Wow... that is disheartening. Below are some noteworthy examples to the contrary. They show how it should be done, and are how some
other distinguished pickup makers are still doing it. Marketing is what it is. But each of these is, in its fashion, straightforward and descriptive. From least to most verbose:
Curtis Novak - PB-V
"Vintage correct Precision Bass pickups with a nice mid bite."
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
"Vintage correct lacquered fiberboard bobbins, Alnico V magnets, black plastic covers, wound with 42 gauge Heavy Formvar wire for that classic, growling, P-Bass tone."
The Pickup Wizard - Vintage Style P-Bass Pickup Set
"Sound wise. the pickups have that classic warm but punchy tone normally associated with vintage early 1960s P-basses. The FormVar versions tend to be a little warmer in tone with more complex harmonics verses the Plain Enamel magnet wire versions which have better high end performance."
Lollar - Precision Bass Split-coil
"Our design is wound to vintage specs and patterned after the original split-coil humbucking bass pickup to give you punchy, powerful tone and clear definition. Scatterwound to offer greater harmonic presence, the pickup is wax potted and made with hand-beveled Alnico 5 magnets and vintage style cloth covered wire."
Flying Mojo - The Duck Pre-CBS
"Flying Mojo’s Pre-CBS P-Bass Pick-up set Modeled after the Famous Stax Records sound.
⦁ Pickups were measured exact from a Precision Bass Guitar formerly owned by Donald “Duck” Dunn
⦁ Authentic 1960’s tone made with 100% USA Materials, original alloy staggered magnets,
⦁ Authentic 42 gauge heavy-duty Formvar wire, vintage cloth lead wire and Forbon Flatware, Nitrocellulose lacquered and wax potted"
DiMarzio - Area J Pair
"Been waiting for a bass pickup that sounds like a vintage J Bass® pickup and cancels hum? Your wait is over. Bass pickups are usually described with aggressive terms such as “amazing punch” and “thundering lows”, but that’s not the sound of vintage J Bass® pickups. They’re all about warmth, sustain, and a clean, singing tone. The Area J™ captures all of those qualities. It is not loud, but it has a very focused attack, so it has power where it counts – at the center of the tone. The lows are very clear and clean, and the highs are both smooth and open-sounding. We’ve reduced the magnet-pull, and included 4-conductor wiring to allow both series and parallel humbucking modes."
Klein - 1959 Epic Series P-Bass
"- Magnets, Our Epic Series 1959 Pickups use Original Fender Alloy Alnico 5 Magnets From 1959. We sent Original magnets from a 1959 pickup to an Independent Laboratory for Metallurgical Chemical Analysis Testing. We then contracted direct with our magnet manufacturer to get the Alnico 5 magnets Specially Poured to the exact composition of the Originals. We are the only manufacturer who offers this. Pure, Sweet, and Authentic Tone.
- Wire, our 42ga Plain Enamel wire is not just stock wire. We have sent dozens of samples of wire from early Precisions for analysis. We get our 42ga Plain Enamel built to the exact specs of the samples we have had analyzed. Exact Resistance, Exact ID & OD, & Color matching. Our 42ga Plain Enamel Wire is the most authentic and accurate Magnet Wire Available. As Authentic as it can possibly get.
- Tone, the tone of our Authentic 1959 Precision pickups is simply stunning. You will never hear a more pure sounding pickup. People often ask us why vintage pickups sound so good. Well, the main reason why is that materials used in the 50s & 60's are not the same as today's off the shelf parts. Replicating every alloy, every element, every aspect of a pickup is why our 1959 Epic Series Pickups sound identical to a real 1959 pickups. We get every part of the Epic 1959 pickups specially manufactured, only for us, from an actual 1959 pickup. 1959 Epic pickups have a huge chunky low end, often not associated with current magnets, as current magnets have a nasty Mid Range presence that also pairs with the chunkiness. The mids on the 1959 set are very solid, not overbearing but are shifted to the lower mid frequencies not the upper dark mids. The treble is very velvety but still holds it's top end clarity.
- Compression, the 1959 pickup has plenty of output that provides a spunk that is only known for in 1959 Precision's. This spunk brings out the presence of the bass guitar by giving it a huge voice that is able to cut, something that is highly sought by bass players. All in all, the 1959 precision bass pickup is huge and fat with just the perfect amount of bite."
