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Geezer emg question
- Thread starter LowWay
- Start date
I don't like conflict, so I just emailed EMG even though I don't have dog in this fight. I'll let you guys know what they say.
You told me to check out EMG's homepage, but I was unable to find anywhere where they state the following: "The GZR pickup is in fact the exact same pickup as our PHZ pickup, all that crap about developing the GZR specifically with Geezer Butler in mind was just marketing baloney, you really ought to know better than to trust our marketing department, truth is we just charge you a few more bucks for the cool picture of Geezer Butler on the front of the box these pickups come with and the holes we drilled for the pole pieces in the pickup covers.", but if you can post a link to that official statement from EMG of course I would have to admit that I was all wrong all along and that you in fact are perfectly right.
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I called EMG last year about getting a GZR P pickup made in white. I was told the GZR is only available in black but that the PHZ is essentially the same pickup without the exposed pole pieces. Several months later I had a brief phone call and several email exchanges with Alison Turner from EMG about switching options for passive pickups and she reiterated that the PHZ is the same pickup as the GZR, but coyly wrote psst don't tell anyone.
I ordered and installed a white PHZ in my '82 Fender Precision and couldn't be happier.
I ordered and installed a white PHZ in my '82 Fender Precision and couldn't be happier.
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It certainly fits what seems to be their pattern, which is to design a "signature" pickup set that is the same thing as an existing pickup but with different cosmetics - like the Frank Bello set which is a PCSX/LJAX in red cases, or the new Robert Trujillo set which are plain old EMG J's in shiny cases. Or sometimes it's not even different cosmetics, it's literally the same thing as the normal models but sold in a different configuration, i.e. the Dave Ellifson set is literally just a DC and a CS paired together.
Is it possible the difference between Geezer and PHZ is one is poles and the other is a blade?
EMG states both are alnico magnets, and the instructions do indeed have exact measurements.
Unscientific test, but I just moved a screw over a set of EMG P (active), and it seems the magnetic field was a line, as opposed to definitive points which you get with poles.
EMG states both are alnico magnets, and the instructions do indeed have exact measurements.
Unscientific test, but I just moved a screw over a set of EMG P (active), and it seems the magnetic field was a line, as opposed to definitive points which you get with poles.
Does it make a sound through the amp when you tap a screwdriver between the poles?
Yes. Sound is consistent from (close to) one edge to (close to) the other - the size I expect a blade to be under there.
Changing from rod magnets to a blade and ending up with the exact same specs would be like taking a race car and swapping to a totally different kind of engine - but ending up with the exact same weight, torque, horsepower, and quarter mile time. Sure, it's possible that it could happen, but it's not very likely - and it would probably be considered a failure if it did happen coincidentally.
A pickup built with rod magnets and a solid (no holes) plastic cover will give a consistent response from edge to edge when tapping on it with a screwdriver. I don't think that's a reliable test to determine if there's a blade in there.
A pickup built with rod magnets and a solid (no holes) plastic cover will give a consistent response from edge to edge when tapping on it with a screwdriver. I don't think that's a reliable test to determine if there's a blade in there.
I've read the same thing from a guy that picked the late Bill Lawrence brain on pickup construction. Ceramic designs are more directional, while a row of alnico slugs were omnidirectional, functioning pretty much like a blade. That's why he could offer the identical PJ set for 4,5 and 6-strings.
I just realized the instructions file from EMG is named phz_instructions_non_exposed_poles_0230-0266_rf.pdf.
EMG responded to my email and said they are essentially the same pickup other than the covered vs exposed pole pieces, and the only potential difference in tone would be if you inadvertently set the GZR version closer to the strings (since the exposed poles means the "guts" of the pickup are relatively higher up).
