EMG GZR P - Geezer Butler Precision Pickup

As I am a tone junkie, I love finding new sounds and combinations to get to that holy grail of sound that I'm always seeming to chase in my head. After consistently hearing what great pickups there were, I decided to try them out. I've had emg products in my past, so it wasn't any shock to see the solderless connections or ease of installation, which is a great way to mount pickups and electronics. One thing I have learned with emg is to pay very close attention to the jack leads. The instructions (to me) show the leads going to the wrong tang, and I've had to switch them on two separate builds after putting them on the wrong connectors on the jack. A little annoying, but no issue as they just snap on and off. Be warned lol. The sound was not as aggressive as the hype said, and was actually very flexible when using the controls. Wide open my precision yielded a great middy grind with a tight bottom, not at all bottom heavy or boomy. A definite classic rock sound for sure. Not super hot, but they felt a little overwound compared to the stock mim pickups they replaced. Rolling off the tone, volume, or both gets the sound into a more traditional, almost vintage sound, much rounder, but still with a mid bump. I've only used SS rounwounds with them, but a set of flats would yield a nice Motown sound with the volume and tone knob rolled off a bit I would feel. I've found emgs respond nicely to finding the sweet spot regarding string clearance, and these are no different. You can really get them dialed in with the right string height. These were my first passive emgs I've used, and they quickly have become my favorite set of pickups I've tried. I'm planning on getting s set for a PJ I have, and look forward to how they will sound. No, these won't make you sound like Geezer, but they are a well thought out set of pups with a tasty mid bump that sits very well in loud rock bands or even country with them rolled back a bit. They are suprisingly versatile, much more than I expected. If you want a great sounding set of passive pickups for a precision style bass, give these a try. I'm sure glad I did.

I bought a really nice Fender CIJ, '57 reissue P bass for a song with the view to pimping the hell out of it. I looked at several different pickups and it came down to the EMG GZR and a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder set. The only reasonI bought the EMG first was for the easy install knowing that my budget was designed to cover any disappointments. If it didn't cut it, I would sell it and move on.

The original pickups were pretty cool and produced a nice P sound and I considered not changing them but I wanted to replace the pots anyway with something a bit better. The EMG comes with a full set of pots so considering my rather rubbish soldering skills, it would cost just as much to get someone to professionally wire it up, might as well try some new pups whilst I was at it.

I also bought some shielding tape but the EMG's arrived before the tape so being the impatient type, I went and installed them without it.

SOUND.
What a difference!
I didnt realise the stock pickups sounded thin until I put the EMG's in!
They sounded great in the lounge room so I didn't start really paying attention till I got it on stage. I always found P basses to not have as much articulation as my jazz bass, Sandberg or my Musicman. They always had this nice subtle thump that was definitely there but not in the way. These pickups do that REALLY well but twist a few knobs and it's in your face! Ive never been able to get away with a decent slap on a PBass but now it sticks out beautifully. The best thing is, they're dead quiet - No need for shielding. I've had it through a few amps on different stages and it's beautifully quiet. With this new set up I can use the P for some really warm blues and jazz and then wind it up for some rock,funk and slap!

These pickups have a more pronounced midrange which I love but doesn't sacrifice the low end. I play through a Markbass LM Tube 800 and a 4ohm Standard 104HF for bigger gigs and a TC Electronics BG250 210 for smaller gigs. I also use a Sansamp Para Driver DI for some tubey warmth. The Para Driver is cool cos it has a mid control and a sweepable range.

These are nice and cheep, dont require any soldering, woodwork or drilling. I'd recommend these for your first port of call for that reason alone. You dont have to be a Sabbath fan to enjoy them. Im not.

I only wish they came in white or cream and I would advise being VERY careful with the ground wire crimper. It's a cool device and does the job but was a bit small for my long, spider like finders so I messed it up and had to do the ol' twist and wrap method. No big deal but it would be nice if the crimper was re-usable

Love 'em