Fender P-bass With EMG pickups

papjason · #1 03-11-2008, 09:51 AM

Hi everyone!
I have an American P-Bass and i'm thinking of
changing my pickups...
I don't like the sound of my bass so i was thinking of
replacing them with an EMG PJ set.
i want to add a J pickup.
what do u think of that??
any suggestions???

GeneralElectric · #2 03-11-2008, 09:53 AM

Listen to bass players who use EMGs for that high end sizzle like Victor Wooten. I personally am not a fan.

DeliriumTremens · #3 03-11-2008, 09:54 AM

I wouldn't do that to a P

jsingles · #4 03-11-2008, 09:57 AM

no not for a P

mccartjm · #5 03-11-2008, 09:59 AM

It will make you p sound louder and brighter. I think it is an improvement if louder and brighter is your thing. One thing you might want to consider is this. By putting a j pup at the bridge you are basically going to increase your high end and defenition. Now if you think about, just putting an EMG in the P position will do that for you already, so it would be pointless to add the J. plus you dont have to rout a finshed bass and risk chiping it. I have done this mod and i thought it improved the bass (g&l lb-100). I would just get the P pickup and put that in, EMGS come with the prewired harness and they dont need to be grounded or shielded so anyone can install them basically. Later maybe you could add a BTC (bass treble control that slides right into the pickguard with no mods) for even more flexability than the P-J config would have given you.

papjason · #6 03-11-2008, 10:01 AM

ok.. but what pickups are you suggesting?
so i can have more variety of sounds.
my bass has only one sound......

mccartjm · #7 03-11-2008, 10:05 AM

i am saying put an emg p bass piickup in, then add an emg btc, the j pickups is not really necesarry unless you think it will make that big of a diff. but from my experience it doesnt

Webtroll · #8 03-11-2008, 10:09 AM

+1 on passing on the J, just install the EMG P. They sound great but they're not for everybody. Currently I don't own any basses with EMGs in them, but I have owned a P with a PJ set.

Slowgypsy · #9 03-11-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papjason

ok.. but what pickups are you suggesting?
so i can have more variety of sounds.
my bass has only one sound......

My main instrument is a MIA Precision... I get lots of different sounds depending on where I pluck (neck or bridge) and then again if I use fingerstyle or a pick. Not saying you shouldn't make your mod, it's just that sometimes folks mod their instruments thinking that's the only way to a different sound when simply practicing a different technique would easily get you there. Not preaching... just a thought...

BassBob185 · #10 03-11-2008, 11:24 AM

I'd leave it alone. I did put the EMG PJ set on my SX SPJ which was a big improvement.

Here is the link for pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/BassBob185/SXNewPickup

Thunderitter · #11 03-11-2008, 11:35 AM

I'm very happy with my EMG P - I'm using it with flats and I'm loving the sound I get; everything from really bright and punch to good low down bass.

Unless you know what you are doing stay away from routing - on slip and your bass will look like sh1T! If you really feel you need to go down this track then and you haven't tried precision (accurate as opposed to the bass!) routing before, have a professional do it

I think and EMP P looks cool too!

Fuzzbass · #12 03-11-2008, 04:01 PM

I've had a love-hate relationship with EMG pickups, because sometimes they sound great and sometimes they don't. Depends on the bass. I will say that one of the coolest sounding basses I've ever owned was an '83 Fender P-bass that I put an EMG in. Very aggressive tone.

origami · #13 03-11-2008, 09:29 PM

unless it is vintage, i'd do it (add emg p). but if going EMG p/j. get a bass that's already routed for p/j.

i love the EMGs in my p-basses. i own three basses with emg p's. switching to them is one of the best things i have done!

adding an emg definately does rob the bass of some personality, but in return the tone is more even across all frequencies (not a bump or dip in this or that range like passives).. this will give the perception of the emg pick-up adding more highs and lows. also the output is slightly hotter, and definately a lot quieter. emgs do like active EQ, but i still keep all my tone knobs passive. so it's not to radical of a change in tone.

the emg j pick-ups sound quite a bit different than passive j's. emg js are very nuetral sounding, i think they have less mids. the upside is that they are dead quiet when soloed. bye bye 60 cycle.

a good idea EMG p+j sound is a spector. on a fender bass this sound will be a bit different as many spectors are neck-though and body wood is maple.

i put EMG p/j in my fender duff bass and the sound is night and day different (not really better, different) than the stock PU's. i liked the stock PU sound, but they were noisy and slightly nasal. the emgs stops that cold.

plus the emgs don't have exposed pole pieces which rough up your fingertips.

Rob Mancini · #14 03-12-2008, 02:54 AM

I wouldn't do it again, but I did it to my Precision in the mid 80's because there weren't near the choices for pickups these days and EMG's were kind of unique and widely available. I liked it and I still like EMG's. Except for the battery.

I prefer passives in Fenders, but EMG's are pretty cool.

Mr_Dave · #15 03-12-2008, 05:18 AM

I put EMG PJs in a mexi precision special i had and i didn't like it much. it definitely changed the character of the bass. if you don't like the sound of your P and want more variety i'd sell it and buy something else.

joenemzer · #16 05-06-2008, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mccartjm

It will make you p sound louder and brighter. I think it is an improvement if louder and brighter is your thing. One thing you might want to consider is this. By putting a j pup at the bridge you are basically going to increase your high end and defenition. Now if you think about, just putting an EMG in the P position will do that for you already, so it would be pointless to add the J. plus you dont have to rout a finshed bass and risk chiping it. I have done this mod and i thought it improved the bass (g&l lb-100). I would just get the P pickup and put that in, EMGS come with the prewired harness and they dont need to be grounded or shielded so anyone can install them basically. Later maybe you could add a BTC (bass treble control that slides right into the pickguard with no mods) for even more flexability than the P-J config would have given you.

Pointless to have a EMG PJ set instead of just a EMG P? Where is the logic there? Are you saying the J doesn't change the sound? That doesn't make any sense.........all my basses have P/J sets, and I often solo the P pickup to get a P-Bass sound, or boost the J to get a Jaco-ish sound, or both evenly to get a Wooten sound! How is that pointless? Unless of course you just prefer the P sound, then sure, but the original poster never said he strictly wanted his bass to sound like a P-Bass only. Routing is not as big a deal as people think. Of course if your worried about changing a vintage bass, destroying the value that's a different story.

SuperDuck · #17 05-06-2008, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papjason

ok.. but what pickups are you suggesting?
so i can have more variety of sounds.
my bass has only one sound......

The Precision is not the most flexible bass by nature when it comes to tone. A one pickup bass like a Musicman or Precision usually does one thing, though it does that one thing very, very well. Big tone flexibility usually comes with a two-pickup bass.

Rudyboy98 · #18 05-06-2008, 08:55 AM

I put EMG's in my MIM P-Bass and it worked out great. I miss that bass.

I did hear from a couple of people that it had a bit of a "Zappa" like sound at times. It's dependent on your strings and playing style too.

If I bought a brand new bass, I might not do it. But for a used bass like mine was, if I had the chance to do it again, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

GreaserMatt · #19 05-06-2008, 11:14 AM

No need to put the j in there; the p pups will be fine. Just change 'em back if you don't like 'em...

markorbit · #20 05-06-2008, 11:40 AM

I would look for another bass that you like the sound of before wildly experimenting with the one you have.

Personally, I don't think a P pickup in the standard P position will replicate the sound of a J pickup at the bridge.

By all means try the EMG P replacement... but I'd stop there. In fact, I'd go with quality passives such as Fralins, Nordstrand etc.