EMG Pickups

[sheltjo6]

Yes but which ones for my particular bass

Previous responses have addressed installation.
EMG's solderless connections make installation easy.

Which pickup depends on your tonal preference.
I've tested most of EMG's active pickups and a couple of their passive pickups.
Here is a summary of there tonal character.

Active Pickups:
J pickup: full range tone with bright high frequency response. (The EMG Sound)
JA pickup: full range tone, but more pronounced mid-frequency response and not as bright high frequency response as the J pickup.
JCS pickup: similar to the JA but less high frequency response and mid frequency response is different, but tonally pleasant.
JV pickup: Bright tone overall, not as warm tonal as other EMG J pickups. If you want a vintage tone this is your pickup.

Passive Pickup:
JV52: Hard to describe the tone on these pickups. All I remember was I did not like their tone and removed them.

X series vs original series:
X series sound more like a passive pickup than the original series.
Original series imo has a better mid frequency response than the x series.

My favorite pickups are the JA set with the JCS coming in second.

Hope this helps you with selecting a pickups set.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Yup, as long as the pickups will physically fit (and there's room in the cavity for a battery), you won't find an easier install and it doesn't require any soldering. Make sure that's the tone you want, and that you have some outboard tone shaping (preamp, EQ/DI pedal, modeling preamp, etc.) available too. The pickups definitely sound good, but really shine when they go into a tone shaping signal chain.

They are very clean, noise-free, and you can dig in a LOT without them and they'll still sound great (sometimes even better). Mine are kind of low-output, I have the PJ-X set and it's just V-V-T. Not a problem, just something to be aware of when you are amplifying.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Absolutely measure your current pickups dimensions before ordering anything. Some 5 strings use 4 string pickups. They're not all the same.

 

[CoughSyrup]

Yes, it's part of the stock kit that comes with any of their pickups these days. Pulled this from the J Set (not J System) page just as an example. Spade connectors bottom right.

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Mine are old enough that they came with pre-wired pots rather than solderless and did need the jack soldering.

How do you connect the A27 batteries to the 9 volt connector in the EMG kit?

 

[darkwasthenight]

How do you connect the A27 batteries to the 9 volt connector in the EMG kit?

Clip the 9v connector and splice the new harness in. It's not a solderless mod unfortunately.

 

[40Hz]

Probably nowhere near as long honestly, but they're small so I keep a few spare in my bag and the trade-off of not routing was good enough for me!

Yeah. I usually use lithium batteries. I can average a few years before I absolutely need to change them although I’ve gotten in the habit of replacing them more frequently than that just because. There’s also the issue of current draw. Which is possibly why the stock alkaline 9V hangs in better than the single cell a27. I also don’t think they make lithium a27s. So that’s not an option either.

However, no routing is a compelling enough reason for me too. Still the Audere preamps share quarters with a 9V in a JB quite comfortably. So I’m guessing EMG’s preamp does too. I noticed EMG also does a loaded control plate for JBs.

The J set sounds good at 12v but not a massively noticeable difference to 9 - I haven't got around to trying 24 yet.

Be interested in hearing how that works out if you do it. IIRC EMG’s preamps can handle something like up to 27VDC. So there’s no risk in frying anything.

 

[kyral210]

Yes, it's part of the stock kit that comes with any of their pickups these days. Pulled this from the J Set (not J System) page just as an example. Spade connectors bottom right.

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Mine are old enough that they came with pre-wired pots rather than solderless and did need the jack soldering.

I was soldering EMG pickups before the new system. I guess I’m just old now

 

[Bassin4God]

Today I ordered the J5 set pickups and the BTC EQ system. I will update once installed.

 

[Bassin4God]

Egg J 5 pickups with BTC system arrived over the weekend, everything was a perfect

 

[crguti]

^where did you place the battery?