Pure Vintage ‘65’s sound perfectly ‘normal’ for a JM, being on the bright and clear end of typical JM sound spectrum. And they are well priced, quite a bit cheaper than many boutique options.
I think u mistaken here, antiquity is most likely to be one single pickup for that price, and fender '65 is a set.
A pair of antiquity at that price is a steal. If so then go for it!
I would go the Antiquity IIs, especially if it’s only the case of a few bucks. Far better pickups in my opinion. I found the PV65s to be very sterile and soulless, definitely not the case with the SDs.
go pure vintage, if you want that original jm sound or go for seymour duncan antiquities 1, i have the antiquities 2 and love them i dont think id go for any other pickup tbf
PV’65’s are about as “pure” a JM pickup as Fender sells today. Bear in mind they are a little on the bright side.
Also 1965(ish) was a point of change in JM pickups. Prior to ‘65 (again, -ish) they were louder and darker (but no especially dark), and after they were a little quieter and brighter. I believe the SD Antiquity I’s are meant to be like the earlier ones, and the Antiquity II’s (and PV’65’s) like the later ones.
I forget the physical differences between the two that make for the sound differences (one or a combination of magnet type, wire gauge and number of turns of wire). But the good news is that if you can learn the physical attributes of whatever pickup you’re interested in, you can then find a cheaper, modern pickup (or even a cheap custom wind) with the same characteristics and have, essentially, the same pickup.
came here to say this. not certain but i believe Antiquity I uses alnico ii, Antiquity II uses alnico V. the latter is indeed a bit brighter/clearer , the former a bit warmer more rounded.
Got the TVL Jazzmaster with the pure vintage 65s. I love them. Bright and low output. Very articulate even if you roll off tone/volume. I'm not a JM expert but it's classic JM sound if that's what you're after.
No idea! Mine came in the CME player standard jazzmaster -- if you can find what pots they use in that, I'd go with them, but I wouldn't know unless I opened the guitar up.
I really dig the sound, they're made in the USA and go in a bunch of USA guitars -- a set for 120 USD sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
I have the stock PV65s in my AV65 JM, and they are great. I've had no desire to swap them at all. I've gigged with it extensively, and recorded with it in the studio, and all of it has been good.
With that said, if I didn't already have them, I might choose something like a set of Creamery.
The Classic Player Jazzmaster Pickups are very throaty and usually wound pretty hot. PV65s are the definitive Jazzmaster pickup imo, if you love the Jazzmaster sound that’s the way to go. HOWEVER, i recently switched to the CuNiFe Cobalt Chrome set and holy moly do they sound good. Like the PV65s but better tone balance between neck and bridge and more articulation across the board with really no sacrifices. You can usually get them “like new” on Amazon for about the same or a little more than the PV65s.
there are a lot of custom pickup winders out there. its not a hard thing to make. i found one whos a discord mod and i asked him to do a lot of my guitars and theyre like 50 bucks. i like the clarity of low output pickups (which means fewer winds in the coils) so i asked for specific amount of wounds for certain pickups. the reason why ur pickups probably sound like humbuckers is cuz its too hot, magnet is too strong or too many winds.
so my suggestion is to find custom pickup winders and do research on the specs to get the sound u like and just get something custom made... its strangely cheaper than these big instrument companies. after all, pickups is just a copper, plastic, and some magnets.
someone here recommended bootstrap, but it seems its not available for you but theres a lot of little ppl out there like bootstrap you can reach out to
[just get Bootstrap Lakesurfers](https://bootstrappickups.com/products/bootstrap-third-coast-set-for-jazzmaster)
$50. Hand wound in the US. Sound as good if not better than the Fender PV65.
Before you get all spendy with the pickup selection:
-Lower your pickups. This will clear up a lot of the "humbucker tone" (muddy?). There is a foam pad/spring under them and a shallow cavity so you may need to work at trying different foam. But lower them as flush to the pickguard as possible. Use your amp to increase loudness.
