Help IDing Thunderbird Pickups

Kingface66 · November 02, 2016, 07:16:57 PM

Gents...(wait, ARE there any women here??)

I'm trying to confirm whether or not these are 60s-era T-Bird PUPs. They're nickel, with matching nickel pickup rings...sadly no screws.
And they weigh a ton.

Thanks!

OldManC · November 02, 2016, 07:33:23 PM

There are some fairly new ones that look (and sound - to my ears) exactly the same (Thunderbuckers) but those backplates look just gunked up enough to be the right age, as do the leads. The covers look to be in excellent shape for being 50 or thereabouts, but my guess is they're probably legit. Others with better eyes might come along and correct me, but that's OK.

Kingface66 · November 02, 2016, 07:50:46 PM

Quote from: OldManC on November 02, 2016, 07:33:23 PM
There are some fairly new ones that look (and sound - to my ears) exactly the same (Thunderbuckers) but those backplates look just gunked up enough to be the right age, as do the leads. The covers look to be in excellent shape for being 50 or thereabouts, but my guess is they're probably legit. Others with better eyes might come along and correct me, but that's OK.

Thanks for the insight, OldManC!
I was assured they were, but before deciding what to do with them, I wanted to do my due diligence, and confirm one way or another.

godofthunder · November 02, 2016, 08:10:49 PM

The backs look right, same for the output. The covers and rings are newly polished.

Kingface66 · November 02, 2016, 08:17:17 PM

Quote from: godofthunder on November 02, 2016, 08:10:49 PM
The backs look right, same for the output. The covrest and rings are newly polished.

I gave 'em a once-over with a Cape Cod cloth just to get the dirt and grime off...which was plenty!

amptech · November 03, 2016, 12:17:59 AM

Quote from: Kingface66 on November 02, 2016, 07:16:57 PM

I'm trying to confirm whether or not these are 60s-era T-Bird PUPs. They're nickel, with matching nickel pickup rings...sadly no screws.
And they weigh a ton.

It is interesting you say they weigh a ton.
Actually, weighing pickups can tell something about what's on the inside. It varies some from unit to unit I'm sure, but this is the right place to look for information. If the weight is way off, it might indicate fake pickups. Altough I agree these look like the real thing.
People here probably have exact data like weight. Ask Baz Cooper for example..

..Women? We have a T-bird queen

Bionic-Joe · November 03, 2016, 06:26:11 AM

They look real... the Chandlers were exact duplicates as well so it's hard to tell between those two. Are you selling them?

godofthunder · November 03, 2016, 06:38:31 AM

The weight has me a little baffled, I never considered Thunderbird pickups as heavy but I don't know what the OPs baseline is.

Kingface66 · November 03, 2016, 07:58:03 AM

Quote from: godofthunder on November 03, 2016, 06:38:31 AM
The weight has me a little baffled, I never considered Thunderbird pickups as heavy but I don't know what the OPs baseline is.

Perhaps "a ton" was a bit too metaphorical! I just used my kitchen scale, and they came to 131g. I'm so used to handling P-Bass pickups (the OTHER bass obsession of mine...and don't get me started on the period when I thought Ovation Magnum basses were the weirdest coolest things I'd ever seen) which seem so much lighter in comparison.

Kingface66 · November 03, 2016, 08:04:45 AM

Quote from: Baz Cooper on November 03, 2016, 06:26:11 AM
They look real... the Chandlers were exact duplicates as well so it's hard to tell between those two. Are you selling them?

Hi, Baz! As I posted above, they weigh in at 131g (or 4.6 ounces).
I probably should see if there's someone looking for a pair. Being as my addiction is limited to 70s Thunderbirds (ok, specifically, one year and one color!) I don't have use for them.