EMG Select P-Bass

This is a passive split style P- bass pickup. It does not have exposed pole pieces, which was the main reason I wanted it.

I installed this pickup on a Peavey Milestone II. The main reason I changed was that I was occasionally digging in hard enough to hit the strings against the pole pieces on the stock pickup, and the EMG doesn't have exposed pole pieces. Since this is a cheap bass, I could see spending $24.00 for the EMG, but not $100.00 for a Bartolini!

I didn't notice much difference in output or tone compared to the stock pickup, which I was generally happy with. Adjusting the pickup height yielded good string to string balance, and rolling off the tone control for slow blues tunes produced good results. This pickup seemed well suited for blues, classic rock, and R&B. It would be a reasonable upgrade for inexpensive instruments.

My only real complaint is that this pickup is advertised as being microphonic-free, which it certainly is not. Tapping on the pickup with my fingertip produces a very clear and audible sound, which is just slightly less annoying that the string-to-pole piece clicking I had with the stock pickup.

Since I have only $60.00 invested in the bass and $24.00 invested in the pickup, If it was stolen I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. On the other hand, if I could replace it for the same price, I would.

An inexpensive P-Bass replacement pick-up sold by the good folks at Stewart McDonald.

This pick-up replaced the "noise-maker" on a lefty Fullerton P-Bass purchased on close-out
from Music 123 for $49.00. I also replaced the potentiometers with CTS pots, as the original
pots acted more like on/off switches. Its my favorite bass now, as it is 3 lbs. lighter than my Fender P-Bass and sounds really good.

Sounds like a pro bass now, better than my P-bass. Much more even response string to string with clarity of tone.

I'd be hard pressed to replace the bass as they're no longer made, but the pick-ups are still available from Stew-Mac. Been playing bass for six years. I own a lefty P-Bass and
three bass amps (Kustom, Peavey and Crate). I compared it to other replacement pick-ups but this one was the cheapest, and I figured if Stew-Mac was selling them they were probably pretty good. I was right. A big improvement in sound. The other pick-ups that were available were about three times the price of this EMG. I'd suspect these EMG's are as good if not better than many replacement pick-ups.

Simple P-bass style split single coil passive pickup. Pretty basic really.

Installed on a second hand Squire P-Bass

Only one position for this pickup in a P-Bass, the neck!

No other pickups installed on the bass.

I don't think anyone plays professional on EMG select pickups, so no artists.

I wanted to replace the (pathetic) standard pickup in my backup bass, a Squire P-Bass. I also removed the volume and tone controls and wired the pickup strait to the bass's out-jack. This pickup instantly transformed the bass into something worth paying!

Before I start talking about the points of this pickup, heres a little story. I was playing a gig at the Camden Underworld (a very good venue in London) using my Schecter C-5 bass (with EMG-HZ pickups). For the last song I switched to the backup bass (with the Select P-Bass pickup fitted) and played through as always. After the show the one comment I kept getting was "that was great, but we could only realy hear you after you changed to that other bass". Basically a ??50 quire bass with a cheap pickup wired strait to the out-jack outperformed a ??600 bass with real (passive) EMG's with on-baord EQ circuitry. For that reason I upgraded by Schecter's pickups. This goes to show how good this little pickup is!

This pickup has balls! The output is really high.

Tone is pretty balanced, though allot more treble than the famous Fender P-Bass sound. However, EMG products aren't known for their subtlety.

I play bass in London based industrial outfit I Am No One (www.iamnoone.co.uk). Its pretty much full on high attack riffs with great precision. I like to add some punk passion to the music, so you can imagine what the sound is like. This pickup fits it pretty perfectly.

This pickup is only ??20, thats 1/3 of the price of a fully blown Seymour Duncan passive P-bass pickup. Ok, it isnt as good as a Seymour Duncan, but for fitting out a crappy squire bass, or a DIY project its great. I have a tendancy of throwing this bass around the stage allot at the end of gigs, so the bass takes alot of damage. This pickup is high enough quality to perform, but not expensive enough so make me cry is I smashed it. I would definitly buy again (but not for my main bass).

I have been playing for years, hear me at www.iamnoone.co.uk. My main rig is a Schecter C-5 bass with (real, not select) EMG pickups. This goes into a space ship of effects to shape my tone, and finaly into an Ashdown Mag-300 amp.

I chose EMG select as I just love EMG pickups, and this is designed by them, so we can expect good value for money. I read around a few reviews, but mainly got this because its EMG designed and cheap.

This pickup has everything I would want from it.

I am very satisfied with this pickup. As I said before, I would never use a Select pickup for my main guitar or bass, but it is just fine or a spare bass that is in danger of meeting its maker at the end of the next show.