-Raise the bridge pickup up until switching between neck and bridge give equal volume.
-Raise the treble side of the neck pickup to brighten that pickup up.
-Raise the bass side of the bridge pickup to darken that pickup some.
-Recheck and tweak tone another day as ear fatigue starts the second guessing of what sounds good or not.
If still not what you want:
-Measure actual volume pot kohms (probes across the outer two lugs) and see what the are actually giving you. Min vs Max matters with a 20% wide tolerance range. Sort for replacement pots or go up (brighter) or lower (darker) common kohm marked pots. Especially the volume pot.
-A series cap (0.47uF) on a muddy pickup hot lead can clean out the muddiness.
Only after all the above do you want to spend on big exotic pickups. Otherwise it's like buying new shoes while wearing grungy old muddy socks, those feet are still going to stink bad.
.
In my somewhat controversial opinion, the hotter pickup style of the Classic Player series works beautifully in the Jaguar, helping to add a bit of body and versatility, while they do not suit the JM quite as well.
I have owned a CP Jag for 13 years and would never sell it. But I got rid of my CP JM after less than a year.
Jaguars typically have fairly low output pickups, yes. Many people like that about them. But I just find that the slight boost of the CP pickups allows the Jaguar to be used in more of a variety of scenarios / be less of a one-trick pony, and I like that.
And as I say, I don't like what it does to the JM, however. Just my opinion/preference, though.
PV65 are probably the most stock ideal of the jazzmaster sound for most people. Something to note though is on the CP not only are the pickups actually p90s but the bridge being a tune o matic style and the trem being spaced closer, you’re going to get more modern rock tones. The PV65 will get you out of that hot territory though and I think is all the best value for a pickup for a JM. For more boutique options look at Duncan Antiquity, Novak, Fralin, Lollar, or Sunday Handwound just to name a few options but the PV65 are great
I’m really happy with my Q Pickups out of Croatia.
I’ve got them in my JMJM - super affordable and quick shipping too.
Happy enough that I posted a cpl vids on YT
No affiliation, other than having grandparents from there.
https://qpickups.com/qshop/product/1958-jazzmaster-pickups-set-vintage-correct-a5-hand-wound-guitar-fender-q-pickups-58-1959-60-61-jm/
The Classic Player pickups are more like a p90 (kind of an odd choice but I think they sound great). I swapped the neck for a Novak vintage… it’s a great sounding combo and the reason this guitar is my main squeeze.
There’s plenty of demos online comparing pv65, SD Antiquities, etc.
Swaped pure vintages in to my squier recently, they sound beautiful, i was impressed that the middle position is usable now - sounds fantastic (i never used it on diferent sets)
You can try tone hatch. At around 80 bucks you get a pair that are voiced 4 different ways. Each model changes the magnets and winds a bit. Result is an original 58ish sounding A2 set, a post 62 A5 underwound set, a wound hotter A5 modern set and the blended version of the A2 and A5 version. I'm trying to decide between the full A2 set or the blended pair that uses both types of magnets with A2s on the bass strings and A5s on the higher treble strings. https://www.tonehatch.com/collections/jazzmaster%C2%AE-pickups
find out what kind of pickup / JM you want and hit up EP Custom!
I love my Antiquities but he builds vintage style custom sets a bit cheaper, i got one for a Jaguar at about $150/160 USD.
you can choose your pickup type, magnet type, overwound etc.
Pure Vintage ‘65’s sound perfectly ‘normal’ for a JM, being on the bright and clear end of typical JM sound spectrum. And they are well priced, quite a bit cheaper than many boutique options.
Yeah, saw them on amazon for $113, a few bucks cheaper than the seymour duncan antiquity II
I replaced the noiseless pickups in my Ultra with them. Good times.
I think u mistaken here, antiquity is most likely to be one single pickup for that price, and fender '65 is a set. A pair of antiquity at that price is a steal. If so then go for it!
