The EMG's sound beefier than the stock pickups, BUT the stock pickups have that unmistakable single coil singing tone. I actually like the stock more than the EMG for that bridge soloed tone application. For a full fat tone I would use the EMGs like when playing straight ahead jazz numbers or specific pop tunes. I would actually take these EMG pickups and put them on the FRETTED version of this Harley Benton jazz bass instead.
Sounds great! I also love the fact that those HBs come at standard Fender sizes so modding is very easy, especially with pre-wired EMGs! Thumbs up for the video and to HB for such a vfm instrument!
I love how the Lobster always laughs after He plays really cool bass lines ........ it's like He gets a kick out of His own AMAAZZZZZIIIINGGG TALENT.....Thanks Lobster your da man on a serious note ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Always Helpful and Knowledgeable in the products and the mods.......peace my friend you are blessed...........thank you
I have the same bass. Bought it during the height of the Global Pandemic and got it shipped from Germany to Tennessee in 4 days, even with a UPS strike in England. The very first thing I did was replace the nut with bone and replace the bridge with a Hipshot Kickass. I think I will also replace those stock Roswells with EMGs.
Very nice!! I would totally buy that bass!! The EMG setup just put the icing on the cake!! Thanks for showing us the mod!! Great video as always lobster 🦞!!
The MG sounded good in that base. I really wish the Bardolini‘s would’ve worked as I feel that would be better for a friendless because of their warm natural sounds they produce. Great video.
Thanks Meyers! Yeah I was bummed about the barts. I installed them actually, and the 5 string set has the magnet split literally right where the D string is. So you have a great sounding EA and G, but nothing on the D. I ordered a 4 string set, but the bridge pickups are backordered to the moon! I had the EMG set laying around, and decided not to wait anymore haha
Ok. My verdict; The EMG’s sounds good. But I preferred the stock pickups more. The stocks, to me, has a more mmwwaahhh natural sound than the EMG’s. If I had to change the pickups I would put the Nordstrand J-Blade pickups and leave it “passive.” (They sound that good!) But right out the box, the bass sounds great as is. EMG’s do sound great; but more for fretted basses; not Fretless.😕🎶👍🏾
I like the EMGs, but the Roswell pickups have a better tone for fretless, if you want to keep EMG pickups in I would recommend switching to the JAX pickups or any of the JV models (minus the hz). I honestly think that if you could’ve done the barts, it would’ve been a much better comparison
Cool 🦞! Have had 1 of those JB40FL basses for awhile now and love it! The solderless EMG kits are great! I used a Geezer set on an old GTR 70 and it turned it into a monster!
Your original review made me buy this bass and it is totally awesome. Yes, it is a lead brick, but it has an awesome tone. You can get that super bright Jaco tone as well as that fretless mwah.
EMG hz is the way to go passive or active. You just can't go wrong this way. I have a custom bass with Bartolini's and soon as I fired it up the first thing that came to mind was that I should have went with EMG pickups. Harmonics and bass is just better with EMG.
Sounds pretty good, but call me weird, I kinda like the stock pickups better. Think I'm gonna get one of these basses next time I place an order from Thomann, and leave the stock pickups, but throw in an Audere Preamp and see what that sounds like.
Great work Lobster.I have one of these basses.Now,if could just think of a mod to relieve the overall weight of this badboy by about half a ton,that would be great.Grea vid BTW.
Thanks a lot for this video!!! I have some black nylon strings on this bass which of course offer no ground connection via my hands. The EMGs were a cheap and easy fix for the noise problem. The installation, at least for this exact model is really makeable and truly solderless.
*My gosh; what a great upgrade! I thought the stocks sounded great but these were PERFECT. I'd love to hear the bass played with flatwounds however. I'll be purchasing one after the holidays and I'm definitely swapping the rounds for flats. Thank you for the upload, Lobster!*
I'm more of a passive guy Jazz-wise, if you're gonna do a passive build in the future I recommend using DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups, they sound crazy good imho, almost as good as those EMGs and you get that Jaco tone at the bridge with 25% of it.
I'we noticed that stock Rockwell pickups are, kind of, black and white, while EMG's are in full color. Congratulation to all of those who really can hear some noticeable and relevant difference in sound on RU-vid. Not to mention when price difference is considered.
Woooooow what a change , a very good Review, thanks ! But the HB , with there old pickups , fot that Price was Okay ! But the change made it Complete...
I would dread taking off the control plate every time to replace the battery I have a HB J 75 l love the sound of the Roswell pups! Heavy as you said w ash body
So looking forward to you review on the Ray Ross bridge. I have a 5 string and am very interested in your take on their product. Great review as always!
I have a different opinion on the EMG active jazz pickups. There have been a few players that I have known that swapped out stock jazz pickups for those EMGs, and in every case the bass initially does sound better, it certainly has more low end or "oompf!" as you call it, the problem is in getting them to sound right in a live mix. There would be an abundance of low end but the bass would completely disappear in the mix, you could feel the bass, things would be shaking all around you but you couldn't make out what the bass player was playing. We'd have to really boost the mids and cut a lot of that low end power out to make it sit right. The EMG jazz pickups seem to sacrifice a good bit of the typical jazz bass character, which works really well in a mix, for the additional clarity and low end power. However, I do like all the other EMG pickup types, and that solderless installation with the dead quiet electronics is absolutely the bomb!
