Thank you Billy for all you've done for the progression of not only bass as an instrument and artform, but for bass hardware as well! Its totally awesome to see you on here! Thank you so much! BASS ON!
@@LowEndLobster Pretty cool that he reached out to you. I ordered the GZR P pickups today but now I've seen your video, I have to buy another P bass for the Dimarzios. 😂🤘
Thank you Cletus! I agree, DiMarzio is on FIRE right now. Unique designs with unique, killer, and very usable tones. The Relentless and SixtiesP are the yin and yang to the P bass pickup game IMO.
Lobster: everytime I hit that "like" button and watch your claw transform into a real hand before my eyes I rest well at night knowing I did my little part to help keep the show going. Team effort is the way to success! Lmao 🤣
The resonance peak of the DiMarzio is a lot stronger, brings out that "Billy Sheehan growl" without the need for his setup, where the EMG is flatter and warmer. Both very good sounds.
Samantha King it is metal. Great review by Lobster, and great analysis by you! I've got a Relentless in a Lakland 44-51 and a 44-64 GZ w/ the EMG. The Relentless is my favorite.
I am an old drummer of 72 that has had to give it up but decided to learn bass. I wanted a starter bass to learn on and bought the donner bass because of your review. I have a twin who played bass with me for years and he has a late 70 fender precision bought new. My donner is gust as good when compared to the build quality and playing of both. Thanks for doing these reviews and letting people like me hear and see the good andbad that is out there.
Love how that Dimarzio has the ears/nubs recessed to make resting your thumb on it easier, would definitely be getting it just from that feature alone.
Thanks Ren! Interesting that you mention that. I think comfort is something that's not on the forefront of most pickup manufacturers designs, but makes a big impact
Lobster thinks he has some licks. Cat says - "I'll show you some licks." I have a pair of SD Quarter Pounders in a semi hollow project of mine. The longer I've had them, the more they feel like they are lacking something. Not sure if I want to change the pickups, or add a preamp. The Geezer, and the Dimarzio are both sounding pretty nice!
I was literally contemplating/researching the EMG P vs the EMG P Geezer Butler pickups for my Bumblebee tribute, and what pops up!?!? My friendly neighborhood LowEndLobster review vid!!! Thanks Lobster! Sincerely, your local NERC Compliance savage.
The Geezer Butlers (PJ set) came stock on my Lakland 44-64 GZ and are the best passive pickups I've ever played. Those DiMarzio's sound killer as well!
I went with the EMGs Geezers on my old Mex P bass. Needed new pots anyway. So, they are tight and sound great thru my Markbass rig. 2-10- and a Nano head. Get a lot of compliments on the tone. Were very easy to install.
I just went through 3 different P pickups in 3 months trying to find "the one." I thought I had it.... then I see this video of the Relentless pickup. So nice! THAT was the tone I've been looking for. Gotta save more money!
@@PorchBass I'd been using Dean Markley cryogenic strings starting in the early to mid-90s, because I kept breaking the lowest two strings, and not only could they survive the brutality I apparently put bass strings through, they sounded GREAT! I still use them on my main active bass, but my 83 American P bass is now strung with Ernie Ball Cobalt, l was very surprised, shocked even, by the Cobalt strings, how they just seem to feel a little different under your fingers, how great they sound, and how long that great sound lasts.
