Are the newer Squier VM Pickups really this good?

I have the passive long scale VM Jaguar bass and the pickups in it are amazing. They are everything what you are saying. P pickups are strong. My J pickup adds a lot of zing and is dead silent. Absolutely zero hum from mine.

I bought the bass figuring that I would probably swap the pickups out at some point. I have no reason to. They are fantastic.

 

Are you referring to the "Duncan Design" pickups which were originally mounted on the Squier VM Precisions? Or is there another newer pickup?

 

It is the passive one. I have played one of those MP Jags. They are also super nice.

 

I found the DD pickups in my VM Jazz to sound really, really great. I compared them to the American Std. Jazz w/Custom Shop 60's pickups I had at the time and actually thought the VM sounded slightly better.

 

I've always liked Squiers better than an Fender branded basses.I still to this day after playing literally hundreds of Mim and Amstd think the Squiers play and sound better.

 

When I had my Squier VM, I found the pickups to be very hot, and very bright. If that is a sound that works for you, then you've got it made with the stock pickups!

 

I have to disagree. The DD pickups on my VM Jazz fretless are very bland-sounding. Lots of low mids and not much else. This becomes more obvious when recording it. I plan to replace them soon.

 

Great rock bass is a fantastic way of putting it. I used that VM to play classic rock and blues, and it was a perfect fit.

 

Nope you didnt luckout.. I picked up a VM P bass in lake Placid Blue in the summer and it is as you say..punchy and good. In fact mine is so well put together and sounds so good it gets more play time now than my trustee old 70's P which was no slouch either, its just that the Squire is lighter and just nicer to hold and play.

How do they do it for the price?

 

Did they stop doing the Duncan Designed ones now? I had a set in my 70's VM J and they were uber brittle and twangy. A set of DiMarzio Model Js really beefed up the bass. Now the CV series basses do have some good pickups in there, the pickup in my Sonic Blue 60's P bass was perfect for oldschool stuff with flats. I have to say though, I do not care for the Duncan Designed pickups at all.

 

I have a lefty VM 70s Jazz, they're Alnicos and they're the 'Fender Designed'. I A/Bed both a 2012 with DD pups and my bass and found my version to not only be hotter, but fuller, deeper. Like any Jazz, the soloed pups do hum a little bit when adding some gain, but otherwise than that, it's a perfect instrument, all stock.

Well, it won't be for long. I'm changing the control plate to this one, which has a blend and a push/pull for series/parallel. 50 bucks and the chance of having my all-maple VM approximate a Ric? Why not?

ETA: oops... forgot the link... http://www.ebay.com/itm/281483376143?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

As for where these pups come from, they are likely manufactured by Artec, a pup manufacturer in South Korea. They do all kinds of mid-priced 'boutique' after-market stuff like Tonerider, GFS, Dragonfire and Calig. And a few others too you can find on e-bay.