How good are they? I've listened to demos on yt and I'm loving the sound. Just wanna get some opinion from other bassists. Planning on replacing my stock pups that came w/ my Ibanez GSR200 (first modification to a stock bass ever). Also wondering if thats a good idea to invest mods that cost as much as the bass itself.
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EMG PJ active pickups?
- Thread starter waidonchasaisew
- Start date
I use that EMG config and it is awesome for articulate snap.
Rock and roll baby!
If you want thick blub blub - i.e. the blob, go the other way though.
Rock and roll baby!
If you want thick blub blub - i.e. the blob, go the other way though.
you need to hear the pups in your hands with your polaying style. you either love or hate emg's. no in between. very modern sounding bright clear pickup with solid bass. I like them and have a few basses with them in but others , especially vintage snobs, absolutely hate them....
I have these EMG's on my ibanez SR400. These are so much better than the stock pickups. You won't be disappointed. I would also recommend one of EMG preamps. They have the quick connectors on them for a much easier setup with those pickups.
Many aspects effect the "sound" of a bass rig, quality pickups are a good start and the EMG PJ's ( active ) have that quality in sound and build for me. Have 3 sets here, get that growl which i love. Many stock pickups are good also, and the effect can be good for a swap or terrible or not much different. Not helpful advice the last part, its a bit of a lottery if changing pups will give a much improved sound. However, you will be learning useful skills swapping pups, and worst case you can go back to original pups, keep the EMG's for the next bass or better yet, a project bass! HTH Regards.
I will heartily recommend EMG J pickups. I had them in my first Warmoth bass, and that one rocks. Invalid Link Removed featuring some really old, dead strings, and sloppy technique.
I say, go for it! I was a passive Fender bass guy (using Lindy Fralins) for the last 4 yrs and made the switch to EMG J's recently (the older ones), definitely happy with them. My own demo: (no eq, amp, or compression)
I have some EMG PJ's + BQC System (3 Band + Mid contour) on my Fender/Heartfield Prophecy II. I loved the preamp because I could get all sorts of sounds. For what it's worth, I've only experienced two problems with mine:
First, I might have a defect set because while I was playing at my church, the bass just died out, just like that. And no it wasn't the battery because I changed it right there TWICE. Strange thing was that the bass worked after the service. So I have no idea if it was the pickups or the preamp.
Second, I've finally figured out that my fingers just can't get used to the sensitivity of active pickups. For some reason it was hard for me to control the dynamics.
Just my experience. I'm not a vintage snob, but I will agree that you'll either love them or hate them. I loved them at first, but now I realize that I prefer simple, passive tone.
First, I might have a defect set because while I was playing at my church, the bass just died out, just like that. And no it wasn't the battery because I changed it right there TWICE. Strange thing was that the bass worked after the service. So I have no idea if it was the pickups or the preamp.
Second, I've finally figured out that my fingers just can't get used to the sensitivity of active pickups. For some reason it was hard for me to control the dynamics.
Just my experience. I'm not a vintage snob, but I will agree that you'll either love them or hate them. I loved them at first, but now I realize that I prefer simple, passive tone.
I have had a set for 6 years on a Fender California Special. I wasn't crazy about the tone. However, TI Jazz Flats transformed it. With those it has a smooth warm tone for low volume gigs with acoustic guitar, and it has a great Elvis-style tone when played with a pick. As others have mentioned, your satisfaction will be hugely dependent on your rig and your musical style. My style is definitely moving towards passive P-bass, so that would explain my initial opinion.
- Aug 21, 2008
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I used to use 40 P5's and 40 J's in all my basses. The P sound nice and clear, but it's wired in parallel, so it lacks thickness and mids. The J is one of my favorite EMG pickups, but the bridge unit could stand more low end and upper bass. It sounds thin soloed.
Putting in actives on a GSR200? Not to knock it bro, that was one of my first ones as well, but if you're going through the trouble of putting in a battery hole and getting some actives with a possible preamp wired up, make sure the bass will have some staying power. Neck, tuners, bridge, and all that other stuff will either need to be replaced or you'd have to be pretty happy with it for quite some time after mods like these. If you're happy with it, go for it man...but just be careful how much money you put into a project, you may run outta love for it after a while 
Putting in actives on a GSR200? Not to knock it bro, that was one of my first ones as well, but if you're going through the trouble of putting in a battery hole and getting some actives with a possible preamp wired up, make sure the bass will have some staying power. Neck, tuners, bridge, and all that other stuff will either need to be replaced or you'd have to be pretty happy with it for quite some time after mods like these. If you're happy with it, go for it man...but just be careful how much money you put into a project, you may run outta love for it after a while
+1 P/J's are my favorite EMG's to date, but if the rest of the bass will need upgrading to keep up, you might consider investing your money in a better bass that might come with the EMG's already. Good Luck!
I think this pretty much nails it. I've also found the EMG P pickup sounds much more traditional if you roll back your tone pot significantly. I go back and forth between really liking these pickups and thinking they are too harsh/aggressive.
In my opinion, these pickups benefit from a passive tone control. I have not liked them as much with an onboard preamp (at least, not the EMG 2-band preamp).
I would agree with those that say the pickups can sound very aggressive, and some would say sterile, when playing the bass solo. In a live mix EMGs are great--they sound very full across the spectrum, and even when you roll off a lot of highs they are punchy and tight.
I used this combo for several years back in the '80s and liked it well enough - very clear and articulate, if a bit cold. They recorded well and sounded good for both slap and fingerstyle. I now have Barts in all my basses, because prefer more warmth... but EMGs are just "out of style" and so are a good deal now...
EMGs do what a pickup should; they turn the sound of your strings into a signal and send it down your cable. People have said they're not trendy here on TB and they're absolutely right - perceived wisdom on an Internet forum can be a fickle thing. But EMG pickups are great, regardless.
I had that same complaint, and it turned out in my case that the pup was too low. A TalkBass forum suggested I raise the bridge pup and things improved a lot.
And +1 on the passive tone control suggested by The Thinker.
^^^+1...and how can you argue with that? The sound of an electric bass string, plucked: perfect. Add boost or cut at the amp, to derive the final tone required.
To the OP: I was given a bass, an Ibanez, Soundgear 300 or something like that. It was a basket case, but with a set of EMG's already installed.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=626048&highlight=dumpster&page=2
I brought the bass back from the dead, and wound up donating it to a local church, for their music program. One of the things I did while restoring the bass was to remove the EMG's, and install a set of factory Ibanez active pickups & electronics. Having sort of "reverse-engineered" the bass, all I can say is: What a difference! The Ibanez electronics will work fine for a bass being used as a back-up, or a kid just learning (which is what it was intended for, as a donation) but if you go with the EMG's, the difference will be unbelievable. Worth the cost, relative to the value of the bass? Probably not. If you make the change, do a careful job when removing the stock electronics, put them aside, then switch back to them if you decide to sell/trade the bass. EMG's are sweet. And a PJ setup will work in a multitude of basses.
