1951 P Bass Bobbin Specs

[Phil m]

Hi all,

I'm looking for the specs of a '51 P bass pickup, at least the bobbin and magnet sizes would be great, I can figure out the rest.

For those who don't know that pickup looks like a 4 string strat pickup, not a normal P bass pickup. And no, I can't afford to buy a '51 bass to find out the specs

[David King]

You could buy a '51 reissue from Fender or just buy a reissue pickup from Duncan. I got Nordstrand to make me a split coil version inside the same bobbin and it was much more useful than the original. It really sounds great.

[Magnetosaure]

I would suggest to check the dimensions on the Seymour Duncan website...

[Possum]

reissues are phony.....

Just because a company makes a "reissue" is no guarantee that its made historically correct. Duncan's Broadcaster pickup for instance is made completely WRONG. Nothing like the real thing, wrong wire, wrong coil height, wrong magnets. I know because I've done a detailed study of the real thing in person. Fender's is wrong too. Fender makes most of their reissue pickups wrong from what I've seen and played. So you're in a pickle here, you can watch Ebay and hope a pickup comes up for sale, but in five years I've neer seen an original pickup come up on Ebay. So that means you gotta find someone who has an original bass that will let you take a close look at it. copying Duncan's specs is only going to get you a Duncan copy. Do some research and look for books on historic basses that have specs or photos etc. Its a tough job to find these kinds of things out but it can be done if you're obsessive about it....

[Magnetosaure]

Possum, you're right!

I found the same strange Duncan's Vintage Fender Lap Steel pickup dimensions and measurements after studying a real 1951 Fender Lap Steel pickup.

I might have given a bad advice, sorry for that...

But at least with Duncan's dimensions you're getting something to start with.

[mkat]

Do some research and look for books on historic basses that have specs or photos etc. Its a tough job to find these kinds of things out but it can be done if you're obsessive about it....

You make a good point on the reissues. Books that have specs on original Fender magnet sizes and bobbins? Even if these do exist, I doubt they're correct unless they are the actual verified working specs from Fender in '51. I may be wrong, but sifting through books for actual specs seems to me like a waste of time. For a start, all sorts of unverified claims can be made and attributed to virtually anyone. If there is no original to work from, then the SCPB-1 may be the cheapest alternative to get going, unless there is a winder on this forum that makes them from an original (not even implying that any do, as I wouldn't know) who will kindly provide some clues.

[Phil m]

I would suggest to check the dimensions on the Seymour Duncan website...

That's the best advice I got! I can't believe I didn't think of that before.

Thanks a lot guys for all the comments. I've got a ballpark area where to start with that pickup now, there's quite a lot of info on Duncan's site. I'm not really looking for the 'true original' pickup here. As long as I can reproduce the sound i'm happy. I haven't got 50 grand to invest in an original 51 P-bass or even a grand for an original pickup so I'm quite fine with these results.

[David King]

Phil, I know a guy here in town who owns 2 '51 P basses. What's it really worth to you?