Seymour Duncan Antiquity I P-Bass

Single Coil - Passive pickups. I believe impedence was 10.8ohms.

-I put them in my Fender "frankenstein". 1982 Fender Fullerton P-bass body and 1966 fender p neck.
-I was replacing weak sounding 1972 Fender P-bass pickups.
-I changed out the 1972's because they were weak and I thought that the SD's would nail the vintage sound and have a bit higher out put.

-The output level was higher output than the weak 1972 Pickups I was replacing. But, I eventually replaced the S.D's with 1969 Fender P pickups I found on ebay, and the 1969's were higher output than the S.D antiquitys.
-I am using an early 60's ampeg B15n.
-The antiquity's do have a vintage sound, due to the process S.D. goes through of aging the pickups or whatever. But they are not up to par with original 60's or 70's Fender pickups. There's a little bit too much low mid range and bassyness. Vintage fender pickups had that truly midrange sound with nice high and lows as well. Although these weren't insanely bassy, they just didn't match the perfection of Fender's vintage original pickups. Also, the S.D.s weren't as dynamic as fenders, although they did have more dynamic range than the honky new fender pickups. The originals can go from smooth and scooped to snappy and sizzling, as lame as that description is. Somehow, the vintage fenders almost exhibit an overdrive when they are really pushed or slapped. They make me want to dig in, and the antiquitys not so much.

I'd say these are a definate step up from most stock pickups, especially the stock fender pickups in new basses, and they do have a certain vintage sound to them. Although the sound is kindof reminiscent of vintage fender pickups, it's also not totaly there, which can make all the difference to discerning listeners. If you have a vintage bass, find a pair of vintage pickups on ebay.

Pickup features: Split single coil
Impedence or other specs: Published at www.seymourduncan.com

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Series Precision Bass
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender American P-Bass pickup
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz, fusion and some straight-ahead rock
Reason for pickup change: Good price on eBay - couldn' resist!

Perceived output level: I would say more on the lower end of the output specturm - very similar to the stock pickup
Tone: Warm, nicely balanced
Sonic evaluation: Before changing out the stock pickup, I recorded a few licks, direct with no EQ, tone knob up full.
After installing the Antiquity, I repeated this process (playing the same licks) and did extensive A/B comparisons of the two recorded sounds.
I can honestly say that the difference between the two is quite subtle, and you would probably never notice the difference unless you did an A/B comparison as I did. But having said that, the Antiquity is definitely warmer and, perhaps more importantly, seemed to have better string to string balance (see below).
Despite all the buzz about changing pickups, I can honestly say that using a different preamp, combo amp or strings has a MUCH greater affect on your sound. That assumes, of course, that you are replacing a pickup with a similar type - obviously an active EMG sounds a lot different than a Lindy Fralin.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Sounds great with flatwound strings, excellent for traditional sound

Comments: This is the Antiquity I pickup with the raised "A" pole pieces, as found on '57 P-Basses. I wasn't really planning on replacing the stock pickup, as I was reasonably happy with it (other than the fact that I couldn't get quite enough volume out of the "E" string, regardless of how much a tinkered with the height adjustments). I would say the nicest thing about the Antiquity is it seems to be better balanced from string to string than the stock pickup was. Sonically, despite other things I have read, it's not really THAT different (see above).
But I am definitely happy with it, especially considering the fact that the previous owner had only had it installed for a year before selling it, and the price was very reasonable.
As a sidenote, I should mention that my MIA P-Bass has (or more correctly, HAD) the "S1" series/parallel switching. Due to the fact that the Antiquity only has two wires - at least, without modification - and also since I didn't use the switch anyway, I decided to rewire all the controls from scratch, using new pots, caps, wire etc. (I would recommend doing this to anyone in the same situation because the S1 switching really complicates things and the terminals on the volume pot get really crowded, which could make soldering a little tricky.) This way, if I ever sell the bass for some reason I can very quickly re-install the original with very minimal soldering. Anyway, I bought the original Fender/CTS 250K pots, a vintage style oil filled 0.047uF tone cap, and vintage cloth-covered wire from Angela Instruments. I figured if I was installing a vintage pickup, I might as well use vintage parts. The pots are definitely worth it - the generic ones they sell at music stores have a lousy feel and are often noisy. As for the tone cap, I can't imagine ANYONE can actually hear the difference between an oil-filled and a mylar or ceramic, but it sure looks cool when you unscrew the pickguard and flip it over!