EMG GZR PJ Black

J'ai acheté ce micro pour équiper une de mes Ibanez en configuration PJ afin de jouer du rock à l'ancienne, avec comme principale source d'inspiration des groupes comme Black Sabbath et AC/DC. Je recherchais un son bien gras et c'est donc tout naturellement que je me suis tourné vers le kit signature de Geezer Butler.

Eliminons tout de suite la qualité et le montage sans soudure : les matériaux sont soignés et de qualité, et en suivant le consignes vous pourrez monter ce kit en moins d'une heure sur votre basse, sans difficulté même si vous n'y connaissez rien. C'est très appréciable.

Niveau sonorité, c'est différent des micros habituels de chez EMG, c'est passif et rétro. Ce kit est donc plutôt à comparer avec ce que proposent notamment Fender et Seymour Duncan en matière de micros vintage.

Le micro P est exceptionnel, puissant et rondouillard avec un niveau de sortie assez élevé, c'est très gras, vous n'aurez pas de difficulté à vous rapprocher du son de basse des premiers albums de Sabbath. Sa puissance va vous permettre de désaccorder la basse pour jouer bas sans perdre de définition. Ca marche aussi pour jouer du blues ou d'autres styles typés 60s 70s. Ce micro se suffit largement à lui même.

Le micro J est moins remarquable. Son niveau de sortie est moins élevé que le micro P, en jouant avec les deux micros je constate un volume moins important qu'avec le micro P tout seul. le J permet toutefois d'apporter un peu de médiums supplémentaires et de colorer le son. Tout seul, je trouve cependant que ce micro manque à la fois de caractère et de puissance. Il n'est pas mauvais, loin de là mais il est un peu éclipsé par le micro P.

La tonalité est davantage marquée en fin de course, ce qui fait que j'ai tendance à jouer avec le potard soi au minimum, soit à fond. Le micro J m'empêche de donner à ce kit la note maximale, mais au niveau de la qualité de fabrication et de la sonorité générale, on est sur de la qualité professionnelle

I recently upgraded my second-hand Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass (short scale) with the EMG GZR PJ pickup set, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Out of the box, I already liked the original P pickup—it had a solid tone that suited the bass well. The J bridge pickup, though, always felt like the weak link. It sounded thin and brittle, and on its own, it produced a noticeable amount of hum—typical for a single-coil. I considered just replacing the J pickup, but finding one that balances well with a P pickup can be tricky. That’s what led me to go all-in and replace both with the EMG GZR PJ set.

The difference is night and day.

The new neck pickup sounds at least as good as the original, maybe even a touch darker—which I actually prefer. It delivers that satisfying, punchy "thump" that you’d expect from a good P pickup, and it’s hard to believe it’s coming from a short-scale bass with such a slim neck.

The bridge pickup, though, is the real game changer. The EMG J pickup is a stacked humbucker, and it completely eliminates the hum I used to get with the stock single-coil. More importantly, it sounds fantastic—more mids and highs than the P, with a nice growl when you dig in, especially right above the pickup. It’s punchy, full, and perfectly balanced with the neck pickup. The bass is now dead silent when idle, which confirms the shielding is solid too.

Installation was a breeze—no soldering at all. Just plug and play. I did have to order new knobs to fit the EMG pots, but that was no big deal.

Tone-wise, I’m loving the flexibility. The P pickup alone is completely usable. Blending both pickups gives me a wide tonal palette just by adjusting the volume knobs. And best of all, the J pickup on its own is now actually usable—just roll off the tone a bit, and you're good to go. That was never the case with the original setup.

In short: this set breathed new life into my Jaguar Bass. Highly recommended if you're looking for a passive PJ upgrade with zero hum and a ton of character.

Pickup manufacturers really need to start following EMGs example. EMG pickups are so easy to install and really make modifying guitar electronics enjoyable and not an agonising chore.

I had an old Westfield bass that I ripped the electrics from years ago and just never got round to sorting it. I did consider buying a pre-made loom but for £80 more I could replace the whole set so I thought why not.

Install was a breeze and I'd recommend using the foam inside the EMG box underneath the pickups so you can have some slight pickup height adjustment.

Overall very pleased with the sound and install. Other manufacturers take note, this should now be a universal standard. Seymour Duncan knocked off the quick install so you can drop blackouts in to EMG pot sets and then include bog standard pots and wires, crazy!

I've installed these pickups into a fairly cheap, but still awesome Yamaha BB234. It sounds like a perfect PJ now. The P is a king of the set: it's loud, punchy and round. J by itself it quiter and not so impressive, but the PJ combination is just perfect.

What I don't like about the electronics is that the volume range is not that usable. It feels more like an on/off than a gradual change. I think I'd even swap one volume knob for a 2-way switch between P and PJ, and leave the second volume as master, it would make life easier without losing any functionality.

The installation process was a breeze: zero soldering, took me about 15 minutes total. I'd love more manufacturers to swith to such a system.

Overall the set works perfectly for my needs, they cover both P tones for rock, as well as PJ for slap.

Bought these as a replacement for the stock pickups in a Spector NS-2a. These pickups sound great if you're after a vintage tone with all the benefits of modern technology. They don't produce any extra noise/interference and sit well in the mix. Imo, the only downside to these pickuos would be that these are not what you'd expect from your typical EMG pickup set. I'm used to be able to add some grit to my tone by digging in with my plucking technique. These seem to keep their round and 'friendly' tone, even with an aggressive playing style.

Overall a great buy,
+ I can imagine these will will improve almost any entry-level bass and most mid-level basses compared to other passive stock PJ pickups.

- Might not be considered 'aggressive' enough, if you're really in to a 'hi-fi' modern bass tone