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EMJ J's

M

michaelgilleran

Mar 11, 2010
161
1
south elgin, il
#1
Some of you may have read my thread about having my older fernandes gravity stolen. Id love to think it will find its way back to me soon, but I have lots of playing to do, and I cant afford to wait and see. So Im on the quest to replace it.

I would like to just get the new models of the gravities. I notice they come with EMG J pick ups. All I know about these pick ups are what I read from the EMG website.

How do they compare to the EMG soapbar pick ups that were on my other bass? How do they compare to other pickups in their range

EDIT: I should elaborate. I love all kinds of music and play all kinds of music. I would like pick ups that sound good playing just about anything. My band is rock and funk though, so the emphasis is on punchy, fat finger style and punchy crisp slap
 
#4
Okay, gotta some updates. Im checking out the EMG site and I realize that the J's come in active and passive. I dont think I want active pick ups (I hear they lack in the mid range, and my mids make my band). Does anyone know if the fernandes gravities come with the passive or active J's?
 
#5
There are also a few variants of the J pickups you should consider. The JAXes seem like they'd be ideal to me -- they have Alnico V magnets but are really quiet. Vintage sound with the flexibility of active electronics.

Really, you can hardly go wrong. EMGs are great. But then so are Nordstrands, Seymour Duncans, Bartolinis, Rio Grandes, Lollars, and Lindy Fralins. There are so many great aftermarket pickups to choose from!
 
#6
selowitch said:
There are also a few variants of the J pickups you should consider. The JAXes seem like they'd be ideal to me -- they have Alnico V magnets but are really quiet. Vintage sound with the flexibility of active electronics.

Really, you can hardly go wrong. EMGs are great. But then so are Nordstrands, Seymour Duncans, Bartolinis, Rio Grandes, Lollars, and Lindy Fralins. There are so many great aftermarket pickups to choose from!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the advice! Most of the bad things Ive read have been from archive threads, so maybe EMG has fixed a lot of the problems since then.

Unfortunately, I dont have enough money to consider any after market electronics, so I wanna get a bass with everything I want on it (I may be able to get the BAII bridge, but well see)

But your saying the JAXes have good midrange? Because thats what most of the complaints seemed to be about; a sterile midrange
 
#7
michaelgilleran said:
But your saying the JAXes have good midrange? Because thats what most of the complaints seemed to be about; a sterile midrange
Click to expand...
I haven't actually played a bass with JAXes installed (they're quite new to the market); however, from the description at least it seems like you'd be getting the best of all possible worlds with those: classic Jazz Bass tone (including the mids) without the noise.

Perhaps the best thing about EMGs in general to me is they deliver a very pure, clear, ringing tone. The opposite of muddy. I like them. Some people complain that they're sterile, but that hasn't been my experience.
 
#8
selowitch said:
I haven't actually played a bass with JAXes installed (they're quite new to the market); however, from the description at least it seems like you'd be getting the best of all possible worlds with those: classic Jazz Bass tone (including the mids) without the noise.

Perhaps the best thing about EMGs in general to me is they deliver a very pure, clear, ringing tone. The opposite of muddy. I like them. Some people complain that they're sterile, but that hasn't been my experience.
Click to expand...

Are the people complaining about sterility mostly people that play vintage Fender P's through huge ampeg rigs? Not that theres anything wrong with that sound, but I wouldnt necessarily like a sound that muddy or boomy
 

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