The Last Bass Outpost

I'm building a neck through Non Reverse Thunderbird style bass.

(https://www.brooksbassguitars.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/brooks-nachtkrapp-hardware-mounted-full-bass2_orig.jpeg)

And it's ready to be wired.
Initially I had planned to put the EY Guitars sixties repro Thundrebird humbucker in.
But during the build processGibson made their sixties Thunderbird humbucker available for the market. So I bought one with the help of our very own Mark Hills.

I have both the Gibson and the EY pickup here.
I have tried both in the new bass!
And I recorded them. Recording A is one pickup, Recording B is the other.
Each recording has a part played with finger and a part played with a pick.

Recording A: https://www.brooksbassguitars.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/test_ey_vs_gibson_-_a.mp3


and


Recording B: https://www.brooksbassguitars.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/test_ey_vs_gibson_-_b.mp3


I'm curious to hear what you guys prefer. And can you guess which is which?

B sounds brighter to me. If I had to guess, A is probably the Gibson pickup because it sounds closer to a TB+ which I would assume could carry over to the new pickups. Overall the two examples are more alike than different. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with mr. 4stringer77.

I prefer A, more meat to it, fuller.

A neck-thru Non-Rev? Are you trying to rob (pun not intended) me of an argument against them?

Quote from: uwe on October 05, 2023, 03:49:22 PM
I prefer A, more meat to it, fuller.

In the part played with a pick (closer to the bridge) they are extremely close.

Quote from: uwe on October 05, 2023, 03:49:22 PM
A neck-thru Non-Rev? Are you trying to rob (pun not intended) me of an argument against them?

Always looking for interesting hybrids. This seemed like a nice idea to me, to combine the Reverse and Non Reverse.
I'm building it for your fellow countryman Chris Laut of the band Ohrenfeindt.

Dutch collaborator!

Just trying to get back some of our fietsen

Well, we brought some of our own ones too whenever we dropped by!

(https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile246238558/0150246967-ci3x2l-w780/Deutsche-Wehrmacht-Junkers-Ju-52-Transporter-wird-entladen-Radfahrtruppen-II.jpg)

Pickup A seemed to have the tiniest bit more punch, for lack of a better term. I don't think you can make a bad choice here.

I'll give A the edge, but not by much. No idea which is which.

I have a pretty strong preference for B. More bite, less boomy, but still plenty of low end. That sounds more like my TB+ loaded basses than A.

PS - I wrote this before reading others' comments. Now let's see what everyone else says.....  :)

I'll give it a try: You're just an addict for that scooped Ric sound!  :P

I recuse myself from the exercise here, since Rob has had some fun with it elsewhere. I have only my aging ears to go on as I have used both here at my humble domicile.

Let me guess: It's both times the same pup?

The Dutchman has an unenviable track record of misleading this forum of fora!

Quote from: uwe on October 06, 2023, 09:32:56 AM
Let me guess: It's both times the same pup?

The Dutchman has an unenviable track record of misleading this forum of fora!

He is an evil man! Preying on unsuspecting Amis and innocent Germans alike! ;D

Haha, yeah that was good fun.
@Uwe, no they're not the same. But I agree they are very close (especially when played with a pick)

For those who didn't dare to guess:

Recording A: https://www.brooksbassguitars.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/test_ey_vs_gibson_-_a.mp3


and


Recording B: https://www.brooksbassguitars.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/test_ey_vs_gibson_-_b.mp3


Recording A = Gibson
Recording B = EY


They are obviously very close to each other, since you guys have a hard time deciding which is which.
Over an Talkbass not many guessed it right. Or even were very adamant in their wrong verdict  :mrgreen:

Personally I think the Gibson has a little bit more punch. And a bit more top end.
Which comes across better in the finger-style part that I played.
The EY sounds a little more "airy". Less compressed.

My customer chose the Gibson after some deliberation. So I'm going to have that wired to the pots.

I can't vote in the poll but if I could I'd vote A, though they are'nt far apart in sound. I also find that sound to be more in the TB+ neighborhood which I really like.

Always a day late and a dollar short, I am.
I would have picked A as my preference and as the Gibson. I have the EY in a few basses and, while it's a great pickup, always sounds more "polite" to my ear. By comparison, the Epi 60s humbucker from the VP is pretty growly - I'm sure it had some kind of effect on the development of the Gibson version.

(I haven't read to the end of the thread, don't know if it's been revealed yet).

I like both. I tend to favor A but I strongly suspect that's because it's just a bit louder, so it sounds like "more".
I have no idea which is which manufacturer.

Quote from: uwe on October 05, 2023, 03:55:13 PM
Dutch collaborator!

Your pickups, sir.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Voedseldropping_op_Ypenburg.jpg/1200px-Voedseldropping_op_Ypenburg.jpg)

Are these the same size/dimensions as vintage chrome thunderbird pickups?
I seem to recall reading on this forum that modern TB Plus are slightly different (taller maybe?) than vintage, but I don't recall exactly and may be conflating something.