We completely re-vamped our rails and side-by-side single coil-sized humbuckers for Strat®. Gone is the plastic bobbin topper. In its place is a sleek body cover that makes installation easier and eliminates errant high-E strings from catching under the old topper. We even upgraded the hookup cable to four-conductor on the Vintage Rails and Duckbuckers. Even though we updated the look of these popular pickups, rest assured the one thing that remains the same is the great tone. To make sure we captured the same tone in the new versions, we undertook a rigorous bench testing and sound testing regimen. You can review the results yourself.
The old-versus-new frequency graphs show the same tonal response in the new versions. You can see it with your own eyes. The specifications of the new models are the same as the old ones. You can process it with your brain. We even recorded sound bytes of the old versions compared to updated versions. You can hear it with your ears. Bottom line: same great tone. Updated cosmetics.