@@Metalbass10000 cheers they sound good and I didn't know of them. Always up for trying new stuff I remember a trying groundwound and half round years ago
@@PorchBass Yes! As an instrument builder I'm always in search of new avenues to familiar tonal comfort zones. As someone who has been fascinated with metallurgy, from ancient to ultra-modern, how composition affects structures, how BOTH affect its properties and, "behavioral," characteristics, like the patterns of a given string's vibrations, which don't EFFECT the tone of that string, they ARE the tone of that string (I am NOT saying that the composition, and the microcrystalline lattice structure, are what create the tone of a string, I'm saying that the patterns of vibration of a string at a given note, and all of the harmonic series which are also ringing out when that string is played at that note, ARE what create that particular sound, and everything that affects those patterns can affect that sound, or tone, being generated by the vibrations of that string... Sorry, I do get to yammering at times). Once I entered the professional fields of machining, both manual and CNC, machining processes, manufacturing process engineering, I became even more fascinated. It was several years into this career path when I was introduced to the strings you mentioned, and I was blown away. From the time I was 4 years old and first heard Jaco Pastorius I was really fond of the sound of flatwound strings on a fretless bass. I learned much later in life that he used round wound strings on his fretless, but most people can't do that and sound good, and it also tends to be quite rough on the fretboard. Personally, I could never get comfortable playing flat wound strings whether on a fretless or fretted bass for whatever reason So, when a repeat customer, who has become one of my regular clients, and a good friend, asked me to build him a fretless bass, but he also did not like flat wound strings, and did not want to use flat wound strings on his bass, I wasn't sure what to do. That was when I was told of, at just the moment I needed an answer, the half ground strings. I looked into them, how they were made, how they were originally designed, and it was, for me, a huge gift, a blessing, and a problem solver. To my friend, my client, those strings were a revelation. In the next week, give or take a day or two, I will be beginning a 6-string bass build,, which he has expressed a lot of interest in buying, and I am planning on using the half ground strings for this build. I think they will pair extremely well with a mahogany body, a 6 bolt, bolt-on neck, using bolts and steel inserts in the neck,, not wood screws (not disparaging use of high quality screws in the neck joint, lots of high quality guitars and basses are built using them, I still use them on some builds when requested by the customer or client), a two-way, or double acting truss rod, possibly two carbon fiber rods, a multi-laminate neck made of beautifully figured Sugar (Rock) Maple, Wenge, possibly Padauk, and Mahogany (though I am considering Limba in place of the Mahogany, as I have an abundance of very nice, extremely straight-grained White, and Black Limba, generally preferring the White Limba for necks, and Black Limba for bodies, for structural considerations). I had considered a 36" scale, but I had several people, whose judgement and taste I do respect, all suggesting a 34" or 35" would appeal to a larger cross section of bass players in the 6 string marker. I'm not sure about choice of a book matched top for the body, I have many options (Quilted Maple, Spalted Maple, Spalted AND Quilted/Curly Maple, three very different examples of figured Redwood, an incredible Cocobolo billet my wife and I refer to as having Angel's wings, a selection of figured Claro Walnut, some being deeply figured while others have less intense figuring but are extraordinarily colorful, or a deeply Quilted Purpleheart, though that one is likely to be reserved for a build of an instrument to be auctioned off to raise funds for a charitable organization that assists combat veterans who have sustained injuries, but have received thoroughly inadequate care since returning home, especially those who have been prescribed large amounts of opiates, and have, no surprise, become addicted, or dependent upon, those damned opiates. I'm leaning towards a fret board of either Pale Moon Ebony or Gaboon Ebony. Stainless frets from Jescar, GraphTech TUSQ nut, either Hipshot or GraphTech tuners, bridge from Hipshot, or our own proprietary design bridge, an EMG BTC and a pair of EMG TW-45 pickups (though I may opt for a 45JX-CS for added tonal possibilities). Sorry for the verbosity.
God damn that DiMarzio is tight! I can hear certain tonal variations caused by different setups and probably different fretboards, but there's a LOT of quality coming from that pickup alone.
Great video! Loved both pickups, but that DiMarzio sounded badass! Please do a review with the DiMarzio Relentless neck pickup! It's much harder to find good reviews of it than of the P pickup. Also loved hearing the pick and would love to hear it more often on your channel. Pbass played with a pick is a classic combo.
I thought both were great! Both quite different in tone. The Dimarzio had a more aggressive tone great for fast pick..punk and the like. The Geezer sounded more classy and expensive to me and in the cheaper bass too. Both basses are punching above their weight! Great review!
I have the dimazio relentless paired with the big fat "model one". Mine does not sound quite as bright as yours tho. Now all you need to do is a few "how to solder", "equipment you need to have" and a "5 things I wished I knew when I modded my first bass" vids. I think a lot of people could benefit from it. Plus the more we are in the mad bassentist club the better. Stay safe my man
Awwww KITTEH !!!! These both sound great, Lobster. It's nice to know a $100 bass with minor mods can sound so good. I bet each bass has a total of less than $275 into them.
Dude, I put in a Relentless pickup in my frankenstein p-bass earlier this year. It sounds soooo good. They give you a crazy amount of wiring length though. Glad you like it, Billy Sheehan and Dimarzio knocked that one out of the park. I'd say it's the best rock and metal P pickup out there. The Geezer sounds great too! I'll keep that one in mind for future basses.
“We here at Donner music instruments and other stuff, would like to point out that we don’t have a “P bass thing”. The electric bass guitar musical instrument, that your Mr. Lobster is reviewing in this video, is the cleverly named DPB-501S. It also is not called the “PB420NJ-X2” tho it is a catchy name. We would also point out, “upgrading” the pickups immediately voids the warranty...sorry!” Hugs and kisses, TT (not a real Donner employee)
The clip for the ground connect is easy. Clip it down on one side to crimp the bridge ground, and if you need to release it, clip it down on the other side. Moves like a see saw
The DiMarzio is the clear winner to my ears. The wood/fingerboard combinations effect the tone, but the DiMarzio still gets it. I look forward to the "test bass" for pickups! By the way - have you checked out the Nordstrand Power Blade P pickup? Thanks Lobster!
