60's pickups. any thoughts?

[johnnyb]

hi everyone, im just looking for some insight and opinions.

i have been on the 60's "cheep" guitar kick for a few years now and i was wondering if anyone else has any insight into why these pickups sound so great and unique. ive been playing since 1986 and have been subjected to contemporary pickups since then. these older 60's pickups have an undefined mushy yet all together sound that is hard to describe. playing one or two strings has as much prominence as playing all six. they all just blend together. i go back to other guitars and play dimarzios, seymours or emg's and each string is so defined to itself its not as musical sounding. although i know not all pickups are the same and there are fantastic ones out there. but you gotta pay for those and they are still a gamble.
anyway ive been trying to figure out why these 60's pickups sound the way they do. they are usually cheep and cheaply made. could it be due to the fact that magnets loose some of their magnetic field over time, causing this blend of string sound? i dont know. any ideas or observations?

john