I actually think the Fender pickups sounded much nicer. Lovely warm full tone that felt organic but much of that will probably be lost in a mix anyway as opposed to the EMGs which have a better top end
I bought a new Classic Vibe 70's Precision Bass this year, and modified with Fender Pure Vintage 64 precision bass pickup and Flatwound strings. It's my favourite Bass at this point in time. 💕💕🎵🎵🎸🎸🙂
The EMG are like a boost because more output and that drives any kind of dirt your going into harder. I like them! If your into distorted tones the GZR are pretty hard to beat.
This video is what sold me on not only a p bass but also these pickups. As a recording/live bassist I’ve been more on the humbucker side but the tone and clarity that comes from these is awesome.
I had the Fender "Original" pickup in my P-bass too, and I didn't like it all. Swapped it out for the GZR and now it's the best sounding P-bass I've ever heard. Don't be scared off if you don't play metal, or heavy rock, folks... this pickup can do it all. You just have to use that thing called a "tone knob"... You know, that knob near the jack that you usually turn all the way up and forget about?
I feel like the EMGs are best for distortion due to the high end content, but for DI/clean tones, the fender sounds much better to me. That low mid content helps it fit just right in the mix- especially if you’re not emphasizing the treble frequencies with the bass.
Hi Johnny, I have the same pickups in my Mexican Fender Pbass. They sound awesome. Thats a really great song you played at the end of the video. Excellent job !!!! Cheers from Canada 🤘🤘🤘🤘
The difference between the two pickups are night and day. I like the fender for what it is, but the emg just has more balls. Sounds GREAT when overdriven
Have you maintained the distance between the strings and pole pieces in both examples? It sounds like the Geezer has a much quieter output when DI'd. To me this is a massively overlooked factor in terms of tone!
To me and my untrained ear, I think I like the Fender better. The EMG's sounded a bit more damped and lacked bottom end? ...and 9/10 times on these comparison things I can't hear even the slightest difference!
I bought a beat up samick bass for$60 on ebay it had their version of active pickups which I just really didn't like so I gutted it and put tbe EMG GZR p/j set in it passive and sounds HUGE now the Geezer butler Pbass pickup in particular sounds like the greatest Pbass tone you ever heard, the J sounds "good" but really shines blended with the P. the only problem I had was the mounting the old screws were stripped and the P is reversed rout so the bottom coil is closer to the neck, and it was slightly wider rout so I re-position the mounting screws.
They really are awesome 👌 Shame about the screw holes, I guess they're configured based on standard Fender specs? Glad to hear they're working out for you! 😁
Have had good luck with Wilde/Bill Lawrence P46 pickups. Super quiet and sound great. And quite a bargain at $70. I tried quite a few pickups from custom winders and the P46 will stay in my bass now.
Excellent demonstration. Been wondering about these pickups because they are solder free and I have an old Squier that plays great but the pickup is the only weak spot. I like some oomph but not keen on pickups that are just too hot. Thought the sounds when you played slap were really deep and funky, which was a surprise given that I expected a classic rock/metal focus with little variety.
I commented on the video where you switched to the Fender pickups and I want to add to it. The tone control works incredibly well on these pickups where it shapes the tone rather than shrouding the pickups in a wet blanket. Very nicely done.
I have the Geezer pickup in my Classic 50’s P bass and rate it highly. On your bass I think the Fender sounds better in this video. It sounds louder and deeper. I therefore think you may have the pup halves set too low on the EMG. Raise them to the point where they are 1/8” above the poles when holding the string down at the last fret. They sound too thin and quiet and that is not quite right in my opinion.
Cool tune at the end of the vid! Got an old Japanese P that I’m looking to modify a bit. Been thinking about swapping out the old pups. I like the grittier deep tones as well. This has helped!
How would you rate them against the HB Roswell single coil jazz pup that blew you away. I bought the 4 string blue/ebony model and have to agree. I was never a great fan of the neck pup solo but it is a revelation.
Is it worth getting the PJ version and wiring harness for the Ibanez TMB-100 too but with an active set-up as the TMB is an active bass already? Either way this was another great review.
Thanks Sam! Could do, I'm not a fan of the active preamp on the TMB 100 so would probably take it out and run it all passive! I think I'll get some different pickups for that one though, just so I can have a variety of SICK TONEZ 😁
@@JonnyDibble I was suggesting replacing the preamp too for an EMG one (isn't active stuff what EMG made their name making?). Someone mentioned G&L below which could be a tasty upgrade for the TMB, I've heard they make some pretty hot pick-ups. :)
@@samuel_excels ah sorry mate I misread! Yeah active is their bag, going to research some options. Thinking of doing a complete mod transformation on that TMB 😁
I tend to play in Drop D or standard tuning. I use 105-45s for this. For C standard, I'd recommend 120 guage for a tighter feel and 110 for a looser feel. What strings are you using? If not already, check put some stainless steel strings. They tend to be a bit brighter!
I have found that I only really like these pickups with flats. I can't really put my finger on what I don't like about them when I have rounds on but it just doesn't do it for me.
My '71' precison stays in tune forever, tune it once and I'm good for the rest of the session. I've been playing for 52 years and never needed any pedals, or a 5 string or a fretless. My bass has only one pick up, a volume and tone that's all I've ever needed and prefer an amp with the fewest knobs. I never had any reason to learn slap (let's be honest how many hit songs require slap bass, that's just for showing off at Guitar Center) and got my pick tone by using my finger nail. All this is just my opinion of course, I've never had anybody tell me I had a boring sound, in fact I've had recording engineers tell me they loved the tone I was getting. I have 7 basses (also a few pedals collecting dust) and after all these years while playing the other ones I have always tried to replicate my precision sound with them. I've learned one thing over the years, it's the player not the equipt, that's just my opinion. I'm sure this post will get a lot of hate directed at me, I don't care, there are a lot of insecure bassists who think if only I had........ Not to mention dead batteries and bad connecting cords you get when using pedals.
John Entwhistle, Roger Glover, James Jamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn and even Geezer Butler got their sound with stock precision pick ups, If you play in a Black Sabbath tribute band go for it, guaranteed no one in the band or audience will notice. One thing bass players should remember that they are just the bass player and what songs you play will be depend on the guitarist and the singer, preferably they are one and the same and hopefully you share the same taste in music if not suck it up or find someone else to play with. When I was younger I was a big fan of Derek and the Dominos but couldn't find anyone who knew their songs and wanted to play them till last summer..... been a few years huh? Carl Radle played a precision through an Acoustic which I have, a good clean sound which I can also get through my Sunn amps. Got an Ampeg too, really doesn't matter, the best amps are the one already there and I don't have to cart one of mine over.
@@JonnyDibble Jonny, is there any chance of squier releasing a left handed Paranormal '54? Been looking out for one of their 54 single pickup CVs for ages but they don't seem to exist. Looked at the Harvey Benton, but the bad workmanship is just hidden. Even though of buying a warmoth!
@@engineer6250 they said it was a limited run, so I doubt it unfortunately 😔 All the Harley Bentons I've had have been great tbf, for the money at least!
I'm currently trying to get that really distorted bass sound from queens of the stone ages first album so I don't know if i should use flatwounds for roundwound strings, what do you think I should use?
These EMG are great. But i didn't like your reviews with Line6 and Ampeg Sim... Too much frequencies are gone away... Prefer DI spunds for reviews. Just my opinion, but of course, your Channel remains cool 👍🙃 Just kills versatlity
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