So I was gifted a 67 P bass a few years ago see this thread for the full story.. NBD 1966 P Bass cool story After taking the bass apart and dating the neck dates to Oct 5th 1966, the pots date to 1967 and the serial number says it is a 1967 (190539).. So it appears I have a 1967 P bass here. It is the best playing and sounding bass I have. When I had things apart I thought the pickups did not look original, no cloth insulation. I asked my old teacher that gifted me the bass a few weeks ago if they were the original pickups and he said he was pretty sure they were. But lots can happen to an instrument in 50 years that can be forgotten about. So what are your thoughts on the pickups.. I could not find any markings on them.. I'd like to figure out what they are if possible because they sound wonderful.. They measure out pretty hot at over 13K ohms.. Here are some pics.. Thanks!
Ive seen Lollar use that black fabric tape around the coil windings. But I have seen that he also signs the bottoms in white marker...I dont see a signature on yours.
Hello. Clearly that pickup is not original to the bass. I would be surprised if Fender made it. If true, then what's left is the question of its origin. What I notice about this pickup is how tall its coils are. In my brief experience, examples of split coil P bass pickups with such tall coils include 1. Red Rhodes's Velvet Hammer, and 2. Cavalier. Though for its pole pieces and unbranded covers, this pickup is not a Velvet Hammer, maybe it was an earlier or other work by Red Rhodes; but it looks too clean to me to be that old. Still, you never know. You could could ask Cavalier if this might be an early pickup of his. Current winder Benson's split coil P bass pickup coils are somewhat tall, and he tapes his coils. The example I own features a different sort of tape and is heavily potted overall. The lead wire in your pickup suggests 1970s or 1980s. I don't know if Benson has been winding for that long, but you can ask him. For your reference, here is a photo of the closest I have to a 1967 pickup, a 1968 Precision Bass pickup I own:
Could be anything. Except Fender... ;-) Especially ringing out at 13k. That's slightly overwound, or a result of the taller than stock bobbins. Play the **** out of it!