How come newer Fender pickups sound different than the older ones?
There can be several factors that make newer pickups sound different than older ones. One is the how the magnets were cast and the dimensions used for a particular pickup. The quality or even lack of quality added to the total performance of the pickups. The way the coil was wound such as hand winding commonly know as scatter winding where the magnet wire is placed on the bobbin in a random manor. Machine winding is more commonly used today for larger and faster production runs where less labor is required. Modern coil machines can wind one or even six bobbins at a time, which really reduces production time. I feel machine winding takes away much of the character especially in vintage restorations or rewinds. Much of the sound comes from the layering and winding tension which affects the tone of a pickup. Newer pickups use magnets made from Alnico or Ceramics which can be made to closer tolerances in given specifications. The insulations today have a different chemical composition as c
