Has anybody played a bass with these pickups? I’ve watched a few Youtube installation and tone reviews, all seem positive. Lately I am loving the idea of modifying my current bass as opposed to buying new ones. Sounds more fun. These passive EMGs grabbed my attention as they are solderless! Which means I can do the install on my own hassle free.
My Squier PJ’s stock pickups just arent speaking to me now that I am getting better with identifying the type of tone I am looking for. And since I am already thinking about swapping the factory strings for something a bit higher quality (should have doen that by now anyway I think), a quick pickup swap feels like it couldn’t hurt.
I can’t comment on what they’re like to install but I fell in love with the sound when I tried them. I’ve even put my money where my mouth is and have back-ordered a bass equipped with GZR EMGs.
Even though they have Geezers name on them, they were (apparently) actually cloned from the pickups from a 60s P-Bass belonging to Bobby Vega. So they’ve a proper meaty old school P-Bass sound.
Every demo I’ve watched and listened too they sound amazing. Although, they cost about $100 less than I paid for the bass overall, might be like putting a V8 in a golf cart, but I am mad enough to do that too.
Soundwise, the EMG GZR are an improvement. Is it worth it? Well I thought so
If your bass is a Squier Affinity PJ, it probably has a long Panel jack and will require some soldering. That’s what I had to do to install them. The installation instructions PDF on the EMG website has the info on the 3rd page
Furthermore, the J pickup was a bit wider than the original one and required some routing to fit it in. If you’re not afraid to handle some tools (and have them), you should give it a try. And, while we’re at it, you might need new control knobs
Thank you for the heads up about potential to need to solder. Not too worried if I have to do minor tweaks. I watched an installation on a Squier Affinity PJ that looked the exact same as mine, they got away completely solderless, but guess I won’t know until I am in there. My soldering skills never were the best, but no time to hone a new skill like the present.
I personally can’t say just from looking, same location, slightly different look. At least now I won’t be surprised if I do need to solder. And it’s only two spots, I can live with that. I’ve gone ahead and ordered.
I have them (a PJ set) in one of my Aerodynes.
They are great but to me, very specific sounding.
I wouldn’t call them ‘all around workhorse pickups’ though.
If you like Geezer’s tone, then this won’t matter for you.
I am a bit of a tone junkie and like variety but this bass is not a normal ‘go to’.
You can hear them on the natural bass in this video and compare them to the other pickups listed…
FWIW, most people commenting on this video liked the bass with the Geezers the best, lol.
If you cannot use EMG’s jack, you solder 2-3 wires to your existing jack and done, easy.
It’s not about the outside of the jack as much as what’s inside regarding soldering, again, easy.
Thanks all! Great video, I do like the tone. For me, the big draw is I have past experience with EMGs on guitar, they were active, but I loved their sound and quality. Stick with what you know. The plug n play design means less stress for me as I start to do a lot of this work on my own.
As I sit and think, the more I love the idea of upgrading and modifying the Squier as opposed to buying new basses. Wife even wants to try and add a graphic of some type to the body, she see’s the all white as a blank canvas.
Geezer are great great tone and well define clarity. You should not have a problem installing the jack on that bass. Quick tip, don’t press the ground wire button til you have all of the wires secured. Once it’s engaged it’s almost irreversible, don’t ask me how I know. Lol.
My family has this interesting curse where no matter how simple the job, something goes wrong. Without fail. Regardless of how we prepare or how slow we go.
So, I will no doubt have some interesting stories after I make this attempt. I am guessing it would benefit from getting another setup after the work is done.
You and I must be related. Lol. I seem to make more mistakes than an average person but the upside is I pickup things faster as there are less mistakes to be made, lol.
