EMG Geezer Butler P Bass pickup (GZR-PHZ)- user reviews

[Old Horse Murphy]

I would like to replace the P Bass pickup in my Sandberg Lionel and am thinking about the EMG Geezer Butler P Bass pickup (the EMG GZR-PHZ) as it seems pretty straightforward to install, is quiet and seems to have the low mids that the Sandberg pickup seems to lack to my ears. 
 

I'm not too worried about an overly vintage sounding pickup but really didn't like the Seymour Duncan QP or the Wizard Thumper as I found them too aggressive. 
 

Has anybody got any experience with the EMG at all? Reviews online seems to be positive overall but I'd be interested in hearing how other P Bass players think this one compares to (say) a Fender 62 Custom Shop. 

[hooky_lowdown]

If you don't like aggressive P than the gzr probably isn't for you. The gzr is like a CS 62 on steroids.

 

The QP and Thumper are two different sounding pups, the QP is modern, whereas the thumper is more hot vintage.

 

If you like low mids, and like the CS 62, than the Vintage 63 would be the one. 63 has more low mids than the 62.

[Old Horse Murphy]

19 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

If you don't like aggressive P than the gzr probably isn't for you. The gzr is like a CS 62 on steroids.

 

The QP and Thumper are two different sounding pups, the QP is modern, whereas the thumper is more hot vintage.

 

If you like low mids, and like the CS 62, than the Vintage 63 would be the one. 63 has more low mids than the 62.

Thanks for that. Would you know how the EMG compares to something like the Dimarzio DP122BK?

[hooky_lowdown]

2 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks for that. Would you know how the EMG compares to something like the Dimarzio DP122BK?

Yes, the emg has more output, and more vintage tone than the Dimarzio. Both are similar in the mids department. 

[Supernaut]

Tonerider?

[Rexel Matador]

I can't comment on how it compares to the CS 62, but it's definitely a lot nicer than the QP. I play in a loud blues/classic rock trio and switched over to the GZR from the stock pickup in my 2015 MIM P, whatever that is. The band love it. The easy install is a massive bonus. To my ears, it's heavy but not modern. It sits beautifully in the mix and can do pretty much whatever I need it to do with the requisite tone knob tweaks.

On the other hand, while the solderless system is cool, there are definitely better pots out there - of course the pickup wires could easily be stripped and soldered to your pots of choice.

[Old Horse Murphy]

Thanks for all your recommendations. I thought I'd try the Geezers in the end and installed them earlier today. The only issue I faced was that the thread of jack socket was just a bit too big to fit the jack plate so I used another jack socket I had spare. Other than that installation was a breeze. 
 

Sound-wise I really like it. It's quite "clanky" with the tone all the way up (reminds me a bit of JJB's P Bass sound) which isn't at all too much to my ears, but rolled off a tiny bit it's exactly what I was looking for so I'll give it a good run out across a few gigs I have coming up. 
 

The only thing I don't particularly like is the EMG branding. I've touched it up with a bit of black model paint which looks okay and if they're like other EMG pickups I've owned, the branding wears off soon enough anyway. 

 

 

[Rexel Matador]

Nail polish remover on a cotton bud will get rid of it. And yes, the imperial threaded jack is annoying - I'd forgotten about that!

Edited August 22, 2023 by Rexel Matador

[NancyJohnson]

I've got a Geezer Butler PJ set on one of my Hamers.  I'm kind of ambivalent as to what they offer over any other PJ set TBH.  They work well enough, no complaints, - but here's the caveat - I have a John East Uni-Pre 3 circuit on the bass, so it would - in all likelihood - make the sound I want it to irrespective of pickup choice.

[fretmeister]

I thought about the GZR for my Lionel - and then went with the Aguilar 4P-60 to get a proper old sound out of it. I also got a kiOgon loom because I couldn't be arsed to solder!  

 

I'm very happy with it. It sounds like a P should now!

[Osiris]

On 22/08/2023 at 13:05, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks for all your recommendations. I thought I'd try the Geezers in the end and installed them earlier today. The only issue I faced was that the thread of jack socket was just a bit too big to fit the jack plate so I used another jack socket I had spare. Other than that installation was a breeze. 
 

Sound-wise I really like it. It's quite "clanky" with the tone all the way up (reminds me a bit of JJB's P Bass sound) which isn't at all too much to my ears, but rolled off a tiny bit it's exactly what I was looking for so I'll give it a good run out across a few gigs I have coming up. 
 

The only thing I don't particularly like is the EMG branding. I've touched it up with a bit of black model paint which looks okay and if they're like other EMG pickups I've owned, the branding wears off soon enough anyway. 

 

 

 

@Old Horse Murphy  I'm also thinking of putting a pair of EMG Geezer Butler pickups in my Sandberg short scale. You mention the jack socket being too big to fit the jack plate, by this I'm guessing you mean the little plastic cover that holds the input jack in place on the edge of the bass? Was it much of a difference, i.e. could you just enlarge the hole a fraction on the little plastic jack plate to get it to fit? Or was there also an issue with trying to fit the jack socket through hole from the control cavity to the outside of the bass? The reason I ask is that I'm a bit cack-handed at this sort of thing and if there's any extra mods required to make the GZR's fit the bass then I might need to have a rethink.

[Old Horse Murphy]

11 minutes ago, Osiris said:

 

@Old Horse Murphy  I'm also thinking of putting a pair of EMG Geezer Butler pickups in my Sandberg short scale. You mention the jack socket being too big to fit the jack plate, by this I'm guessing you mean the little plastic cover that holds the input jack in place on the edge of the bass? Was it much of a difference, i.e. could you just enlarge the hole a fraction on the little plastic jack plate to get it to fit? Or was there also an issue with trying to fit the jack socket through hole from the control cavity to the outside of the bass? The reason I ask is that I'm a bit cack-handed at this sort of thing and if there's any extra mods required to make the GZR's fit the bass then I might need to have a rethink.

The Lionel has a metal jack plate like this one below and basically they had different threads. If it was plastic I'm sure it could be adjusted easily enough to work. 
 

In the end I used the original Sandberg jack socket and attached it to the EMG wiring without too much commotion. 

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

The Lionel has a metal jack plate like this one below and basically they had different threads. If it was plastic I'm sure it could be adjusted easily enough to work. 
 

In the end I used the original Sandberg jack socket and attached it to the EMG wiring without too much commotion. 

 

Thanks Nick, was it just a case of snipping off the EMG connectors and soldering the ends of the wires to the existing input socket? 

[Old Horse Murphy]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

 

Thanks Nick, was it just a case of snipping off the EMG connectors and soldering the ends of the wires to the existing input socket? 

I was going to snip the connectors off and solder as you say, but the connectors actually fitted quite well in just being pushed over the lugs. From memory though I did add a bit of solder just to hold it more firmly. 

Edited January 5 by Old Horse Murphy