Both sound good. And normally I am an EMG guy in my basses. I have a bass with the EMG p-j set in it and some others with different model EMG's but hats off to that Dimarzio pickup. It sounds really good and looks nice in that Tagima! Thumbs way up!👍
@@LowEndLobster With that said I actually have and Ibanez ATK300 coming this weekend. I was looking to try a something a little different and found a great deal on a 2006 model. I watched your video of the 810 and some others and figured why not. Thanks for bringing us these cool vids!
That DiMarzio sounds incredible...like REALLY incredible. But as a primary five-string player, I've always been frustrated with the lack of P-Basses and P-Bass related stuff, particularly as compared to the Jazz Bass world, which always has some sort of equivalent five-string offering. The GZR pickup has always blown me away, but again, no five-string offering. I ended up dropping a vintage wound Nordstrand in my American Standard V and it sounds great. Still, I wish EMG would offer a five-string GZR! :D
this channel is so underrated yet so good at reviewing and communicating with audience. please make an Instagram account and promote your channel, lobster!
Nice comparison, I decided to go with the EMG solderless pickups and they work a treat. True to form, the ground wire slipped out of the plastic holder thingy, I think that's the technical term, I just pushed it back in and it stayed in place. Who knew? Thanks for your most excellent work Lobster.
DiMarzio looks and sounds amazing. But bass pick ups should always be checked in a full band setting. I have the EMG and it doesnt sound outstanding on its own, but in a band, there is some big magic happening. Everyone I played with loved the sound. Plus I dont understand how EMGs solderless system is still not the standard on all electronics. so easy, simple and solid.
I’ve played Dimarzio P pickups before. The knock I have is that they are great for rock and nothing else. This Relentless pickup is truly beautiful and versatile! Looks like my Nate Mendel P-Bass is getting a modification......
Hey Lobster, great informative video as usual. Very curious about the Relentless pick-ups. Looking forward for more pick-up videos. I'm still planning to replace my pick-ups, not yet decided what.
Ive had my eyes on the geezer pickups for a while, but I was considering the pj configuration. I would also love to see more with the headless Ibanez and maybe some dingwall/nordstrand pickups!
the high output and spice......all following expectations..well done ....for me the big surprise with tone half down.........now that's fat without mud!! great !
Cool, thanks for this video. I'm familiar with the Geezer Butler PJ set. I installed the P bass pickup into a Squire and the owner, and his band were blown away by the tone, the punch, and the dynamics. Looking for a pickup to pair with the Geezer J bass pickup in an upcoming build. Suggestions, anyone? It's going into a neck through, 34-in scale, tiger stripe sugar maple, black walnut, and red heart multi laminate neck, Maple wings and a beautifully figured Claro Walnut top about a half inch thick. Likely using bird's eye sugar maple 24 fret and chest scarf jumbo stainless steel frets, hip shots Rickenbacker replacements bridge and hipshot tuners, draft tech black XL nuts. I was wanting to build a base with a lot of Rickenbacker qualities, but now I just want to build a really bad ass Bass,
I can already guess that, if you record both basses in a mix, the DiMarzio one will pop out much more. That would be an interesting experiment to make.
The Tagima with the Relentless sounded amazing. The GZR was a tad behind but still excellent. It is my pickup of choice mounted in my 50’s Classic P…..BUT the Relentless comes out top for me here.
Great video !! I dig both sets but the Relentless for me are what I dig . I'm going to really have to try a set at some point . Love the channel name too ! :)
Thank you! I am considering snagging another couple of sets for a double P bass that has undergone a bit of a transformation recently. We shall see! Thanks again for the kind words and welcome :)
Yess, I was waiting for the video with the GZR. 😉 I have to say both sound awesome to me! Couldn't choose one over the other. Luckily I don't have to, as my P bass is already equipped with a fine GZR. 😅
@@Doodlebug1996 The knobs can be removed by applying a little pressure, you will have to replace them though, the originals are not good for emg pots. The whole kit fits without any structural modification.
You should install that EB3 style Shehan Hbucker PUP in a cheap bass (routering). Billy runs that Pup to a separate bass amp (so a 1/4” out from each Pup)
Tagima its the First Bass that i have see in this Channel. Tagima is a Brazilian Brand and i'm Brazilian . If tou had the chance grab on of the Brazil hand made séries .they got brazillians wood that sound realy good and a little bit diferent from the normal
Thanks for that comparison. Both are excellent, of course, and are the two finalists for going into my Squier Mini P Bass. For me, it's the Relentless tone but...the Geezer doesn't need soldering so there's that. A solder-less Relentless? LOL.
