EMG 40HZ vs EMG 40TW? (Soapbar 5 Strings)

[JoaoSalles]

Hello everyone, first of all, forgive me for my English, I'm Brazilian haha!
I have a question, considering the test with both pickups at the same volume, what is the difference in sound between an EMG 40TW vs EMG 40HZ pickup?

If one is Active (TW) and the other Passive (HZ), it is likely that there will be a difference in volume, but considering that I adjusted the volume of both to be as similar as possible, what difference in sound will I have from one pickup to the other?

I always use the Both configuration (Bridge and Neck Pickup Together).

- Best regards, João Victor!

 

[iiipopes]

I have used both. On my 2012 Ibanez SRA305, it came with HZ pickups. Decent pickups. A little middy and muddy in tone. But not good enough for my band's Behringer digital board. So I upgraded to EMG actives, CS and JX. The CS is the "full humbucker mode" of a TW, so the comparison is direct. The active pickups had much greater clarity, broader bandwidth, note definition, and of course, lower noise, among the lowest in the business. I have gigged this set of pickups for over a decade, along with an EMG EXB in the signal chain for a good on-the-fly tonal option control without the fuss of all the knobs of a full onboard EQ. I heartily recommend upgrading from the HZ to actives. If your bass does not already have a battery box, you will have to be careful to see if a battery will fit in the control cavity, or have a luthier rout for a battery box. It is definitely worth it. My sound man works for a large sound reinforcement corporation, and he approves and says it is easy to slot the mix out front.

 

[JoaoSalles]

Eu usei ambos. No meu Ibanez SRA305 2012, ele veio com captadores HZ. Captadores decentes. Um pouco medíocres e turvos no tom. Mas não bons o suficiente para a mesa digital Behringer da minha banda. Então eu atualizei para ativos EMG, CS e JX. O CS é o "modo humbucker completo" de um TW, então a comparação é direta. Os captadores ativos tinham muito mais clareza, largura de banda mais ampla, definição de nota e, claro, menor ruído, entre os mais baixos do mercado. Eu tenho usado esse conjunto de captadores por mais de uma década, junto com um EMG EXB na cadeia de sinal para um bom controle de opção tonal instantâneo sem a confusão de todos os botões de um equalizador completo integrado. Eu recomendo fortemente atualizar do HZ para ativos. Se o seu baixo ainda não tiver uma caixa de bateria, você terá que ter cuidado para ver se uma bateria caberá na cavidade de controle ou ter uma rota de luthier para uma caixa de bateria. Definitivamente vale a pena. Meu técnico de som trabalha para uma grande empresa de reforço de som, e ele aprova e diz que é fácil colocar a mixagem na frente.

Thank you very much for your testimony, it was very valuable, I am convinced to get a 40TW, but looking at some sites many people also talk about the 40DC. So I will research a little more and keep an eye on the answers here on the Forum!

 

[iiipopes]

Thank you very much for your testimony, it was very valuable, I am convinced to get a 40TW, but looking at some sites many people also talk about the 40DC. So I will research a little more and keep an eye on the answers here on the Forum!

I tried the DC. It has a little more upper mid emphasis. I didn't like it for my application. The DC is essentially EMG's version of a MusicMan pickup, and like a MusicMan pickup, functions best in that position.

 

[JoaoSalles]

I tried the DC. It has a little more upper mid emphasis. I didn't like it for my application. The DC is essentially EMG's version of a MusicMan pickup, and like a MusicMan pickup, functions best in that position.

Thank you very much for the information!
I ended up buying the EMG 40TW, I was surprised because they came in a white box and not a gray one. The label on the back of the pickup says it was manufactured in 2007, part of the wiring diagram has to be soldered, not connected like newer versions.
At first I thought it was fake, but I bought it from a trusted store and saw ads on REVERB from other people advertising the same model with the same white box that mine came in.

I haven't installed them in my bass yet, but I plan to do that by the weekend!