First these things are just beautiful and look spot on, very well made. Comparisions I can make won't be objective. I have only played the Jaebird with the Duncans twice and both times through 200 tube heads. Today I am using my little Fender practice amp with a 8 or 10 inch speaker. Also doing a side by side with my vintage NR and the Jaebird is a apples to oranges kind of thing, to top it off I am not sure of the strings that came with the Jaebird but they are not RS66LDs like my NR is strung with. Having said all that they sound great, more out put than the SDs and just a hint of grit, my '67 NR is just a little louder than the Jaebird with the Thunderbuckers and the NR has more treble zing I have a feeling that the Roto Sounds account for the difference. For me the real test will be at a gig with the Hiwatts and having the same strings on both basses. So what I can say is that they sound great in the Jaebird, and have all the hall marks of what I think a Thunderbird pickup should have, nice warm midrange response with a treble zing, a full not harsh tone and hot, slightly overdriven output for passive pickups. I think Steve and Carlo really brought it to the table I am more than satisfied with what I hear but I really need to do a side by side with my stage rig and the same strings on both basses.