Hi 🦞 for me I prefer the Billy Sheehan pickups. Will add these to the wish list for a P Bass project. Might keep passive or pair with the 2 band DG tone capsule .Nice one
Great video; it really shows how a good pickup can make all the difference in an inexpensive bass. I've been using Geezers ever since they hit the market. Super versatile pickup! I play a.ton of different styles: rock, early metal, country, Americana, blues, indie stuff, etc. The Geezer nails all of them. Classic P bass tone in spades. I liked the tone of the Relentless too, but to my ears it sounded more aggressive. Probably great for heavier styles than what I typically play. But I'm sure the Geezer could handle those, too.
Both pickup sets sound very snappy and very nice sounding I really love both pick ups if I was going for something to do with heavy-metal I would probably go with the Geezer Butler signature pickup set, but I still think that Billy Sheehan is an amazing musician and he always plays with amazing equipment and I think that these pick ups that he is playing with are amazing by DiMarzio, I like both sounds!! It’s a personal preference what people want in their instruments but I would go with the EMG these are because I play heavy-metal music and I think it’s got a more rounded more punchy tone for Rock and heavy metal music through a mix, thank you lobster 🦞!
Great video, thanks! I would look forward to more stuff like this, maybe even comparing/putting in context more budget pickup options and for different types of pickups. There really is not much around on the internet for pickup comparisons, not to the high standards that your videos have
I totally wasn't expecting that relatively affordable DiMarzio to sound so good! Considering the Tagima is a pretty affordable bass as well, I wouldn't be shy about routing that neck position so we can get a review on both the Billy Sheehan pickups. Can we make a budget Lobster Attitude 3 for 1/10th of the price?
That's a really good idea! I don't think I'll do it for this bass, but I that is something to try down the line! (I still need to get my router up and running and get proficient ;P)
Relentless indeed! Could you possibly review the Les Claypool gold Pachyderm P pickups in the near future, preferably a double P set up? Rodney McG did on his channel but only played the neck p/up for whatever reason...plus he's a metal guy, which is cool, but I like your thorough reviews and playing style. Just say yes, you know you want to! Hell, you probably have it planned for your test bass already. I want to build a double P in the near future...I shouldn't have sold my old Fender 2P(mod) back in the day...it had a thang that I miss. Btw, do you dip your elbow in melted butter? Mmmm, kittys like!
Now this goes to prove if the set up is done right and there are no issues that a cheap bass can sound great because the pick ups are really up to the job. Both these basses sound as good or better than any stock USA Fender for 1/10th the price. Hmmm ... I could own several great sounding instruments for less than 1 brand name. And there lies the fun in modding ...
Both pickups sound great! One thing though if I may ask :). If you demonstrate tones with a pick, could you please also play without palm muting? That would help a lot since most pick players don't really palm mute that often these days. Thank you for making these awesome videos!
Hey Mattiverse! Yes! Still getting comfortable with pick playing, and the video releases are a bit out of order (so you may see me be better in some videos and worse in some after ;P).
@@LowEndLobster No worries man, it's not bad to palm mute while playing with a pick and there is nothing bad about your playing :) It's just obviously a very different tone than not palm muted tone.
Two very different pickups. The dimarzio sounds crazy. Very hot fat and clear. Interestingly sounds a lot like something emg would do. Whereas the emg gzr is more vintage sounding with more clarity and sting.
Hey lobster, another quality video. Regarding the emg ground connector, I messed up first time, I managed to pop it back out using a Stanley blade! Hope that helps a little sir?........
To my ears both these pickups have a crispy unrefined sound that I avoid at all costs, but I can definitely see why people who want "in your face" tone like it. Especially the Relentless is super articulate, a lot like a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder.
Ya im going with the Dimarzio pick up this time, and I am loving the look of that bass as well. Well done sir! Any chance of the packaderm gold review? That's the one I want to see, buy, play, etc
@@LowEndLobster nice one man. I'm really like my P basses. I have 4. The more definition you can give them, the more versatile they are. Love what you're doing. Keep it up. If you ever want to review an Epiphone Accu P bass. Let me know.
Heyo! We'll have one very soon. Doing a DIY Fender Precision parts build (with all Fender parts minus the pickup which is that split dual-rail P like Adam Neely)! Will probably be up sometime in May :)
Both pickups sound great. 2 different sounds. Construction has a little something to do with it. I wish someone would make a bass where you can pop in different pickup brands on the fly. Dan armstrong had the right idea.
Thanks Rich! I actually have such a bass here, built by the one and only Nino Valenti. I'll be unveiling that soon, but it's a dedicated pickup tester bass routed for a lot of different combos