Are all of the traditional EMG split-coil pickups active? I'm taking it that these all have pre's built into them.

If so, there's none of these made by EMG that could be used with an existing pre?

I've got a bass with an active pre and I like EMG's...but I'd like to use the pre that's already there. Is this possible?

Are all of the traditional EMG split-coil pickups active? I'm taking it that these all have pre's built into them.

If so, there's none of these made by EMG that could be used with an existing pre?

I've got a bass with an active pre and I like EMG's...but I'd like to use the pre that's already there. Is this possible?

Well, if you head over to EMG's website you will see that they have at least 3 ranges of pickups, all of which include P pickups.

They have the traditional EMG range, all of which are active with built-in preamps and will not easily work with an existing preamp which is designed for passive pickups.

They also have the EMG-HZ line of Passive pickups, these are used extensively in things like the ESP LTD basses. These are passive and work fine with all manner of preamps. I have them (soapbar style) in an ESP LTD C305 and I love them. Not quite as sterile as the traditional active EMGs, but closer than any other brand of passive pickups to the EMG sound.

Lastly they have the Select by EMG passive pickups. These have mostly become a OEM selection for lower-end instruments, though they are quite nice sounding. I rank them as better than most other inexpensive pickups. They are hard to find though, I believe StewMac.com is the only really easy source for them. They are mostly sold direct to manufacturers so they have little retail presence.

Take a look at the EMG-HZ P pickup, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Thomcat

Cool, lots of info on your post.... 'preciate it.

I've got a 35P and a 35J in my Spector and it's a tone monster!

I guess for my needs, like you said, the HZ-P will be the way to go. What other passive P pickups would you compare it's overall output to?

If I do decide to go with it I'll be mating it to a 2 band MEC Gold Pre.

You can use any pickups with any pre, all you need to do is match up the proper pot values.

For active EMG use the required 25k volume or 50k blend pot before the preamp. For passives use a 250k or 500k vol/blend before the pre. You can see examples of this in the BQ series wiring diagrams.

Personally I wouldn't recommend any of EMG's passive offerings. But they're easy enough to swap out if you don't like them.

Have fun...