Read my comment in the sound section. If your thinking about this pickup as a main pickup, don't, go and invest in a Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounder, or an EMG P-Bass pickup. If you want to upgrade a shitty squire bass to be your second on stage, don't think about it, just do it.

I have given a rating of 8 for this pickup as its not the best by any reach, but it is amazing value for money!

Pickup features: Passive Blade style
Impedence or other specs: 8.1 Ohm

Model of guitar or bass: Squire P bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock Squier
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: I did enjoy the classic P tone the stock pickups had, but
the noise from them was too much.Weak on the A string,each string had its own different volume.

Perceived output level: nearly the same output
Tone: Clear, warm and very balanced
Sonic evaluation: Using a modified Squier P bass, Gotoh 201 bridge,Tusque nut, into a Vox T-60. My tone knob on the bass
actually does change the tone now! String balance is much improved.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: All different styles. this pickup is probably good for all styles as well.

Comments: I'm quite happy with the emg selects. They are so nice and quiet.
I've heard people describe emg's as sterile sounding? These won't nail the classic p tone. These are warmer and more full sounding.
There's alot more tone options with the selects. The string balance and the quietness of these are making me keep them. I'm going to put the Emg select jazz in a mexi fender. Definately worth the price

Pickup features: Passive P bass
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: SX Fretless Precison
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Many/varied
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were weak; wanted to practice my soldering skills (seriously).

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock, which isn't saying much, but these have a roundness and fullness that belie the price paid.
Tone: Pretty balanced; maybe a little bright, but it's all relative. The stock pup was simply anemic; this is comparatively rich.
Sonic evaluation: I use this fretless bass for my home project studio. I had to constantly "effect" my bass tracks just to get it in the mix with the stock pickup, which meant compressing it and the attendant hum that went along with it. WIth these EMG Koreans, I can run a straight-to-the-board signal and get plenty of punch. Someone else said it elsewhere herein: if you hav e cheap bass like mine, get these pickups and improve it 100% at a MINIMAL cost.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm no expert player, and I didn't want to spend a lot. These EMGs gave my fretless a needed "push."

Comments: I think I covered it already, but face it: if you were looking at a high-end upgrade for your high-end bass, you wouldn't be reading this. If, however, you bought an SX, Agile, Epiphone, Squier, or (shudder) Rogue bass on eBay and you want to make it sound at least passable, this is your ticket. It cost 25 bucks, for god's sake, was an absolute no-brainer to install (although the screws were a little short for the deep pickup route and the screw holes didn't quite line up with old ones--neither of which was more than a five-second fix [drill new pilot holes; use the original, longer screws], and has immeasurably improved the sound of an already passable instrument. Apologies to all you "serious" bass players, but the goal here is to provide some bottom end to my demo cds -- who really listens to the bass parts, anyway? This was good soldering practice.

Pickup features: Passive, split-coil for Precision-style bass
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Profile (Korean-made Fender Precision Bass copy)
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Soft and hard rock, rockabillly, blues.. I use finger-style to get the sound
Reason for pickup change: Stock pick-ups were crap and I wanted something better

Perceived output level: This pick-up has decent power.. no complaints. But, hey, if I want volume, there's a knob for that on my amp, right?
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: I am using this bass and with a Crate BX-100 amp (100 watts). The bass and amp seem to get along quite well. The amp has a good EQ system on it, so I can dial in any sound I like, from a trebbly punk sound to a muddy jazz sound. The pick-up does its job (which, really, is quite limited in its intended scope) in that it gets a strong signal to the amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: I love this pick-up and would recommend it to anyone. I think you have to be careful with pick-ups and not be bamboozled by all the hype. Remember, all this thing has to do is carry the signal from the vibrating strings to the amp. This pick-up cost me $24US and does exactly what it's supposed to. Why pay $100 for active electronics, or flashily-advertised electronics, etc? That's why we have amps, right? If you want to boost the volume or a particular band (make it more bassy or trebbly, etc) use the damn knobs on the amp and save your coin.
This pick-up seems to be very well designed. It's well potted, shielded, and sealed. I have no issues with regards to humming, etc. The wires coming out of it look like they're sealed very well too. You could probably drop this thing in water and it'll be fine (but don't try it based on this statement.... I take no responsibility for fried electronics or people).
EMG makes more expensive pick-ups, and who knows, maybe they're better. I dunno. I've never used them. What I do know is the Select does what it's supposed to, and does it well, so I personally, wouldn't spend any more on a pick-up. The price is probably also influenced by the fact that it is assembled in Korea. And that's fine. Lots of good product comes out from Korea, and I wouldn't want to pay four times as much for the same product with a label that says "Made in USA." The Select was designed by the folks at EMG anyways, so I'm sure it is up to snuff.

