EMG J-Bass

Active 9 V with no adjustable preamp.

I had those installed in a fretless Fender Jazz Bass i bouth bridge and neck. I changing the pickups for passive. EMG have no noise whatsoever, but they sound poor. I ran an experiment installing those in three different basses and the result was the same. No difference in sound no matter what wood the bass was made of. I would recommed it for poor quality basses. I don't think that using any strings other that roundwoud nickel with EMG could result in good sound. They do sound good for slap. They're not so good for fretless and are really bad for direct recording.

The sound of EMG J is somewhat muffled. I dont mean the isn't any treble. There's shedloads. It's just that you get the feeling that you're playing a midi equipped bass; the response is somehow slow. It sounds great with pick. If you play punk, rock, metal or funk then you will love them. If on the other had you're into jazz, blues, classical you will be disappointed. No matter wheather you put them them in a vintage 5 grand bass or nail them to concrete these PU always sound the same.
Some might like it, I DON'T.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs: www.emginc.com

Model of guitar or bass: Warwick Fortress One 5string
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Passive Warwick/MEC pickups
Other pickups on guitar: -
Artists using this pickup: so many...
You musical style(s): Death metal, progressive
Reason for pickup change: Needed a better tone.

Perceived output level: High output, a little lower than the EMG-P in my other bass.
Tone: Deep, warm lows, crispy highs (sometimes even too much), good mids.
Sonic evaluation: The J-set is in my Warwick, with vol/bal/tone pots. When using an EMG balance pot use 50k for volume! I play through a Trace Elliot V-Type preamp sending it's DI to the mixing desk.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It's suitable for every style, I think. Slappers and tapping fans will love the high end.

Comments: I've found a really great sound with EMG's (also use a single P in a fretless, and a P5J set). It's clean, punchy and noiseless! My Warwick is sounding much better than with stock pickups. Now I will try to mate my EMGs with Aguilar OBP1 preamps.

Ps Sorry for the bad English...

Pickup features: Single Coil, Active
Impedence or other specs: eerrr......

Model of guitar or bass: Mexican Fender Jazz Bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Victor Wooten, Yosihiro Naruse, Les Claypool
You musical style(s): Jazz, Pop, Rock, Alternative, Metal (Alternative Mostly)
Reason for pickup change: Stocks are too noisy, weak tone

Perceived output level: Out put is slightly more louder than stock pickups
Tone: Punchy low mid and high mid, decent treble. I add EMG BTS EQ preamp, with full turn on bass knob I got a very nice warm bass and lowmid.
Sonic evaluation: Using mexican Fender J bass thru Peavy T-Max head and 4x10Peavy cabinet. I set the tube/ss knob in the middle, to add slightly warm sound. EQ setting Bass 6, Mid 3.5, Treble 5. Very good slap tone. I got compliments from fellow musicians in my campus for the tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play alternative and jazz mostly, I Slap alot

Comments: I would buy it again if it was destroyed or stolen. I've been playing for 11 years and I own Custom made Summer 5 string with EMG CS pickup. I love almost everything on this pickups, but I demand more bassy. but it can be solved by the EMG BTS. I have compare to Basslines pickups which I think they are too bright and punchy, fender pickups which I think they are to noisy, Bartolini which I think they are too weak and warm. So EMG is everything in between those other pickups brands ^^,

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Satndard American Ffender Jazz Bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Alternative
Reason for pickup change: The stock Fender pickups left much to be desired. Output was poor and the guitar fell flat on the bottom end.

Perceived output level: Punchy mids, great increase in bottom end and output. very quiet.
Tone: Good balance. Much more versatle tone than a passive pick-up
Sonic evaluation: I use a Fender J-Bass with an Ampeg SVT Pro 3 and an 8X10 enclosure. Prior to installing the EMG's I had to use the low end boost feature on the amp. This is no longer required. These pick-ups still fall a little short of my Ibanez bass with an active EQ, however, I suspect the EMG active EQ in combination with the pick-ups would push it over the top. Maybe later.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Alternative rock. Not always heavy though.

Comments: I would go with the EMG's again. These were the second set of pick-up's I tried. THe first were the Seymour Duncan Basslines Quarter Pounders. Their output was right there with the EMG's and and they had much more bottom end than stock. Unfortunately, they are sort of one dimensional. If you back the volume off on either pick-up, the single coil hum starts up. Too bad, since the Seymours cost about half as much, $90 for the set at Guitar Center.
I have been playing, on and off, for about 16 years now, however I recently made the switch from guitar to bass.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: Ummm

Model of guitar or bass: Mexican Fender Jazz Bass 4-String
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Les Claypool, probably many others
You musical style(s): Funky-alt-folk-abilly
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were noisy and a bit quiet. Very dull sounding with no dynamics. Terrible sound.

Perceived output level: Hot output, if you have pick-ups turned up all the way, you can slap bass with a feather....
Tone: Balanced, but there is an increadable ammount of control. If you have a good EQ on your amp your set...
Sonic evaluation: Use a Fender Jazz Bass (2000) Mexican. With these pickups, my 600.00CND bass sounds like a 2000.00 MUsicman, or something of high quality. My bass plays well and feels nice...so hell, why spend the money on a 2000.00 bass. THe pickups are VERY HOT and took a bit getting used to, I am actually still getting used to. Once you switch from Passive to these active pickups, you'll have to reevaluate how you set up your amp....Takes a bit of tweeking, but overall worth it.
If for nothing else, I have been getting for compliments on my live tone these days from other local Halifax Bass players. I use a Trace Elliot with a 7 band eq, sounds great, with a little compression, your notes will sustain FOREVER...Its really amazing.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Play many styles, mostly a mix between Sarah Harmer, Portishead and Pink Floyd......If you can imagine that....Pickups are very versatile and are so dynamic..I wouldn't go back to passive.

