1/4lb) in my MiM Pbass.

Just trying to figure out the adjectives we use around here.

[GlennW]

Forty or fifty years old, or new pickups that sound like the old ones.

I personally don't consider anthing made after 1970 or '72 as vintage. After that point both Gibson and Fender had a stint of questionably lesser quality instruments. Cars started to suck too.

[Growler]

Originally Posted by GlennW

...new pickups that sound like the old ones.

No disrespect GlennW, but what are "old ones" supposed to sound like?

[GlennW]

They sound like they sound. The specs of many pickups changed over the years, changing the sound. Their tolerances weren't as tight as modern technology permits, so there's aslo a considerable amount of variation for a given model in a given year. In general, they are quieter and clearer. This applies to passive stuff.

You wanna get rich? Duplicate Roy's Tele neck pickup.

Edit: Also, sometime in the 70s the aftermarket pickup industry took off. Marketing pickups as "hotter" with "more output" lured many. They may be suitable for big hair music, but they don't have the sound of the earlier pickups. They are louder, but usually fatter/bassier/darker sounding. I've never heard a DiMarzio Strat pickup that sounded like a Strat, not implying that they claim they do.

Years later it turned 180 degrees - companies making pickups to the older specs for people who want the "vintage sound" without having to cough up thousands for a vintage bass or guitar if they can find one.

[Nappa]

I put some Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickups in my Squire P, dunno if it sounds vintage, a new and/or better amp will be my next purchase.

The screwes and the (dunno if this is correct, but the rod magnets ?) had a aged look, like they were mechanically rusted or aged.

[luknfur]

FWIW:

basically a pup that put's out a vintage tone.

See the Bass Tone Glossary next to FAQ - or google till you drop for that one.

Any more than today, then there wasn't just one tone but a spectrum of tones that wasn't just pups as the source.

Tube/solid state, analog/digital, passive/active, JBL K145 Brick SH/neo compact speakers, LP/CD are all reflective of the more raw "unsophisticated/uncontrolled" live tones of the past versus the more refined studio quality sounds of contemporary equipment (see also retro in the glossary).

In general the old desireable gear tends to be more "organic" in application than much of the contemporary gear that's inclinded to have a purified/"synthetic" quality. Think acoustic drums vs electronic drums.

Some of the old stuff sucked, some of the new stuff doesn't - mostly depends on who's playing it.

Over the period pickups have progressed from being a fairly crude haphazard assembly to practically a controlled science - much of which is directed toward getting the old desireable tones. 60's Fender J/P pups are a basic standard for vintage tone whereas Lane Poors, stereotypical Bart, and active EMG's are latter day tones.

[J-wall]

If it helps, part of my decision to put Nordstrands in both my MIM Jazz V and my MIM Precision was a conversation I had with them (Nordstrand Factory) in which they told me they took several original vintage examples of P's and J's that displayed the best qualities of both models and sought to reproduce a pup that was a best of the best - idealized vintage sound. Those much older than me that have heard what those good examples ought to sound like tell me my basses sound like they "ought" to sound like.

Frailin does the same basic thing, but he hand winds everything so there is still room for a bit of inconsistency between pairs, where Nordstrand hand-wires an original and has a machine reproduce that original so all subsequent pups are pretty dang close to that one. I bet Frailins are all pretty dang close as well - you never hear of a Frailin lemon, so congrats to Lindy for great quality control!

[Johnny Crab]

For bass only:
Vintage is "old"
Vintage sound is USUALLY lacking super highs(i.e. 60's Fender's, 60's Gibsons) except Rics and Alembics

Vintage pickups we're familiar with around here are Gibson's.
64 Gibson TB pickup(sold already folks):

Early 70's EBOL neck "mudbucker"(also sold):


Modern usually allows you to be mud or treble-city or both. By treble I do mean stepping all over the guitar and drummer's cymbal frequencies...

As mentioned above, the custom shops(Frailins, Seymour Duncan) CAN give you very close to original "vintage" pickups by using the same materials, specs, and methods. Both can most likely "tune" the age(i.e. Seymour's Dunage aging system) to "sound vintage-er".

Dictionary dot com says:
representing the high quality of a past time
which covers the meaning IMO.
Some folks, notably certain eBay sellers, mis-apply the adjective "vintage" to old junk which is not high quality in an attempt to deceive buyers(IMO).

[DeepBass9]

Vintage sound for bass:

Old Blues (Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters)
Old MOTOWN (James Jamerson)
Old Rock (Van Morrison, Janis Joplin)
Old Funk (Bootsy, Larry Graham)


Basically, began close to the upright sound, noted for it's thump or bassy-ness (more exactly, a lack of mids & hi's), depending. Containing a lack of "hi-fidelity", or having a smaller sound/tonal/timbre spectrum. Pups of choice, passives.


Modern sound for bass:


70's to current Rock (Rush, Yes, Dreamtheater)
Fusion (Yellowjackets, Stanley Clarke*, Mahavishnu)
Eclectic (you pick)


Basically, a more complete coverage of the frequencies (unless specifically used/abused to create a "type" of sound..ie funk slap, industrial grind). Characterized by more representation of the mids, upper-mids, and hi's. Pup of choice, actives.

Purely subjective, as are all the other responses, but I kind of figured you knew vintage meant aged.

Think, bassy, flat, but also round, dullish, thumpish for Vintage

Think, crisp, trebely, growly, hi fi, vs old mono sounds for Modern.


Later