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Post subject: 1968 Precision Pick-ups!
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:11 pm
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Hi! I looking for some original pick-ups for my '68 Prec. This is naturally a hard task.. For a how long peroid of time were the EXACT same kind of pick-ups used in the Pres. basses? If I i.e. find a '70 pick-up, would it be exactly the same as a '68..? Anyone have a clue..? Thanks!

Lars Ø.


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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:47 pm
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I believe that no two pickups are wound the same ,and by that I mean that (if I'm not mistaken)during those years pickups were hand wound .You know , humans are not perfect ! If Brotherdave is around he can clear that and bring more info.

As a suggestion ,If you like , you can get Seymour Duncan pick ups , the vintage ones that is, I've tried those and believe me ,they have a vintage tone and look, check them out here

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/b ... intage_fo/

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1996 50th Anniversary Jazz 5 (012 0f 500)
1997 '51 P Bass Reissue
2012 American Standard Precision V
2013 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Fretless


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Post subject: Agreed
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:53 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Hand winding ended in 1964 and machine winding started in 1965, so the pickups from 65 on were much more uniform. The original pickup on your '70 bass would have been machine wound.

"Hand Winding" is sort of misnomer anyway. A motorized contraption turned the pickup bobbins while Abigail Yberra guided the layering of the wire by hand. She uses different winding patterns depending on what sort of pickup she's making and how she wants it to perform. The problem is that sometimes the turn counter used at Fullerton was inaccurate resulting in slightly overwound or underwound pickups. Just as Renoir could probably not duplicate any of his masterpieces precisely the same could be said for handwinding a pickup. This is one reason it was so important to compare several instruments before buying one back then. Two otherwise identical instruments could have a different character. There could even be variances on two "handwound"pickups made back to back for example. All were good but some were true jewels. Once automated winding began in 1965 there were much more uniform pickups with only very minor differences.

If you tell Lindy Fralin what year model pickup you need he will very closely approximate a custom reproduction for you that will be very close to a stock Fender pickup for any year you choose. Yes, he actually UNWOUND some jewel pickups Ms. Yberra "handwound" just to figure out how she did it back in the handwound days. He can also recreate a machine wound pickup.

The Fender Custom Shop pickups are VERY good as a one-size-fits all upgrade that will not disappoint.

The Seymour Duncan Vintage P-bass pickup is much more affordable than either of those options. Frankly when all is said and done you might not be able to tell the difference since the SD's are very closely modeled on pickups judged to be among the best of the early second generation pickups.

I personally prefer the Fralin service because of their exchange policy and 10 year guarantee which is unmatched. If you buy a Fralin "Stock" pickup and it turns out you don't like it you can exchange it for one more underwound to get more upper mids or for one overwound to get more lows and a hotter output. Not everyone wants to bust out the extra 40 to 50 dollars for custom wound pickups. If you don't, then the Seymour Duncan Vintage P-Bass are the ones you want. Also some people really like the Jason Lollar custom pickups and others. So there are lots of choices out there for you. And they are all good choices!

You can sometimes find vintage pickups for sale on eBay. However I'd not go that route myself because of several reasons. 1. They are too expensive. 2. They are used and can fail at any time. 3. The value of your instrument would not increase by the amount the pickups will cost. It is sort of like putting a $2000 stereo in a $5000 car. It is still a $5000 car even with the $2000 stereo. Since the bass is modified it will always be more of a player than a collectible. Any modification hurts collector value. Even reinstalling the original pickup wouldn't help much because a savvy appraiser can usually spot non-factory soldering right off just by looking at it. 4. A carefully crafted newly made pickup is just a better all around choice once your bass has been modified.

Hope that helps!


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Post subject: Re: Agreed
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 2:28 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:52 pm
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Location: Out there on the road
brotherdave wrote:
Hand winding ended in 1964 and machine winding started in 1965, so the pickups from 65 on were much more uniform. The original pickup on your '70 bass would have been machine wound.

"Hand Winding" is sort of misnomer anyway. A motorized contraption turned the pickup bobbins while Abigail Yberra guided the layering of the wire by hand. She uses different winding patterns depending on what sort of pickup she's making and how she wants it to perform. The problem is that sometimes the turn counter used at Fullerton was inaccurate resulting in slightly overwound or underwound pickups. Just as Renoir could probably not duplicate any of his masterpieces precisely the same could be said for handwinding a pickup. This is one reason it was so important to compare several instruments before buying one back then. Two otherwise identical instruments could have a different character. There could even be variances on two "handwound"pickups made back to back for example. All were good but some were true jewels. Once automated winding began in 1965 there were much more uniform pickups with only very minor differences.