Pickup features: passive p bass pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Johnson P-bass copy
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: hopefully none
You musical style(s): Just about everything
Reason for pickup change: Stock johnson pickups were microphonic, and did not use shielded wiring. Also, one wire coming from the stock pickup was severed (purchased NEW from johnson) and simply taped together.

Perceived output level: output level was pretty standard, which means it was a lot higher than the stock johnson pickups
Tone: the tone is really nice and even. decent lows, mids, and highs
Sonic evaluation: im using the johnson p bass copy and a kustom kba 100x bass combo amp. havent had these pickups for very long, but for 25 dollars, you cant beat them. they sound nice, much more than i would have expected for the price.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: the low quality of my bass in general prevents me from using this in a band, but for practice or jamming, it's just fine.

Comments: for 25 dollars, these are probably the best p-bass pickups you'll find. if you want to replace stock pickups on a cheapo bass, these are definately the way to go

Pickup features: Humbucking/Twin Blade/Passive
Impedence or other specs: 8.24K DC Resistance/3.6 Henry Inductance/2.3K Resonance Frequency

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha RBX-264
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Rock/Blues/Jazz/Fusion
Reason for pickup change: Single-coil hum

Perceived output level: Hotter Than Stock
Tone: Very Well Balanced
Sonic evaluation: This has got to be the best value in bass pickups! While not as good as an active pickup, it is very well balanced and, best of all, very quiet. It has a solid low end, very musical midrange and a lot of treble if you need it.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great Neck P Style Pickup

Comments: If you are on a budget, this is the pickup to get!

Pickup features: single passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Cort piece of crap.
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: hopefully none
You musical style(s): rock, blues.
Reason for pickup change: the pickups that came with it were covered in spray paint, cause my friends decided to silver burst the body, and then decided to smash it. they gave me the body and i fixed it up.

Perceived output level: warm, not so warm as fender p's
Tone: good low, okay mid, wcked high
Sonic evaluation: between my cort piece of garbage, and my hartke head and carvin 1x15, this thing ends up sounding pretty good, even though all of my stuff sucks excluding the cab. it works well, and delivers when its asked to deliver.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock, and it works.

Comments: if it was stolen i'd just buy a new bass, since mine is crap. the thing is unbreakable, so thats not a concern. THAT sound? well, i dont know much about THAT sound. i'm sure i'll find it some day.

Pickup features: Passive split coil
Impedence or other specs: High

Model of guitar or bass: Warlock copy with 2 P pick-ups Middle and Bridge
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Project Bass came with no pick-ups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Came across a Warlock copy at a flea market that was routed for dual P's. Seemed like a cool winter project. After re-finishing the bass, I purchased my hardware and electronics from Stew-Mac and got the Selects because they were the least expensive "new" pick-ups that I could find.

Perceived output level: Good output level. Much hotter than stock P's but would never be confused for actives.
Tone: Tone was a big surprise. I wasn't expecting much for $23, but the Select has good bottom, nice mids, and very sweet highs.
Sonic evaluation: I play through a Crate BX200H into a Crate 15" cabinet. The Warlock has the P's in the mid and bridge positions. The electronics are passive with a single volume and tone pot - 250 ohmns each, .05 cap, and a old school SG style three way toggle.
The mid P soloed has that great P thump, with as much or as little tone as you want to dial in. It can go from mud to glassy - a very full range.
The bridge P soloed, has a totally different sound. Nice bass, but not the traditional P thump of the mid. A very sweet mid range, and again that glassy high end.
I was very surprised at the difference the exact same pickup made in the two positions.
The mid and bridge combined, provided a third totally different sound base. More thump than the bridge soloed, but not as much as the neck soloed. The mids were very rounded. and the highs were not as glassy as either soloed positions before - more bell like is the best that Icould describe it as. With both pick-ups on the tone control rules the way the Selects sound. There wasn't a tone range that I couldn't achieve. Even a respectable jazz-ish sound, though no-one would ever mistake the sound for J's.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly classic rock, with some country. These pick-ups do well.

Comments: Since building this Bass, I have purchased another Select P for a client and a set of Select J's for another. Both clients have been very happy with the reasults. - The bang for the buck is outstanding.
I've been playing bass for 20 years and have heard and played a number of different rigs over the years. For anyone looking for a way to make a bass sound better, this is certainly an inexpensive upgrade.
I am more than satisfied with the Select P's. I picked the Selects totally on price, and I was floored by the quality and tone that I got at no extra charge.
A fantastic value!