Thunderbird humbucker EY Guitars vs Gibson

[Basvarken]

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)

[Basvarken]

For those who didn't dare to guess:

Recording A:


and


Recording B:


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 

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.

[doombass]

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.

[lowend1]

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.

[slinkp]

(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.

[Alanko]

Dutch collaborator!

Your pickups, sir.

[slinkp]

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.