Replacement pickup for Squier Classic Vibe Precision 50s bass

[Deleted member 271037]

I changed the pickup in my CV50 to a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II. Very expensive and frankly not worth it. The stock pickup was actually quite good. The SD had marginally tighter lows and slightly more presence in the mids but it wasn't a huge difference. It was just an impulse buy really. I was so used to Squier pickups being junk but the ones in the CV series really surprised me. I'm talking about the first gen Chinese CVs though. My CV50 is Crafted in China. I have no idea if the pickups in the current Indonesian CVs are equally good. But replacing the pickup in the CiC CVs will only give a marginal improvement IMO. More of a sideways move really.

The Antiquity II pickup I got was WAY out of spec though. It was even labelled as such from the factory with the out of spec DCR handwritten on the inner packaging. How that one got past QC is beyond me. If I remember correctly it was close to 20% overwound compared to the listed specs. I'm in Europe and ordered it online from a US dealer on ebay. I figured it would be easier to contact SD directly but the guy from SD customer support was very unhelpful and just let me know that they offer no support to customers outside the US. The whole experience put me off SD for good. I ended up keeping the pickup to avoid all the hassle with customs paperwork, VAT refund. etc. It sounds great, just not the improvement I had expected. Maybe it would have sounded better if it was closer to spec. I guess I'll never know and frankly I don't care. I just wish I hadn't wasted money on replacing a perfectly good pickup.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

I have no idea.

Ok... Only now do I realise you were talking about the pre-57 version.

Anyway, a hot pickup will not result in a louder volume in the mix. If anything, they can end up losing presence.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

The key to making the SCPB-3 Quarter Pounder sound it’s best is to lower more than normal and still gat a fat tone out of it with clarity

As much as I'm not suggesting buying it straight away blindfolded and I'd experiment with other factors first, as mentioned, I have to defend the SINGLE COIL quarter pounder: the larger magnetic window "solves" some transient, decay and
volume imbalance characteristics/problems - you go past the 12th fret and notes get way louder on those single coils as the string basically gets twice as close to those poles. It gives a more modern flavour for sure, but it's not as scooped IMO as most stories about the split P quarter pounder tell.
I didn't choose it, it was installed by the previous owner and I've swapped it with a handwound Bare Knuckle which definitely has more articulation in the mids, but it's a good pickup nevertheless. I agree on keeping it a bit further away from the strings.

 

[kodiakblair]

I have to defend the SINGLE COIL quarter pounder:

There's the Roswell VTB-4 single coil does the same job.
Same large ALNICO 5 magnets as the SCPB-3, same forbon flatwork, also wax potted.
Roswell DCR is just 8.5K ohm instead of the overwound SD's 11.7K.

Manufacturer's site lists them at $45 but since they come as stock in $120 basses you will find them cheaper elsewhere .

 

[butterfingers1]

The pickup on the Squier CV 50s precision bass is unusually raw, sensitive and noisy. It sounds much better when far from the strings, but then yes it is low output and volume. Raising it toward the strings quickly becomes louder but also very noisy, with electrical buzz, distortion and loud popping when plucking strings.

I accept the low output for the warm woody organic tone. An inexpensive solidly built bass guitar in a class of its own.