I've seen that catalog photo before and assumed it was just a mockup for the photo shoot. A real bassist wouldn't have a bass face like that. He probably got dragged away from his regular job of underwear model for the Monkey Ward catalog.
Jake, I didn't mean to call you out over the mud description, just pointing out to anyone who didn't already know that the design isn't necessarily muddy.
Alanko, I didn't know about the difference in string spacing between the Epi and Artec but they definitely don't sound anything alike. The Epi should read about 2K max. I didn't know about the Artec coils being wired incorrectly but one look at it (uncovered) and you can see the magnets are mounted wrong, they all need to be facing the steel blade the same way.
amptech, you know a lot more about pickup design than I do, no idea where the brightness came from. OTOH I'm sure you know that you can get 26K using thinner wire on a smaller bobbin and it won't sound like a Gibson mudbucker.
Carlo, you're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I don't think Curtis Novak is rewinding Artecs or Epis.