Fender Custom Shop '62 vs Pure Vintage '63 Precision Bass Pickups 

So glad the demo isn’t limited to slapping and popping.

Thank you Oliver! I appreciate how much work it probably took to swap out these two pickups. I will have to give the edge to the Pure Vintage 63, they emphasize the low-mid grunt which makes a P bass sound like a P bass.

This is why we can't have just one bass.

I"m a bass player of 60 years. I have a set of 63's in a 2018 Fender Mexican P bass and it sounds wonderful. You lose very little highend with the 63 but gain in the low and low midrange frequencies. The low end is sweeter and tighter. 63 is the way to go.You will also find the 63 has a more balanced volume output for each string. I had to even out the pickup height. Buy a set and save them, the'll be in demand when Fender stops making them! The 63 sounds better than my 2020 USA P bass!

I’ve tried both pickups and preferred the Pure Vintage 63 pickup for its mid frequency response. It didn’t sound hollow like the 62 custom shop pickup does.

Great video, I personally prefer the 62 for fingerstyle, and the 63 with a pick. I play mainly with a pick so I find my P bass can sound a tad too thin so the 63 would be my choice.

Now this is a an actual comparison video! I’m so thankful.

Love the attitude of the CS62’s. Compliments my major style of play (fingers). I’ve found that a good set of flats, coupled with a maple finger board and…. you find your voice with this winding balance. It’s easy to hear your tone wood through your attack.

I appreciate the video. I have to admit I didn't hear anything here that would make me go to the trouble of swapping out one for the other.

Thanks. Prefer the ‘62 Customs here. (Beautiful piano-like tone, BTW). The ‘63s have that mid push, but I think you could easily get that sound with the ‘62s with a little amp EQ. But given the ‘62s are more expensive, the ‘63s are certainly a great option too. I actually prefer the original ‘62s over both of these. Classic P tone with a bit more mid push than the custom shops but also the top end treble needed, which you can always roll back.

I just made a partscaster with some 62's and boy them baddies have a nice tone..all i did was run everything set to noon, love it so much i havent even fiddled with any knobs just a compressor

Thanks for taking the time to do this. At first I liked the 62s but the jam with your fingers after the pink Floyd money riff is where the E and A sounds richer and sold me. I have a really nice Squire P bass with the action set up low it plays so much better than any MM I've played at the store that come in with the action a 1/2" off the fretboard. These pickups will make mine like a Fender American series.

I own both. The 62 came to me in a AV 58 P. I bought the 63 right after I got my RW 50’s P. I prefer the 63, however I put a AV 58 (stock to the AV) back in the AV 58. The 63 is just so good live in a mix. I’m thinking about throwing one in on my AV58.

Both sound great. My own pick would be the ‘63 based on my playing style and sound.

It sound like the difference between a maple and a rosewood fret board. The ‘62 sounds more like a maple board whereas the ‘63 sounds warmer with more bottom and rounder highs like a rosewood board. Thanks for doing this. A lot of effort when into it. Mad respect.🙏

It’s funny. I like the low end of the 63 but overall I think the 62 is more… clear and precise? I was about to buy the 62 now I am a little confused. But excellent videos and they are excellent pick ups

I like the 62. Just sounds a little more pure...less synthetic. Having 2 pbasses with one on each would be a winner.

The extra bass and low midrange sounds better to me on the ‘63 soloed. I wonder if this would carry over into the mix?

Loving the low mid punch and midrange presence on the 63's

To me the 63 is more aggressive but I like the character and warmth of the 62 myself.

This was best comparison swap, you can hear a difference. Thanks

Just bought a PV 63 to put on my 2017 am pro after listening to you video. The 63 simply sounds exactly like a P Bass should. Thanks for making this video. :)

Wow, very nice. Personally I prefer the '63 vintage, but I really have to be picky to choose just one. Both sound awesome 😎.

