vintage jag and JM pickups versus modern alternatives

[Jaguar018]

I had a really great Jaguar pickup from a 65 Jaguar (the JagROAR) guitar for OSG old-timers. That pickup sounded really special to me, so when I parted out the guitar I kept it. It did not sound nearly as magical in my aluminium necked Kramer wedge guitar.

So many variables with all the parts involved-- as others have mentioned. I really wonder how we'd all do with blind sound tests. I feel like most of us would not be able to tell the difference.

Fortunately, I think looks are a big part of all this, so you can always fall back on that. As long as it looks cool that's the main thing.

[blacktiger]

As many others have already pointed out, there is a lot of variation in both vintage and modern pickups. I’ve owned 5 or 6 vintage JMs and a few modern ones. No two sounded exactly the same, but they all sounded like JMs. My personal favorites were in a ‘62 that had both pickups rewound by Fralin. I’m not sure if that counts as modern or vintage. A little of both, I guess. It all comes down to what sounds good to you. When you are playing in public plugged into an amp and possibly going through a chain of effects, no one is going to hear a difference.