EMG Select P-Bass

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!

Pickup features: Single-coil(i believe) hum-canceling passive with blade magnet instead of individual polepieces
Impedence or other specs: 8.1k ohm impedance

Model of guitar or bass: 2001 Squier Affinity Series P-Bass
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: Stock piece of junk Squier pickup
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz, punk, rock, metal, etc. has to be pretty versatile, to make a long story short.
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickup buzzed a lot(it didnt liek flourescent lights) from 60-cycle hum. also, the original pickup was somewhat muddy, fuzzy and unfocused sounding, not spectacularly warm.

Perceived output level: mediumish, i guess. loud though without being hot-hot-hot. i guess it's between medium and hot.
Tone: kind of bassy, mids are kind of neutral but it really shines with the tone control way up, as its high end has bite.
Sonic evaluation: I play through an old Peavey TNT 130, which is a 130 watt 1x15" combo. well, after i first soldered the pickup in and had a setup done, i was initially unimpressed because there wasnt a massive change in the sound, or so i thought. as i went on playing it, little things became apparent to me that made me start liking it. after playing with the EQ a bit and realising that it worked great with the tone pot dimed, i got my sound from it. it is far more focused than the stock pickup and the sound is much tighter. not muddy, and the lack of buzz is great! it still isnt the world's warmest pickup, thoguh it was warmer than the stocker. not traditional P-Bass tone, but still a good sound in its own right. previously, the tone control was not all that sueful, as it was either all on or all off. this pickup seems much more responsive to tone control input and makes use of the space in between, though i bet it would really rock with a 500K pot for the tone control. it has more cutting power and tolerates faster playing better. it took a student model bass and made it into a useful tool.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: yes, for the most part is a good mach for what i play. it won't nail jazz tone though. you need a Fender for that.

Comments: if something happened to it an i had to buy a new Squier bass for some reason or another, this would be a good choice bebcause it's inexpensive, sounds good and transforms what would formerly be called "firewood" by some into a sound that has in fact gotten my compliments. i've been playing 2 years and while i may not be Billy Sheehan, im not terrible and i know my stuff about equipment, pickups and axes. i thought about buying more expensive DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan pickups, but then i found these were cheap and i had heard good thigns about them. im still looking for *THAT* sound, but it's unfair to expect that from my current bass. THAT sound for me, is a Fender P-Bass with the tone control dimed, plugged up to an Ampeg SVT on top of an SVT-810E. best thign for the money though, and i think all Squier P-Basses shoudl come stock with these.

Pickup features: Inexpensive
Impedance or other specs: High

Model of guitar or bass: Bass
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Kramer P-Bass in ST-700
Other pickups on guitar: Kramer J-Bass
Artists using this pickup: unknown
Your musical style(s): broad and changing
Reason for pickup change: Kramer was microphonic

Perceived output level: normal, nearly the same as the Kramer
Tone: Balanced, butter than the kramer in lows and highs
Sonic evaluation: Not too bad for the money, better than expected.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: slap maybe

Comments:
Always searching.....