The PV 63’s kind of remind me of the Seymour Duncan Steve Harris PBass pickup. Higher output and more low-mids, but not so boomy or muddy that it wouldn’t be able to sit in a mix. Love the CS 62’s but those 63’s are (chef’s kiss)

Got these both and love them. But SD Antiquity is my favorite!

These 62 Custom are great! Now do i buy the Harris spb4, or the spb Quarter pounds or the 62 Customs? Ugh

I had the '63 on a LTD Run PJ but I don't recall 'em very much. BTW, for the longest time I think I liked a mid center focused P bass sound, now I don't know it anymore. I have '62 CS on my main P and SD SJB-3 on my backup bass. Well, I don't think they make overdriven sound shine. Given I always use compression and I like the occasional grit of a growly bass I think the key is having more mids to begin with.

Cool video man ! Nice of you to have gone through the effort for doing it. Which pickup are you keeping in the bass then ??

Just what I was looking for. Helped me make a decision. Thanks!

Experiment with rolling your volume down a scosche on the '63, you can super close to '62's compressed mids.

Thanks for the comparison. I'd love to hear your opinion and thoughts on the two pickups.

cs 62's for sure!

The 62 custom sounds almost comically identical to all sampled and modelled MIDI bass instruments I've heard. I've never heard a P sound so P like!

Both sound great. 62 sounded brighter and cleaner. 63 a little darker and dirty. You could probably EQ both to sound more like the other. If I were forced to choose I’d give a slight edge to the 62.

if i’m trying to record green day cover songs and i have a gold and blue squier limited edition P Bass (bought last week) what upgrade would anyone reading this suggest? i want that ‘dingy’ raunchy MIKE DIRNT tone but know my squier stock pickups aren’t helping

63'PV for me. Thank for this!

Man this must've been a lot of work. Great vid!

Careful with windings, maybe wrap some tape around to protect tiny wire.

Interesting string choice for the test. With SS I definitely prefer the 63' but I would never run SS on a P Bass. Nickels or Flats. Considering the scooped nature of SS strings it makes sense the 63' sounds better because it pulls the mids out of those strings. Would loved to have heard this test with a more vintage voiced string like nickel rounds or flats. Mainly because I'm curious if the additional mid frequencies those strings bring would muddy up the 63' at all and work better with the more neutral 62' or if the 63' would still sound focused and maintain the warmt over the 62'.

That was incredibly helpful, thank you so much.

I’m more partial to the 63 Pure Vintage! A bit more rounded with some better low end! Just My Opinion! The 62’s sound great too!

Which ones did you leave in the bass? Let me guess... the 63?...

Are the pole pieces on the 63s "reliced" or why have I seen dark spots on them on several pics and in videos?

What's the song you were playing at around the 4:00 Mark?

I think to get the full value from such a comparison, you'd be better off using flat wound strings.

Vintage '63-super nice

62 sounds better for Motown and the 63 better for Salsa Great work!

Maybe it's because I've always played jazz bass, but they really sounded the same to me, overall

i think i kinda like the 62s a bit more but my preference sometimes changes depending on the tune you play

Thanks, but I'll stick with my Curtis Novak Charlie Christian P-Bass Pickups, as they're the only ones that enable my basses to bark, growl, and squeal with feedback.

Pure Vintage 63 all the way!

Thanks for the work you put into making this video - yet I am still undecided - both have their strengths and I want best of both worlds. :-D

I liked both.

Thank you for the video! Both sounds great!! I have Fender American Performer PJ bass and think to replace stock Yosemite pickups to CS 62 (or pure 63 - what could you mostly recommend?) + CS60 JAZZ. How do you think it's a good idea with a greasebucket circuit?

Fantastic. Thanks a lot.

For a given alnico magnet strength, the more windings the less clarity, and I really dislike this "flavoring", so I prefer the CS62. I'd rather apply EQing as needed instead of adding more windings. Clarity can be regained by charging the magnets more (for example Geezers) but there's a limit. I like Fender "Original" (the cheaper one). Their magnet strength is about equal to Geezers, but they have fewer windings and so are very slightly clearer. I've never tried the CS62 myself, but it is said to be very similar to the Original.

