I've just acquired a mint '66 P, and it's all original except the pickups look to have been switched out a while ago. I'm looking for suggestions on how/where to source of pair of originals. Keeping an eye on Epay, but there must be other venues, no? Thanks for your help!
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Pickups for my '66 P-Bass
- Thread starter arnoldschnitzer
- Start date
Ya Arnold, that's really all you can do...just keep an eye out on the usual places to buy used gear. Would like to see the pickup that's loaded in it as well as the bass itself.
+1 on the Duncan Antiquity IIs. I've nothing but good experiences with these.
Hopkins
Commercial User
Well, you can't go completely original because the solder joints have already been disturbed. But definitely keep a look out for a period pickup, and expect to spend a bundle on it.
Finding 66' pickups will be difficult and very expensive. Worse, the one you find for sale are mostly dogs. Great pickups stay in their original instruments for value and tone. Then there is the question of authenticity.... Also variability with hand wound pickups they can be all over the map.
I have tested most current vintage style pickups and I would recommend you try a Lollar, Lollar Overwound or Aguilar AG 4P-60. If the bass lacks in bass frequencies the AG 4P-60 hot is also fantastic. Which one will be the best? There is no real way to find out other than testing the actual pickups in the bass. Expensive, yes but compared to a 66 original pickup that will feel inexpensive and you can always resell the ones that did not work out.
Congratulations on the bass. I love 66P, I have played a few and were my favorite 60's basses. There were a lot made that year but despite the pre and post CBS dilemma the ones I had the opportunity to play were just great.
I have tested most current vintage style pickups and I would recommend you try a Lollar, Lollar Overwound or Aguilar AG 4P-60. If the bass lacks in bass frequencies the AG 4P-60 hot is also fantastic. Which one will be the best? There is no real way to find out other than testing the actual pickups in the bass. Expensive, yes but compared to a 66 original pickup that will feel inexpensive and you can always resell the ones that did not work out.
Congratulations on the bass. I love 66P, I have played a few and were my favorite 60's basses. There were a lot made that year but despite the pre and post CBS dilemma the ones I had the opportunity to play were just great.
The bass sounds just fine the way it is. I don't know what kind of pickups are in it, possibly Seymour Duncans. My reasoning was that this bass is so mint that I wanted to replace the non-original pickups to enhance its collectibility factor, so that when my kid inherits it the value will be as high as possible. As a player it's perfect, other than needing a set of Thomastic flatwounds...
It's a very noble endeavor but I don't think it will impact value very much since the pickups you would put back in are non-original in the first place. Pickups cannot be dated exactly so you have to rely on the good faith of the seller for the exact year. A 60's pickup might cost you $400 to $500 and I doubt the instrument value will increase by the same amount. If you love the bass as it is, keep it the same.
You're not going to hear much of a difference between an original and anything recommended here. If anything the new pickups are more consistent. I own and have owned a lot of 60's and 70's P basses with and without original pickups and the best I've heard was the. Aggie 4P60. I would put that $400-800 into an amp because you will be in the same spot with your bass financially either way
