Late-80s Sabres vs. Sabre Classics: neck pickup output?

[takeout]

Question for any late-80s Sabre owners who've also tried the Sabre Classic: are your 80s 16-pole neck pickups as noticeably quiet as the ones on the Classics (as compared to the bridge pickup)? Moving through the switch positions, there's a HUGE volume drop as I start favoring the neck pickup. Pickup is fully functional - both coils work, etc.

I've set pickup height per the EBMM recommendations for two-pickup basses. Are those guidelines mostly for Stingray HHs, or can they apply to my Classic?

Should I jst find a bridge pickup and swap it in for the neck pickup?

 

[DrKev]

Is there a possibility that one of those pickups could’ve been rewound series (or parallel) instead of parallel (or series)?

 

[takeout]

My Classic is stock.

I'm not the only one I've heard mention this - there's a thread over on TB where several folks have mentioned it independently.

 

[DrKev]

Ok, good to know!

 

[jazzyitalian]

Interesting... I have an early era 1980 and 1981 Sabre and do not hear this output disparity.
Barring going through the expense of buying a bridge pickup and hoping it works, perhaps you could simply lower the bridge pickup to get a more balanced output? Any amplifier worth it's salt can compensate your bass for higher volumes.