Anyone can spend two words about how the custom 59 Is compared to these two ? Which One Is more similar ?

Espectacular!! Muy buena la comparación! Se aprecia perfecto la diferencia! Muchas gracias! Saludos desde Argentina.

Ciao Oliver e grazie come al solito per le tue utilissime recensioni ! ascoltando i due pick up mi e' sembrato che il 63 assomigli molto al Seymour Duncan SPB1. Mi sbaglio ?

Fra i due vi è una bella sfida. Il mio orecchio apprezza più il Pure Vintage (più attacco ed una bella risposta sulle medio-alte con una bella botta nello slap), ma sono entrambi dei pickups validi. Ottimo etst ed ottimo video. Figa la valutazione in loco della resistenza, mi è piaciuta un botto!

63 = classic fender sound and groove

Great video! I stick to the QP’s in my Mendel bass altough those Vintage ‘63’s sound great as well

Great video

I own 2 sets of the 63 p bass pickup, my comment is Fender states they are wound to 12K, that simply is not true. One is 11.5K the other 11.4K this is at 73 degrees F. I am sure they know how many turns they need to make 12K . I have a Yosemeti p bass pickup that comes in at 12K as advertised! If it was 11.7 or 11.8 or even 12.1 that's the range it should be in, for a 12K pickup. I very much like the tone of the 63, more low mids but everything else is still there. Plain enamel wire is the way to go for bass pickups, this is what is used on the 63. Fender should get their act together. If you want a 12K p bass pickup checkout Revel pickups. No more expensive than the Fender 63.

Excellent video. Made me cancel my 62' order (and saved me some cash). Thanks!

63 you get the John Entwistle sound

They both sound great, but was born in 63, so have a slight bias.

Molto belli i 62 sempre ok in ogni situazione. Ben bilanciati senza eccessi ne mancanze. Belli anche i 63 ma hanno qualcosa sulla gamma media che non mi convince. Resta il fatto che sono grandi pu entrambi

try flatwounds :)

Why not trim your finger nail before do finger style recording ?

63 wins the day mate : )

Are these pickups quieter that stock Mexican made Fender P Bass pick ups from the last couple of years? I mean in terms of any interference etc?

For me they are completely the same, but I prefer 63 pure vintage...

The 62 simply has a different voice in terms of vocals, and to my ear it sounds a lot better

Pure Vintage 63 for me.

amazing how they can sound so different but still very p-bass

'63 puré vintage ❤️

Tone 100% off or on

62

Nails yay or nay? ci vorrebbe un video comparativo con e senza unghie :)))))))))))))))

63 for me ,, 62 sounds brighter

#116🇺🇸

Appreciate the video. Just wish you'd pluck the bass with your FINGER instead of your 💅

Yes! Let's do this 💪😍! Boost your stats = P-R-O-M-O-S-M!!

Seymour duncan quarter pound. Dishes are done.

In reality the difference is moot to people listening of live and recorded performances. Furthermore, besides the fact we have E.Q.'s that can largely or completely negate the differences, as soon as every bass player introduces their individual fingers, playing style, possibly the type of pick of choice if they use a pick, and where they play with their right hand (or left) between the bridge and their fretting hand the significance is obliterated. Also a real '62 or '63 pre-CBS P bass would likely have a 100uF cap from the factory, not 47.

1963 a mani basse... (parere mio ovvio)

Hey Oliver do you still have your Pure Vintage 63 ? Just got my second pair today as I sold my first back in 2020.. i measured 11.3kOhm whereas it should be 12kOhm like it's said on the box. My first pair had 12.3kOhm... I'm worried that it's gonna sound how I wish. Do you have a way to measure your pickup for me, please?

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! My preference is clearly for the 63. I have a question. Thinking of getting a short scale PJ Mustang as I’m a guitar player. Do you think the sounds on this video would translate to a short scale bass? Absolutely loved the 63s. Thanks again!