Did 70's Precision basses have a different pickup?

[KOLAD]

I have a 73 all original P, and its pup has a notceably 'compressed' and punchy sound. Its very suited for rock stuff as teh op suggests.
To compare, I also have a P with a '62 reissue pup - this is very full-range, with clarity, lots of clear treble and quite low output. The 70s one is much higher output, less clarity and much more punch & low end.
I 've heard the old thing about CBS cutting costs by underwinding, but my 72 basically has all the hallmarks of being *overwound* compared to the 60s style reissue...

hth

Nic! That's exactly what I hear too!

 

[KOLAD]

What pickup available today will be the closest to the 70's P-Bass pickup in overall sound, tone and output?
Anybody make a "70's P-Bass pickup" clone the way they make all the "60's" clones?

 

[jmpiwonka]

What pickup available today will be the closest to the 70's P-Bass pickup in overall sound, tone and output?
Anybody make a "70's P-Bass pickup" clone the way they make all the "60's" clones?

i'd guess a lollar or a 5% overwound fralin...

 

[seinzumtode]

Fender never used heavy Formvar wire on their bass pickups, only the guitar pickups. Certain pickups also used bondable wire, but mostly it was plain enamel.

The 70's pickups were still 10,000 turns per coil.

I guess what the so-called Fender "expert" Emailed long ago was wrong. Anyways thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Slevage]

just a cheap (~$35) digital multimeter.
i actually measured each coil. one is 5.46k and one is 5.48k

With that---- They are probably 5k or 6k

 

[jmpiwonka]

With that---- They are probably 5k or 6k

haha
it's been pretty accurate when i've measured resistors...or the resistors are all out of spec the same way by the same amount

 

[9mmMike]

haha
it's been pretty accurate when i've measured resistors...or the resistors are all out of spec the same way by the same amount

Ha! I bought a set of '82 57 RI pups from TB recently advertised at 11.09. Hooked them to my elcheapo meter and they were......11.09.

 

[jmpiwonka]

Ha! I bought a set of '82 57 RI pups from TB recently advertised at 11.09. Hooked them to my elcheapo meter and they were......11.09.

i'm gonna need you to send those pickups to me to verify they measure 11.09k. need to wire them up in my bass and play them for a few months also

seriously, this thread...
have some fender original precision pickups on the way to me now. supposedly the same as the avri 62 pups.
these, Invalid Link Removed

^ why i didn't wait a few months for the (hotter ?) 63 pups to come out is beyond me, i don't even hate the spb1 in my bass now either. it's fine. but it's just...idk.

 

[KOLAD]

I'm surprised there's never been a John Entwistle Frankenstein P-bass pickup, the one taken out of a 3 knob slab white P-bass.
He said they were louder and more aggressive. I always wondered if that special night he put those 5 smashed basses together, when he took the smashed Slab body's electronics if he took the 3rd pot and just tucked it away underneath the pick guard? I wonder what it was about this pickup that he said made it louder and more of what it was.

 

[Matt Dean]

I have a 73 all original P, and its pup has a notceably 'compressed' and punchy sound. Its very suited for rock stuff as teh op suggests.
To compare, I also have a P with a '62 reissue pup - this is very full-range, with clarity, lots of clear treble and quite low output. The 70s one is much higher output, less clarity and much more punch & low end.
I 've heard the old thing about CBS cutting costs by underwinding, but my 72 basically has all the hallmarks of being *overwound* compared to the 60s style reissue...

hth

Do the pickups have grey or black bottoms?

 

[GlennW]

Pre CBS bass pickups were always plain enamel.

That's what I thought too, although "always" is a risky word to use describing anything Fender.

Like their split P pickups, they could get that RW/RP effect many ways. Wind both coils cw, or wind both coils ccw, or one cw and one ccw, and attach the jumper between the coils to make it work. A reputable source said he's seen them all which ways, but never mentioned Formvar regarding the old stuff.

 

[Cadfael]

That's what I thought too, although "always" is a risky word to use describing anything Fender.

Imagine, a new worked mixed up the coil winding.
To my mind, anyone who thinks Leo Fender allowed to throw the coils away doesn't know much about Leo Fender. "Matching HB" coils would have been made to build in/sell those coils!
Same with wrong magnet diameters (if magnets have already been payed) +++

I think the garbage removal did not earn much while Leo was the boss ...
"Standard" was only a direction as long as everything worked well.

 

[MR PC]

Do the pickups have grey or black bottoms?

The ones I've owned were grey. And very nice pu's indeed.

 

[mickster2]

Do the pickups have grey or black bottoms?

Haven't pulled them in an age. Going from memory I'm pretty sure they were gray, but tbh am not 100% on this. Will take a look next time I change strings on this bass.
I do remember the pups were dated to 72, along with the neck, whilst the serial and pots on this bass date to 73.

 

[mickster2]

Haven't pulled them in an age. Going from memory I'm pretty sure they were gray, but tbh am not 100% on this. Will take a look next time I change strings on this bass.
I do remember the pups were dated to 72, along with the neck, whilst the serial and pots on this bass date to 73.

OK, I gave in to curiosity and they're black, not gray...

 

[GlennW]

OK, I gave in to curiosity and they're black, not gray...

Was the coil wire dark purple/auburn or copper colored?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

That's what I thought too, although "always" is a risky word to use describing anything Fender.

Like their split P pickups, they could get that RW/RP effect many ways. Wind both coils cw, or wind both coils ccw, or one cw and one ccw, and attach the jumper between the coils to make it work. A reputable source said he's seen them all which ways, but never mentioned Formvar regarding the old stuff.

I bought a set back in '74 from Manny's Music in NYC. They were labeled bass/treble, but it was easy to see how they might get mixed up, even at the factory.

I have also seen old P basses with both halves of the pickup being the same wind direction and magnet polarity. It actually doesn't matter unless you are adding a second pickup. Then two of the strings will be out of phase. If you flip the electrical polarity on that one coil, but not the magnetic polarity, then the pickup will no longer be hum canceling.

The correct thing to do is recharge the magnets on one coil to the opposite polarity, and wire them up start to start or finish to finish, assuming they are wound in the same direction.

 

[SturmUndDrang]

Had a 78' that sounded amazing and from what I remember it definitely had more of a fat low end overwound kind of character about it. I remember trying a 60's reissue sometime back in the late nineties or early 2000s and thinking it sounded thin in comparison. I miss that P bass. Great maple neck too, I don't think Fender was doing one piece maple necks then anymore. I only traded it when I was in college because I needed an upright case and the finish was Antigua.

 

[KOLAD]

I'm looking to trade my Seymour Duncan SPB-3 Quarter Pounder for something more vintagey-er. Anyone interested shoot me a PM.

 

[Davo-London]

I have no idea if the pickups are different. My observations are:

- I prefer my 60's P to my 70's P.
- The sound of the E-string on the '64 P has much better definition and sounds similar to the other strings, which wasn't the case with my '76.
- I also find the tone control more useable on my '64 P and as I dial in more treble the sound goes from smooth to more agressive/rocky. The transition is more bland on my '76.

I'm not dissing the '76 - remember these are my observations.

Davo