EMG Pickups PJ Bass Set Review

Hello!

A few months back I got a smoking deal on an old Fender PJ bass because the electronics were on the fritz and it sounded terrible. So I did what any self-respecting bass hack would do – I grabbed an EMG PJ pickup set and stuffed those puppies in. It was as easy as pie, and I got exactly the results I expected. These are two things that do not happen very often for me!

EMG has been around since Rob Turner founded it in 1976 in Santa Rosa, California. This company has done a lot better than the metric system, which was launched in the US right around the same time. Though they started out making guitar pickups, bass pickups followed shortly thereafter, and have been a staple in the low-end world ever since. Besides making awesome replacement parts, many manufacturers install them as standard equipment – most notably Gibson, Steinberger and Spector.

The pickups have a ceramic magnets, and the kit comes with pots, wiring, a battery connector and pretty good instructions. Everything is prewired and quick-connect connectors are used, so no soldering is required. It was a super-easy installation, particularly as I already had a control cavity to stuff the battery into.

This active pickup set sounds like all of the other EMG pickup I have had in a bass before. They are high fidelity with more bass than a passive pickup and it is clear as a bell with no hum. But the disadvantage is that they sound like EMG pickups so it they are rather sterile without a lot of character or warmth, so you had better like the sound to start with. Fortunately, I do! These pickups cut through a loud mix like nobody’s business, and the bass will definitely be heard, with the advantage of a consistent tone and volume across all frequency ranges.

This EMG P-J set is not super cheap, with a list price of $209 and a street price of $159, but you will certainly save some money by being able to install them yourself. If you like the tone, or just need more power and clarity, give one a try. What could go wrong?

Mahalo!

1987 Fender Japan Jazz Bass Special PJ-36 Review

Hi there!

I have written before about the original run of Fender Jazz Bass Special instruments. One of these was my first decent bass, and they have remained one of my favorite basses of all time. If you are not familiar with these, the Jazz Bass Special was made famous by Duff McKagan of Guns N Roses, and later of Velvet Revolver. These basses were made by Fender at the Fujigen factory in Japan, and were of better quality than the instruments Fender produced in the US. They were originally built from 1985 to 1987 (or so). 
The ”special” part of the Jazz Bass Special is that it has a Precision Bass body shape with a Jazz Bass profile neck and a P/J pickup configuration. 


The bodies are probably basswood, as they are light, and they all got black hardware, (including brass bridge saddles that have been anodized black). They have a control cavity routed in the back so there is no pickguard (this also makes it easier to add active electronics). I have had them finished in black, red, Sonic Blue, and of course, the yellowed pearl white of Mr. McKagan’s basses.

Well, today’s black Made in Japan 1987 Jazz Bass Special has all of this stuff, but it is a domestic-only PJ-36 model that has different specifications than the models we are used to seeing. Starting from the top:

1. Gotoh compact tuners instead of full-size Fender style clover leafs

2. All of the neck, including the headstock is finished in clear instead of black

3. Standard volume-volume-tone set-up for the PJ pickups, with no TBX tone circuit

4. Output jack located on the front of the instrument instead of being recessed into the side

Not having a black neck will be a deal-breaker for most folks, as that is the signature look of the Jazz Bass Special. It is not too big of a deal for me, as these are still pretty awesome, and the lower price point to get into one of these is attractive.

This one is a great bass; the frets and fretboard are still in great shape almost 30 years later. It is light, really light, weighing in at around 7 pounds, 4 ounces. It appears to be largely unmolested, though I do not know if the knobs are original, as I have never seen one of these before. There are big ugly splotches on the body paint where something reacted with it or someone tried to cover up damage.

It is a nice player, and I got a low action out of it with no problems. It has good tone, and I have always loved the flexibility of having the PJ combination.

So, what am I going to do with it? I am not a fan of modifying guitars, but this one is going to get breathed on heavily, as the paint damage is enough to kill any sort of collectability. It is coming apart for a new custom paint job by a local hotrod builder, and it is getting some sort of active electronics package (I am still deciding which one). I will stop short of putting a brass nut on it. Maybe.

Mahalo!

1983 ESP PJ Bass

Greetings!

Today we are looking at a rare ESP bass: an early production Japanese-made model that I have never seen anywhere else before.

It has a wonderful mixture of design and styling elements: the versatile PJ pickup configuration, a Precision Bass body shape, and a Telecaster headstock. The body is finished in its original Pearl White.

My research found that this bass was made by ESP in Japan (pre-NYC production) for Loudness bassist Masayoshi Yamashita in 1983. The neck is marked NY-49, and the serial number is 0008. That is pretty low…

It appears to be all-original, and it shows some wear and dings, but it is not too bad for a 28 year old bass.

It has its original electronics, with volume and tone controls, and a 3-way selector switch. The pickups look like Dimarzios, but were actually custom wound by ESP for Yamashita.

The neck is a peach, with very little fret wear. It is 1 5/8-inches wide at the nut, and I think it is a bone nut. The truss rod adjusts at the heel, and it works well.

The hardware is all gold-plated and is original to the bass. Like all gold hardware, is has faded over the years. The adjustable-tension reverse tuners work fine, none are bent and they do not bind. The bridge is a high mass unit, and I believe that it and the tuners were made by Gotoh. How about those cool pointy strap buttons, huh?

The overall craftsmanship is very good, and the neck is still true and playable. The pickups have a lot of output, and each of the 3 pickup selections sound very different from each other. This is a versatile instrument that would be great for most any tone you would want from a bass, and it is quite a looker too.

It weighs in at around 8 pounds, 9 ounces, according to my scale.

I usually do not keep things around very long, but this one might stick. It is nice to have a decent PJ bass again.

Mahalo!