Seymour Duncan Antiquity Bass I & II's, Analysis and Review

[antigua]

I have the Jazz Bass Antiquity II set here, as well as the P-Bass Ant. I and II, so all that is missing is the Jazz Bass Antiquity I, and the P-Bass single coil models. The electrical values of the pickups tested are middle-of-the-road overall, with the AlNiCo 2 (Antiquity I) variants being a few hundred millihenries hotter than the AlNiCo 5 versiona (Antiquity II), and therefore shaving off around a hundred hertz of high end response, dependent upon the extraneous capacitance of the circuit.

TL;DR: If you want a tad more high end clarity, go for the "Antiquity II" versions.





Seymour Duncan Antiquity Jazz Bass II (AlNiCo 5)

This is an average AlNiCo 5 Jazz Bass set, neither much hotter nor darker than the others I've tested from Lollar and Fender.

Although I don't have the Antiquity I set on hand, based on the similar DC resistance specs and the same similarity with the P-Bass versions, I suspect that the Antiquity I set is just a bit hotter than this set, on account of that sets AlNiCo 2 pole pieces.

My experience with this set is that it squeals (feeds back) quite a lot. Seymour Duncan claims it's wax potted, and I'm not saying it is or isn't, but we do have more trouble with nasty feedback with this set than any other. It's all a part of the authentic, vintage charm though.


Bridge
www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-jazz-bass-bridge-3

- DC Resistance: 8.80K ohms
- Measured L: 3.631H
- Calculated C: 159pF (169 - 10)
- Gauss: 1050G

unloaded: dV: 7.4dB f: 6.43kHz (black)
loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 3.3dB f: 2.96kHz (red)

Neck
www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-jazz-bass-neck-3

- DC Resistance: 8.24K ohms
- Measured L: 3.268H
- Calculated C: 129pF (139 - 10)
- Gauss: 1050G

unloaded: dV: 15.4dB f: 7.46kHz (green)
loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 5.2dB f: 3.40kHz (gray)









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Seymour Duncan Antiquity P-Bass (AlNiCo 2)
www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-p-bass-3

This is a darker P-Bass pickup with a relatively high inductance. It sits right in between the hotter Quarter Pound P Bass and a stock ceramic / steel pole pickup, and the cooler Fender PV '58 and Lollar Split Coil P-Bass pickups I've tested.

The DC resistance is effectively identical to the Antiquity P-Bass II, suggesting the wind counts are the same, but the inductance is higher thanks to the higher permeability of the AlNiCo 2 pole pieces. This pickup therefore has a darker sound, but produces more voltage, all other things being equal.

- DC Resistance: 11.31K ohms
- Measured L: 6.447H
- Calculated C: 21pF (31 - 10)
- Gauss: 650G

unloaded: dV: 14.4dB f: 11.2 kHz (black)
loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 3.7dB f: 2.52kHz (red)









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Seymour Duncan Antiquity P-Bass II (AlNiCo 5)
www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-p-bass-3

Measure-wise, this set is more or less identical to the Fender Pure Vintage '58 set I'd acquired earlier: guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/7896/fender-vintage-precision-analysis-review . In that respect, it's perfectly average.

The DC resistance is effectively identical to the Antiquity P-Bass I, suggesting the wind counts are the same, but the inductance is lower thanks to the lower permeability of the AlNiCo 5 pole pieces. This pickup therefore has a brighter sound, but produces less voltage, all other things being equal.


www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-p-bass-3
- DC Resistance: 11.31K ohms
- Measured L: 5.985H
- Calculated C: 25pF (35 - 10)
- Gauss: 900G

unloaded: dV: 16.5dB f: 11.0 kHz (black)
loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 3.9dB f: 2.64kHz (red)