EMG PJAX vs Geezer

[BasEd]

Anyone tried the active EMG PJAX pickup set? How does it compare to the passive EMG Geezer set? I’ve had the Geezer P and it sounds great but not a huge difference to the Fender USA 2008 pickup it replaced. I have the active EMG JVX set in a Jazz bass which are very clean but also growly. Best pickups I’ve had for slap.

 

[jbrew73]

The geezer p is a nicely built, generic, vintage style pickup. The geezer j is the real star of the show. The only j pickup I’ve every liked was the Dimarzio model j but the geezer changed my mind. I wish they offered the geezer j as a set. I can comment on the pjax set.

 

[W_R]

I have both, and they are both great, in the same family for sound. The Geezer PJs do have a certain character in the low-mids or mids—they are a go-to do pretty much anything pickup set. Compared to the Geezers, the PJAX seem to me to be slightly flatter and smoother from high to low, perhaps a little more extended, darker, even, yet clear, to me they resemble the Geezers with a slight mix of what I hear in my Bart DC’s, that’s not meant as better/worse. I hesitate to describe “growl” as better/worse between them... lots of other factors for that.

I preferred the Geezers in EADG, either in E flat, and think the PJAX is the better choice in my setup for DGCF... Fender PJ basses, different models so not perfectly apples to apples.

I very much recommend using the EMG EQ, specifically with the right ABC balance control—the ABC for the Geezers/the ABCX for the PJAX—I think that was significant when I was swapping things around among instruments and trying things, noticeably better with the properly matching ABC.

Regarding the wish for a Geezer J set, check out the SD Apollo’s, which are very nice, especially with the matching SD 3-band EQ. Not a “Geezer” set, it is a J set and all, but in terms of similar versatility and variety, good stuff. If I ended up with a J bass that needed a pickup swap, I’d be curious about the EMG JCS set, but have no experience with them.

 

[BasEd]

I have both, and they are both great, in the same family for sound. The Geezer PJs do have a certain character in the low-mids or mids—they are a go-to do pretty much anything pickup set. Compared to the Geezers, the PJAX seem to me to be slightly flatter and smoother from high to low, perhaps a little more extended, darker, even, yet clear, to me they resemble the Geezers with a slight mix of what I hear in my Bart DC’s, that’s not meant as better/worse. I hesitate to describe “growl” as better/worse between them... lots of other factors for that.

I preferred the Geezers in EADG, either in E flat, and think the PJAX is the better choice in my setup for DGCF... Fender PJ basses, different models so not perfectly apples to apples.

I very much recommend using the EMG EQ, specifically with the right ABC balance control—the ABC for the Geezers/the ABCX for the PJAX—I think that was significant when I was swapping things around among instruments and trying things, noticeably better with the properly matching ABC.

Regarding the wish for a Geezer J set, check out the SD Apollo’s, which are very nice, especially with the matching SD 3-band EQ. Not a “Geezer” set, it is a J set and all, but in terms of similar versatility and variety, good stuff. If I ended up with a J bass that needed a pickup swap, I’d be curious about the EMG JCS set, but have no experience with them.

I’m finding the P is louder than the J. The J is a bit thin. I’ve moved the J to about 1mm from the strings (when fretted at the highest fret) and the P is now about 4mm. This makes a difference but the J is still a bit tinny sounding. I think it’s because it has a large dynamic range so I’m hearing high frequencies that are not apparent with passive pickups. I need to turn down the tone by 50% to make it warmer.

I think it’s probably a case of playing them and getting used to the sound. There’s more musical information and greater dynamic range than the passives that can expose your playing inadequacies and string noises! Probably a good thing to help tighten your technique.

With the Geezers, is the output similar for the P and J? The product description says the J is high output.

 

[BasEd]

I’m thinking about replacing the JAX (alnico) with a JX (ceramic) which should have more mids.

 

[W_R]

I’m not clear on which set you mean for the quieter J pickup—PJAX since you mentioned the Geezer set later? I haven’t noticed a balance problem with any of my PJ’s, but there are adjustments like you mentioned to set them up, plus EQ per whatever you’re going for at the time. I would agree with some comments that the Geezer J is matched to its P as more of an tone enhancement rather than an ideal standalone bridge pickup, works for me.

 

[BasEd]

I’m not clear on which set you mean for the quieter J pickup—PJAX since you mentioned the Geezer set later? I haven’t noticed a balance problem with any of my PJ’s, but there are adjustments like you mentioned to set them up, plus EQ per whatever you’re going for at the time. I would agree with some comments that the Geezer J is matched to its P as more of an tone enhancement rather than an ideal standalone bridge pickup, works for me.

It was the PJAX. The P has a great tone. The J is more balanced now I’ve adjusted the height but it’s still a bit thin. Maybe I should think of it as a way to sculpt the P sound rather than as a standalone J pickup. I had a passive ceramic J before I installed the PJAX and this had a beefier J sound. Having said that there isn’t a huge difference with any of the pickups I’ve tried so I should probably concentrate on my playing technique!

 

[W_R]

Haha, tinker plus practice. There were some folks in a different thread talking about swapping the Geezer J out, and one person did it and brought the Geezer J back. Agreed, I tend to think of PJ pickups as a set, not quite a separate P or J (bridge).

 

[BasEd]

I swapped in a JVX from another bass to replace the JAX. The JVX is louder (same distance from strings). Both pickups sound pretty much the same so I swapped back the JAX.

 

[epoxo57]

It was the PJAX. The P has a great tone. The J is more balanced now I’ve adjusted the height but it’s still a bit thin. Maybe I should think of it as a way to sculpt the P sound rather than as a standalone J pickup. I had a passive ceramic J before I installed the PJAX and this had a beefier J sound. Having said that there isn’t a huge difference with any of the pickups I’ve tried so I should probably concentrate on my playing technique!

Not sure if your passive ceramic J was the Dimarzio but thats what I have mated with my GZR P and I think they sound great together in my Tony Franklin 3-way toggle switch (EMG solderless switch). Since I didn't get a GZR PJ set originally, I did get the GZR J and had that in for a spell, but wanted the Dimarzio since its a beast (or not with proper poles, PU height adjustment). Honestly, I don't run the bridge solo very often, especially on my fretted necks, but I do on my fretless from time to time for the harmonics on slides and the burpy tone it gives. One of these days I'll probably swap the EMG back in for kicks but for now it rocks! I soldered the J leads to one of the EMG solderless harnesses I had lying around so the swap takes seconds.