I own the same bass! He's really fine! Unfortunately a bit too heavy. But i have a Fender Bridge on it 😁 It's weird but I like the original pickups better! The sound is quieter and less direct. but to my ears the originals just sound warmer and not as harsh! Also, am I hearing weird Ghost Notes with the new ones? Do you actually have roundwound strings on it? You hear a lot of gripping noises! Good job anyway 👍
You initially planned to use Bartolonis. Which model would you choose, as they offer different JJ-Sets, 2 at least at Thomann? I use Bartolonis one 2 of my Basses and basically prefer them over EMGs, as EMGs sound a bit to clear/clean for my taste.
EMG X J pickups might have done a better job here. These still sound great however. Lollar also makes some great J pickups if you want single coil vintage style.
So, you don't have worry about ground shielding the control cavity because the pickups are powered by a battery??.......I also like Lollar pickups and really want to try out their Rail jazz bass pickup. These EMG's did make some improvement to the tone here,.....most EMG upgrades that I've ever heard didn't impress me.
@@LowEndLobster I'm thinking about using the same EMG model pickups in my Harley Benton '75 NA jazz bass. You should review one of those if you haven't already, Lobster.
I did the same "mistake" of replacing a (Squier VM 70s) Jazz bass pickup with SDs QPs, then those same EMGs... while both of them sound great too, they have their own color and character and I felt they took away a little bit of the traditional and nasal sound of a jazz bass...
@@ukaszm1375 the first Squier VM J basses had that Duncan Designed pickup.... however the second edition/batch had a fender designed one, pretty much the same thing :) I would say get the EMG's, but keep the original pickup handy cuz you might want to revert. In my opinon, the EMGs sound really good at full tone when playing hard/fast stuff.... but if you're looking for a vintage/mellow using rolled-off tone, you might want to get a Fender original...
@@ThugNerd Thank you very much for your answer! I really appreciate your opinion on this topic :) I am very happy with my VM Jazz Bass, I see the potential in it to be a really solid piece of bass thanks to, among other things, good sound, great comfort and ultra-low string action. So I was wondering if other pickups would make it even better. Thanks to you I know what to expect from EMGs :) You actually confirmed my belief that stock pickups are not bad at all. Nevertheless, if there is an opportunity to acquire EMGs, I will gladly test them, but at least without much pressure :) Thanks a lot again. Happy playing! :)
@@davidvitale9338 no. He sounds like he bonded with this bass and especially fretless. He does not sound wonderfull on all basses. But he sounds very good on this fretless.
I picked one of these up a couple weeks ago. Question , will the battery be easy enough to change with all the surrounding wires(as needed) for the EMG pickups? Just trying to decide if it's worth pulling the trigger on there pickups.
I am guessing those pick ups had the preamp IN each pick up? Most active basses usually utilise passive pick ups & have an ACTIVE tone circuit! Sounds ok, a bit less mids, which is good for a single coil bass! On a SIDE note, I orderd 1 of those after market drop in/on Rick bridges for my HB RB-414! Found a local stockist here in Oz on Ebay! It should arrive tomorrow! Hopefully I can get a much BETTER playing action out of it, and determine IF other set up work needs doing like a fret level to get it really playable! Cheers Lob!
Thank you! Yes, you are correct. These are active pickups with an internal preamp/buffer in each pickup (non adjustable). Different from a set of passive pickups with an active EQ preamp. A heads up on that Ric bridge, you will need to drill new holes sadly - I was mistaken. It's very easy to line up though and you are right, the action will go MUCH lower with the new bridge. Happy modding!
@@LowEndLobster Cheers bud! NOT worried about drilling a couple of extra holes mate! As LONG as the bass becomes PLAYABLE, that's ALL that matters! (It's NOT like it's some 'heirloom' Rick or Gibson bass from the golden era 1950s now IS it? LOL! ) I WILL let you know how I get on with it on a future vid of yours! ALSO, I could NOT justify the expense of a Hipshot Ric bridge, which are well over $300+, for a $300 odd bass!
Great question! Yes, it's the same size and can be swapped out for any other Fender style control plate or preamp (as long as it takes the battery in the cavity)
@@LowEndLobster nice gives options. I just put some Rotosound 88 Nylon Flatwound on my JB-40FL to see what its like. the only thing i noticed it is a little noisy even if i turn both pickups up. and the nylon prevents me from earthing by toughing the strings. oh well first world problems, keep up the good work!
I’d love to know how you get a decent sound like that. I’ve done the mod today and I don’t like either my stock or mod’d sound. Running through a Markbass head and Barefaced cab so it should be OK. Love your bridge pup sound but mine is horrible. Very disappointed.
What is the price including shipping as it comes from across the pond(Harley Benton is the house brand for Thomann- Germany). So 5 out of 5 great but ultimate cost is the final weight. Have you made it to Reverb or CME yet?
Shipping varies. I purchased this alongside other instruments, which cost 120 to ship 3. Haven't visited them yet but I hope to later this year after NAMM
@@LowEndLobster that's actually $30 less than I thought it would be for 1. So buying in bulk might be the way to go. You have had a great mix of price ranges thanks.
