Hi there, As we see some pickup manufacturers offering both, what is the difference between the pickups of these two eras? Is there a significant difference in tone? If so, what are these tonal changes in the 70's ones? Thx Mark
I owned a '66,'73, and I've had a '78 & '79 In my possession for a while...To Make a very long story short, The 60s P.pups had a very "Mellow Growl" which gave you a "Luscious Velvet-y" response...{enter very subjective emoticon here;..lol.. btw, I recently posted a thread Asking which P.pups would sound the most like 60s P.pups} It seemed as the 70's progressed on, the pickups got "hotter" {IMHO} and the basses got heavier...
70's pickups are hotter than late 60's pickups but not as hot as pre cbs pickups. unless youre putting all the different sets into the same bass, its hard to account for the natural sound of the bass itself.
generally 60's wind and 70's wind is more turns of heavy formvar vs less turns of plain enamel. however, thats not necessarily how old fender pickups actually worked.
I have a '64 and '76. I find the '76 very neutral sounding - excellent in the mix but unexciting on it's own. I find the '64 a bit more growly and a more pleasing tone on it's own. I also find the '64 tone control more useable as well. These are my observations. Davo