The "other" pickups

[bassduke49]

I'm trying to figure out whether the pickups used on the 3000/3001 basses of the '70s were the same or different than the pickups used on the 2030/2050 basses of the '80s. And furthermore, were the 2030/2050 pickups the same as the pickups in the 2020/2060 in the '90s? They all look similar to the non-technofile like me, so I'm not sure if they were physically and electronically different. Can anyone enlighten?

[blueflamerick]

Well there were 2, maybe 3 different pickups on the 2000 series, I believe. Early 2030s (maybe 2050s?) had single coils, later ones had humbuckers. I think the 2020 & 2060 all had humbuckers. I don't know if the 2030/2050 humbucker was any different from the 2020/2060 humbucker, other than cosmetically.

The biggest difference between the 3000 single coil pickup and the 2030 single coil is how it mounts. 3000 pickups have ears for you to attach under the pickguard, 2000 series pickups are attached through the body.

[aceonbass]

RIC humbuckers with pickup covers are HB1's. RIC humbuckers that adjust from the rear of the body are HB2's. 2000 series single coil pickups were 3000 series pickups with the adjusting ears broken off so they could be adjusted from the rear of the instrument. In any given year, 200 & 2000 series RIC instruments used the same pickups.

[bassduke49]

So Erik and Dane, would you say that the early 2030/2050 used leftover 3000/3001 pickups until supply was exhausted (or close to it), and then the newer humbucker was substituted? Any idea of the year of switchover? 2030/2050 started in '85 as far as I can tell.

[aceonbass]

That sounds like a question best answered by John Hall.

[jingle_jangle]

I'm trying to figure out whether the pickups used on the 3000/3001 basses of the '70s were the same or different than the pickups used on the 2030/2050 basses of the '80s. And furthermore, were the 2030/2050 pickups the same as the pickups in the 2020/2060 in the '90s? They all look similar to the non-technofile like me, so I'm not sure if they were physically and electronically different. Can anyone enlighten?

Homonym alert!

[jdogric12]

Phile under homonym alerts.

[bassduke49]

No just a "bad speller" alert. I'm really a technofobe!

[iiipopes]

When I was building my custom fanned fret bass about a decade ago, I did similar research to see what pickup I wanted in it. As far as I can tell, electronically, give or take a kohm's worth or two of wire that would be natural manufacturing tolerances over the years, internally they are all the same pickup. What is different is the end-to-end coils of the 4002, and there's a thread with one of those pickups taken apart somewhere on this forum.