If you tell Lindy Fralin what year model pickup you need he will very closely approximate a custom reproduction for you that will be very close to a stock Fender pickup for any year you choose. Yes, he actually UNWOUND some jewel pickups Ms. Yberra "handwound" just to figure out how she did it back in the handwound days. He can also recreate a machine wound pickup.

The Fender Custom Shop pickups are VERY good as a one-size-fits all upgrade that will not disappoint.

The Seymour Duncan Vintage P-bass pickup is much more affordable than either of those options. Frankly when all is said and done you might not be able to tell the difference since the SD's are very closely modeled on pickups judged to be among the best of the early second generation pickups.

I personally prefer the Fralin service because of their exchange policy and 10 year guarantee which is unmatched. If you buy a Fralin "Stock" pickup and it turns out you don't like it you can exchange it for one more underwound to get more upper mids or for one overwound to get more lows and a hotter output. Not everyone wants to bust out the extra 40 to 50 dollars for custom wound pickups. If you don't, then the Seymour Duncan Vintage P-Bass are the ones you want. Also some people really like the Jason Lollar custom pickups and others. So there are lots of choices out there for you. And they are all good choices!

You can sometimes find vintage pickups for sale on eBay. However I'd not go that route myself because of several reasons. 1. They are too expensive. 2. They are used and can fail at any time. 3. The value of your instrument would not increase by the amount the pickups will cost. It is sort of like putting a $2000 stereo in a $5000 car. It is still a $5000 car even with the $2000 stereo. Since the bass is modified it will always be more of a player than a collectible. Any modification hurts collector value. Even reinstalling the original pickup wouldn't help much because a savvy appraiser can usually spot non-factory soldering right off just by looking at it. 4. A carefully crafted newly made pickup is just a better all around choice once your bass has been modified.

Hope that helps!

brotherdave,
You are just a phenomenal source of information. It is a pleasure to have you on the forum. And you too Juan/jlarocho. You guys are great.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:51 pm
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brotherdave , you are a Fender bible!

Thanks zod!

brotherdave ,I hope that next year I'll go visit my brother in NC ,so that I can see you play and we can have a beer and talk about Fender basses and history!

_________________
1996 50th Anniversary Jazz 5 (012 0f 500)
1997 '51 P Bass Reissue
2012 American Standard Precision V
2013 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Fretless


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:06 am
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Location: Green Bay, WI
You see it on my replies, if it's historical or something that noone knows, I always refer to the 2 of you, Juan and brotherdave.

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'89 Power Jazz Bass Special-BadAssIII, EMG P/J
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'06 Spector Legend Custom Neck Through
VT Bass
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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 4:07 pm
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
jlarocho wrote:
brotherdave , you are a Fender bible!

Thanks zod!

brotherdave ,I hope that next year I'll go visit my brother in NC ,so that I can see you play and we can have a beer and talk about Fender basses and history!


Thanks guys.

AND Jlarocho bring it ON! Why wait until Summer. It is hotter than 40 Hades here in the summer. Beer isn't a luxury but a necessity! And we'll eat some barbecue too. I know all the good spots around here. So come on. But I NEVER play music after drinking.

A true drinking story that only bassists could appreciate follows. We had just finished a wedding gig October 11th and during the load out the wait staff at the hall was collecting about 60 bottles of open but unconsumed champagne and wine which they put on a table just off the front of the stage. I guess they knew the band was thirsty! During the evening each table had their own bottles of red/white & bubbly that were replaced as soon as they were emptied. So there were lots of nearly full bottles and some not so full.

Three of us were over at that table in a flash. The guitarist, the male vocalist and I. Needless to say I grabbed the fullest bottle of chilled champagne turned it up taking a really big pull from the bottle NASCAR Winner's Circle style. WOW, the guitar player got really mad because he was standing there holding a champagne class and I had just "CONTAMINATED" the fullest & coldest bottle! I handed him what was left of the bottle and he miraculously adapted to the NASCAR style pretty quickly, ditching the glass. I chuckle whenever I think of the look on his face when I turned up that bottle of cold-cold bubbly, followed by his "What the heck" shrug before guzzling down a pretty good chug-a-lug right from the bottle himself.

After finishing that first one we were not as concerned about temperature and started shotgunning other less full and not so cold bottles. Yet another case of the bassist showing the guitarist what to do! :lol:


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:40 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:29 pm
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Location: San German,Puerto Rico
:lol: :lol: :lol:

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1996 50th Anniversary Jazz 5 (012 0f 500)
1997 '51 P Bass Reissue
2012 American Standard Precision V
2013 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Fretless


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