EMG's for Ibanez questions

[keeperthumpin]

Hello All,

I have a cheap Ibanez GSR200. This was my first bass. It is very easy and fun to play but it doesn't have much tone or power and is a little on the bright sounding side. It has a split coli neck pickup and single coil bridge pickup. For the crew I play with, I need my sound to be heavy and real bassy. I really like to play this bass but it doesn't even begin to compare to my G&L so I don't.

My main questions are:

Are the EMG's going to give me the heavier sound I am looking for or is there another brand I should look into?

Should I stay with actives or go passive. I like both.

If I go active will EMG's or another brand wire in directly or is there a lot of wiring to do other than just taking out the stock and wiring/installing the new.

I have never done any pickup wiring before but would like to learn about it.

 

[Hugh Jass]

You definitely do not have to go active to get a heavy tone.

EMG PJ's sound great but you will need to install a pre-amp and battery for them to work. This will mean completely new electronics including pots. The works. Plus, though I love it, EMG stuff aint cheap.

A great option would be something like the Dimarzio PJ set (model P and model J) the set runs about $100 and will sound nice and heavy. They will work with your stock pots, however, upgrading those to CTS pots would be cheap and will make a difference.

 

[danomite64]

EMG's do require a battery, but they don't have to have a preamp. If you buy a set, they come with the pots you'll need. That being said, the DiMarzio's will give you the heavier tone you're looking for, and are cheaper, but you'll have to buy the pots separately.

 

[Hugh Jass]

EMG's do require a battery, but they don't have to have a preamp. If you buy a set, they come with the pots you'll need.

*slaps forehead*

You are right! No pre required. Pots, wires and all connections included. Plus, no soldering required! (other than the jack). That's what I get for posting at work.

Trouble is, I have never heard EMG's without a pre so I can't vouch for what the tone would be like. I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed though.

 

[danomite64]

They'd definitely be an improvement over the GSR200's stock pickups. That being said, I've owned about a dozen Soundgears, and I tend to boost the bass knob a bit on them, so I think the preamp is worth having in them.

 

[Hugh Jass]

No shortage of low end with the Dimarzios! I have never heard the PJ but have played a couple of Jazzes with the Model J's. Big and thick with a bit of a grindy character to them. I can only imagine the PJ would be even fatter.

I actually just recommended this to another person with a GSR200 the other day: Since you have four controls already, ditch the "phat boost" and wire it up passive with a separate volume and tone for each pickup. All the tonal variation you could ever need for about $120 in parts.

 

[The Mighty 'V']

With an EMG P/J set, do you actually still have to connect the bridge to the pot's housing or the output jack?

Cheers,
V.

 

[GreenAlsatian]

No - the EMGs don't need grounding wire from the bridge to the pots. If you can fit the jack that comes with the set in your bass, no soldering is necessary at all unless you have a pickup selector switch.

 

[The Mighty 'V']

Thanks, GreenAlsatian! I have a Hamer 'Blitz' Bass, with EMG's already in it, and I had noticed the missing connection a while ago, thinking the person doing the modification might've forgotten.