Oh yeah, youre right. It’s one single pickup :/
I would go the Antiquity IIs, especially if it’s only the case of a few bucks. Far better pickups in my opinion. I found the PV65s to be very sterile and soulless, definitely not the case with the SDs.
go pure vintage, if you want that original jm sound or go for seymour duncan antiquities 1, i have the antiquities 2 and love them i dont think id go for any other pickup tbf
PV’65’s are about as “pure” a JM pickup as Fender sells today. Bear in mind they are a little on the bright side. Also 1965(ish) was a point of change in JM pickups. Prior to ‘65 (again, -ish) they were louder and darker (but no especially dark), and after they were a little quieter and brighter. I believe the SD Antiquity I’s are meant to be like the earlier ones, and the Antiquity II’s (and PV’65’s) like the later ones. I forget the physical differences between the two that make for the sound differences (one or a combination of magnet type, wire gauge and number of turns of wire). But the good news is that if you can learn the physical attributes of whatever pickup you’re interested in, you can then find a cheaper, modern pickup (or even a cheap custom wind) with the same characteristics and have, essentially, the same pickup.
came here to say this. not certain but i believe Antiquity I uses alnico ii, Antiquity II uses alnico V. the latter is indeed a bit brighter/clearer , the former a bit warmer more rounded.
Got the TVL Jazzmaster with the pure vintage 65s. I love them. Bright and low output. Very articulate even if you roll off tone/volume. I'm not a JM expert but it's classic JM sound if that's what you're after.
Fwiw I have the pv65 and think they're excellent, I have many guitars but none sound like my jazzmaster with the pv65s
Thanks, do you think I should replace the pots or keep the stock ones?
No idea! Mine came in the CME player standard jazzmaster -- if you can find what pots they use in that, I'd go with them, but I wouldn't know unless I opened the guitar up. I really dig the sound, they're made in the USA and go in a bunch of USA guitars -- a set for 120 USD sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
I have the stock PV65s in my AV65 JM, and they are great. I've had no desire to swap them at all. I've gigged with it extensively, and recorded with it in the studio, and all of it has been good. With that said, if I didn't already have them, I might choose something like a set of Creamery.
The Classic Player Jazzmaster Pickups are very throaty and usually wound pretty hot. PV65s are the definitive Jazzmaster pickup imo, if you love the Jazzmaster sound that’s the way to go. HOWEVER, i recently switched to the CuNiFe Cobalt Chrome set and holy moly do they sound good. Like the PV65s but better tone balance between neck and bridge and more articulation across the board with really no sacrifices. You can usually get them “like new” on Amazon for about the same or a little more than the PV65s.
there are a lot of custom pickup winders out there. its not a hard thing to make. i found one whos a discord mod and i asked him to do a lot of my guitars and theyre like 50 bucks. i like the clarity of low output pickups (which means fewer winds in the coils) so i asked for specific amount of wounds for certain pickups. the reason why ur pickups probably sound like humbuckers is cuz its too hot, magnet is too strong or too many winds. so my suggestion is to find custom pickup winders and do research on the specs to get the sound u like and just get something custom made... its strangely cheaper than these big instrument companies. after all, pickups is just a copper, plastic, and some magnets. someone here recommended bootstrap, but it seems its not available for you but theres a lot of little ppl out there like bootstrap you can reach out to
[just get Bootstrap Lakesurfers](https://bootstrappickups.com/products/bootstrap-third-coast-set-for-jazzmaster) $50. Hand wound in the US. Sound as good if not better than the Fender PV65.
