Noob question: What pickups, should I bother?

[Toastfuzz]

Sorry to ask this here but I've looked around a bit and really don't even know where to start off.

I own the Ibanez GSR200, not really looking for an upgrade bass, but would be willing to drop $100 or so on pickups, if they're really worth it. I know its completely passive (older model, not sure exact year), the split P+J configuration. I can get a decent amount of tones out of the stock pickups, from slap to metal to reggae. What I play mostly is in the Zeppelin-Yes-Hendrix era of music, but I really like to have options.

So A: Should I bother changing out the pickups to other passive pickups (like EMGs) or not? Wiring isnt an issue, I can solder like nobody's business

and B: Which aftermarket pickups would you recommend for this type of music?

OH, also worth mentioning, the tone of either pickup alone sucks. I always have them both on around 60%. I wish I could get either a P or J tone if I wanted, instead of crap or crap.

[jtc_hunter]

I am a firm believer in upgrading your wiring harness before upgrading your pickups. Think of it this way. On your bass, Your input jack, pots,and capacitor all have a big impact on what comes from the pickups to your amp. if they are crap, then it really wont matter what pickups you have. I changed the wiring harness out of my MIM P bass to one from www.bayoucables.com and it made my MIM stock pickups sound fabulous. I have no GAS at all to change those pickups now. CTS pots, allparts jack , and sprague cap. I love it.

[evito]

Originally Posted by Toastfuzz

Sorry to ask this here but I've looked around a bit and really don't even know where to start off.

I own the Ibanez GSR200, not really looking for an upgrade bass, but would be willing to drop $100 or so on pickups, if they're really worth it. I know its completely passive (older model, not sure exact year), the split P+J configuration. I can get a decent amount of tones out of the stock pickups, from slap to metal to reggae. What I play mostly is in the Zeppelin-Yes-Hendrix era of music, but I really like to have options.

So A: Should I bother changing out the pickups to other passive pickups (like EMGs) or not? Wiring isnt an issue, I can solder like nobody's business

and B: Which aftermarket pickups would you recommend for this type of music?

OH, also worth mentioning, the tone of either pickup alone sucks. I always have them both on around 60%. I wish I could get either a P or J tone if I wanted, instead of crap or crap.

I have 2 ibanez SG's and replaced one of them with EMG pickups. I actually prefered the sound out of the stock one rather than the EMG. But each person has their own opinions. Since your a soldering maniac, I would switch them out. If you don't like the sound, you can just switch back.

[scottbass]

I used to have a GSR200. The Jazz pickup in the bridge position did NOTHING for me, IMHO. I replaced the P pickup with a Duncan Basslines Hot for P-Bass, SPB-2. It's a little more agressive than a stock P-bass pickup, but not as much as a Quarter Pounder. I liked the result; YMMV. I think it worked well to counteract the relative softness of that low-end agathis wood.