Comments: Great pickups, if you can buy them used for the price I did its a steal..100 bucks canadian is like 50 USD...WHich is a steal. If you have an inexpensive bass and would like to make it sound like a expensive bass, buy these...BUT, I would make sure you have a good amp that is capable of handling the large dynamic range of the pickups or your sound will not be ass impresive as you may wish. It does take some tweaking with EQ, tone, gain, bass volume for each pickup combinations, to get some really great sounds....But once you find the ones you like you'll be more than happy.

Pickup features: active
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 70's or 80's Cortez Jazz Bass copy
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Both
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Not Sure, I think the bass player from P.O.D. uses EMG though.
You musical style(s): Rock, Alternative, Praise and worship.
Reason for pickup change: I bought the bass at a pawn shop for $40 because it was in
decent shape but the original pick-ups did not work.

Perceived output level: Much more sound than even American made Fenders, they really hit
Tone: Balanced, I find that I can tune in whatever sound I desire, very versitile.
Sonic evaluation: For being a cheaper model guitar the sound I can produce is amazing.
I play it through both my GK head and Acoustic 4X12 and my Peavey TKO 65 and it performs better than my Gibson Victory Bass. It can dial in many sounds for many different styles. There is zero hum. It compares to top dollar basses.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The sound that it produces can be matched to almost any style.

Comments: When I first wanted to fix this bass I thought about purchasing Seymor-Duncans but the EMG's were much cheaper in price. The installation was easy to understand. I would definately purchase a product from EMG in the future. They are rock solid, all the componants are built well. I could not want anything more.

Pickup features: Active single coil
Impedence or other specs: Output impedance is 2 Kohm

Model of guitar or bass: 1983 Fretless Jazz Bass , 1988 Guild 5 string Pilot Bass
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Bridge and Neck
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock with jazz / Prog feel with a little funk for spice
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a more Hi Fi sound from my Jazz Bass. I have a second vintage J Bass , which is stock , but I couldn't stand the single coil 60 cycle hum on my fretless , which I
gig with . (The stock one stays home )

Perceived output level: More output than the stock pickups .
Tone: Balanced Hi Fi sound . Glassy Highs , Tight bottom . Clean Mids.
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: A little thin when the Bridge PU is solo , I always leave at least 15% Neck PU to get a fuller sound

Comments:

Pickup features: Active
Impedence or other specs: Low impedance?

Model of guitar or bass: 1981 Fender US Jazz bass
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Both
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Les Claypool?
You musical style(s): Mostly rock
Reason for pickup change: Didn't have a choice -- the pickups were already installed on the bass when I bought it.

Perceived output level: Significantly hotter than the pickups on my former 1999 Mexican Precision bass.
Tone: Anywhere from thundering bass to twangy treble depending on playing style. Very forgiving.
Sonic evaluation: A Sunn beta bass head with a homemade 18" cab, usually in combination with direct input into a mixer with two JBL Eon 15" speakers. The amp isn't great by any standard, but plugged into the mixer or directly into recording equipment, these pickups really shine. The tone control goes from a really mellow, full bass to a thick 'n' twangy funk tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mostly rock, and it fits the bill perfectly. The only sound I haven't gotten out of it is a Rickenbacker bass tone (such as in Yes's "Roundabout".)

Comments: I would most definitely buy a set of these pickups again! I never took bass lessons and these have been much more flexible and forgiving than the pickups on my old P-bass, which I traded for the US-made J-bass that had these pickups. The only thing I wish it did was that classic clavinet-like Rickenbacker bass sound, but the only way to truly get that tone is to have a Rick... oh well.

Pickup features: Active. Direct replacement.
Impedence or other specs: Low impedence

Model of guitar or bass: Fernandes Retrospective 5-string
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: both factory piuckups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): many
Reason for pickup change: The factory pickups on this bass were the worst I have ever had. I bought this bass online. I wouldn't have bought it if I would have heard it first.

Perceived output level: Moderate output. These pickups are not as hot as the factory actives in my Washburn bass.
Tone: Very balanced, ultra clean tone.
Sonic evaluation: These pickups took this bass from zero to hero. I worked the setup on this bass until it was perfect put the thing still sounded VERY whimpy. The EMGs brought the sound level up to a 9 out of 10. I use a Laney bass amp and these pickups sound killer on the slap. They have great sustain. They improved the sustain of the b-string 10 fold.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Praise and Worship music pretty much hits the entire spectrum of styles. Jazz, county, whatever. These pickups handle it.

Comments: I have bought several sets of EMGs. They have all performed wonderfully. These pickups saved this instrument. It went from a bass that I was going to try to sell one of my favorite instruments ever.

Pickup features: Single Coil and Active
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1996 US Fender Jazz Bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock US Vintage Bridge & Neck Pickups
Other pickups on guitar: NA
Artists using this pickup: NA
You musical style(s): Alternative, Rock and Jazz
Reason for pickup change: Wanted active pickup for brilliance, clarity and increased output. Also, I wanted to eliminate the single coil hum.

Perceived output level: Output level was noticeably higher than stock. But not overpowering.
Tone: Nicely balanced. Increased range especially in bass response, good treble for slapping too.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a Eden Nemesis 200 watt combo with a 1X15 & 1X5 speaker.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play alternative, metal and jazz. It's honestly great for any bass application.

Comments: I would buy these pickups again without a second thought!!! I've been playing for about 10 years. I love the clarity and increased tonal range. I compared it to many other pickups and the people I talked to and my own experience led me back to this pickup over and over again. I've been so happy with the EMG J pickup that on my next Jazz Bass I'm going to try the EMG JV (active vintage) model.