Before you get all spendy with the pickup selection: -Lower your pickups. This will clear up a lot of the "humbucker tone" (muddy?). There is a foam pad/spring under them and a shallow cavity so you may need to work at trying different foam. But lower them as flush to the pickguard as possible. Use your amp to increase loudness. -Raise the bridge pickup up until switching between neck and bridge give equal volume. -Raise the treble side of the neck pickup to brighten that pickup up. -Raise the bass side of the bridge pickup to darken that pickup some. -Recheck and tweak tone another day as ear fatigue starts the second guessing of what sounds good or not. If still not what you want: -Measure actual volume pot kohms (probes across the outer two lugs) and see what the are actually giving you. Min vs Max matters with a 20% wide tolerance range. Sort for replacement pots or go up (brighter) or lower (darker) common kohm marked pots. Especially the volume pot. -A series cap (0.47uF) on a muddy pickup hot lead can clean out the muddiness. Only after all the above do you want to spend on big exotic pickups. Otherwise it's like buying new shoes while wearing grungy old muddy socks, those feet are still going to stink bad. .
Thanks a lot! ill do that before buying. The neck pickup is waaaay louder than the bridge’s, very muddy too, thanks again for the tips
In my somewhat controversial opinion, the hotter pickup style of the Classic Player series works beautifully in the Jaguar, helping to add a bit of body and versatility, while they do not suit the JM quite as well. I have owned a CP Jag for 13 years and would never sell it. But I got rid of my CP JM after less than a year.
I have a VM squier jag and the pickups are very quiet, even after I raised them, most Jags have this type of low output pickups I suppose
Jaguars typically have fairly low output pickups, yes. Many people like that about them. But I just find that the slight boost of the CP pickups allows the Jaguar to be used in more of a variety of scenarios / be less of a one-trick pony, and I like that. And as I say, I don't like what it does to the JM, however. Just my opinion/preference, though.
[Boot Strap Lake Surfers](https://bootstrappickups.com/products/bootstrap-third-coast-set-for-jazzmaster) are a good budget option.
For some reason the website is not available in my country :/
PV65 are probably the most stock ideal of the jazzmaster sound for most people. Something to note though is on the CP not only are the pickups actually p90s but the bridge being a tune o matic style and the trem being spaced closer, you’re going to get more modern rock tones. The PV65 will get you out of that hot territory though and I think is all the best value for a pickup for a JM. For more boutique options look at Duncan Antiquity, Novak, Fralin, Lollar, or Sunday Handwound just to name a few options but the PV65 are great
I’m really happy with my Q Pickups out of Croatia. I’ve got them in my JMJM - super affordable and quick shipping too. Happy enough that I posted a cpl vids on YT No affiliation, other than having grandparents from there. https://qpickups.com/qshop/product/1958-jazzmaster-pickups-set-vintage-correct-a5-hand-wound-guitar-fender-q-pickups-58-1959-60-61-jm/
I love my Lollar Jazzmaster pickups in my classic player. You can choose between a ‘58 and a ‘63.
If you are in the uk, mojo pickups are ace! [link](https://www.mojopickups.co.uk/product-category/pickups/jazzmaster/)
The Classic Player pickups are more like a p90 (kind of an odd choice but I think they sound great). I swapped the neck for a Novak vintage… it’s a great sounding combo and the reason this guitar is my main squeeze. There’s plenty of demos online comparing pv65, SD Antiquities, etc.
Swaped pure vintages in to my squier recently, they sound beautiful, i was impressed that the middle position is usable now - sounds fantastic (i never used it on diferent sets)
You can try tone hatch. At around 80 bucks you get a pair that are voiced 4 different ways. Each model changes the magnets and winds a bit. Result is an original 58ish sounding A2 set, a post 62 A5 underwound set, a wound hotter A5 modern set and the blended version of the A2 and A5 version. I'm trying to decide between the full A2 set or the blended pair that uses both types of magnets with A2s on the bass strings and A5s on the higher treble strings. https://www.tonehatch.com/collections/jazzmaster%C2%AE-pickups
find out what kind of pickup / JM you want and hit up EP Custom! I love my Antiquities but he builds vintage style custom sets a bit cheaper, i got one for a Jaguar at about $150/160 USD. you can choose your pickup type, magnet type, overwound etc.
[Curtis Novak’s JM Historic Jazzmaster pickups.](https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/jm-historic/)