Upgrading a Fender MIM Bass // EMGs Sound Awesome!
I’ve been wanting to upgrade this bass for a few years. It’s a 2008-ish? Fender made-in-Mexico Deluxe P/J 4-string that I found at a pawn shop a few years back. It came with Fender noiseless pickups and an active EQ. I’ve never really liked the pickups and didn’t use the onboard electronics other than the volume control so I’ve been wanting to upgrade it for a while. A friend of mine threw a set of EMG active Jazz bass pickups in one of his builds and I was a fan of the sound so I decided to try out the EMG P/J pickup set. I switched the bridge to a Hipshot Kickass High-Mass bridge and the strings to a set of Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bass flatwounds. If you’re thinking about upgrading your bass, here’s what mine sounds like now.
*Product Links:*
Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bass flatwounds – https://bit.ly/ThomastikBassFlats
EMG P/J pickup set – https://bit.ly/EMGpjPickups
Hipshot High-Mass Bridge – https://amzn.to/3A3Tsb0
3M Zip Tie Mounts – https://amzn.to/3H10KjB
Guitar Setup Multitool – https://amzn.to/3N6CYqq
Free resources, lessons, Helix presets, & contact info – https://www.AlexPriceMusician.com
▶️ *Highlights*
0:00 – Intro
0:32 – Hipshot Bridge
1:18 – EMG Pickups & Electronics
1:54 – Installation
3:45 – Quick electronics test
5:19 – Continued Installation
7:21 – Thomastik Infeld Jazz Bass Flatwounds
9:58 – Sound demo
10:46 – Neck pickup
12:05 – Bridge pickup
12:42 – Both pickups
13:16 – The major differences
14:45 – Before & After Tone Comparison
15:27 – Outro
#BassUpgrade #EMGpickups #ThomastikInfeld
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Hi, I’m Alex – a full-time musician based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I make a living performing in the Western PA region and teaching guitar online and through university music programs.
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#Upgrading #Fender #MIM #Bass #EMGs #Sound #Awesome
Originally posted by UCo74LbP05aDJk3T1shsBa-w at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tXVGcKG4mw
clear and articulate
So why did emg tell me I need to use a 3 way switch in this set up? Im about to install a set. I just did the gary holt setup on one guitar and it wouldnt work without a 3 way switch.
I done something similar by buying an FSR MIM Player Series Jaguar PJ Bass with matching body & black headstock & Ebony fretboard… It came with 500k log pots, rewired it all with Fender push back hook up wire, new Epic Custom 1/4" polepiece PJ pickups, both 9.99K, a brass nut, Guyker brass 3 groove brass saddles, NOS Kluson control knobs, 3 x 250K CTS 8% tolerance linear pots, Greasebucket tone control set up with hifi grade 5% Polypropylene capacitors & a 1% 4K7 resistor, properly sheilded now with carbon paint & copper sheeting & a True Tone 200% more contact jack socket, 2 – & 2 + contacts but each made from 1 piece of metal so mono, solid, & a new scratchplate as i put the D & G Precision half pickup on neck side, ala Mark Hoppus but i thought of it many yrs ago, a pro set up, cost about £720 for the Jaguar PJ & £200 – £250 in parts.. Worth it in my book, £1000 all in for my dream bass, an American Custom version would be a few £thousands, my favourite Fender bass now, very versatile, great tones & pretty quiet… Hope you enjoy yours, nice job…
Even left a spot for Lee Sklar’s producer switch????
Beautiful bass! One thing I always do before I even install my EMGs is put a drop of Goof Off on the logos and wipe them right off. I think it looks better without all that branding.
You could just use a regular P bass pickguard that comes with only 3 holes.
As a professional (and Bald) bass player with 40+ years of experience I'd like to say that EMG's rule, so does this video… and young man do something with that hair do not fear going bald it is the best thing that will ever happen to you trust me on that, a shaved head is like a magnet for respect????
Sounds good ????????
Very informative, and thank you for posting. I love those Dopro knobs.
My Squire II was proudly mfg in Korea in 1987. #roots
Hi. Quick question , Why now you have an extra hole n one less knob? Is there something you’re not gonna be able to adjust with the new pick ups that you were able to do with the old ones ?
new flats and a tasty bevvie. great work on the bass man
Killer setup. As for the extra hole in the pickguard, just run to the hardware store and get a 3/8" hardware plug, less than a dollar each. Chi Cheng used chrome ones in his gold pickguards, I stuck a white nylon one in my pearl pickguard.
Pretty sweet! Sounds really good
With that extra hole in the pickguard you could put a tone for each pickup OR switch OR blend control????
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I feel the new sound could have been achieved through and EQ pedal
Buen bajo quedó …..pero falta aprender a equalizarlo……!
Great video, bro. ! I liked the hipshot kickass. Took your advice brought 2 to put on my p bass's love them .
Why did you add the foam?
Well done, buddy. You have me considering these same mods for my stock MIM Jazz Bass. ????
Thank you brother
Dang! The tone bypass sound on almost every pickup setting was my favorite. Good option
I have an old 96 Fender PJ known as the Cowpoke. I didn't care for the original tone. I had my guy do some upgrades. I bought a hipshot kickass bridge and ordered an Audere Classic 2 band preamp… I didn't want to have to drill extra holes. The day the preamp was to arrive, my tech calls and says I should run a Relentless P and a Quarter Pound J. He said the QP J was the only J they tested that had output to match the Relentless. I explained I had already ordered a preamp He did some research and hit me back up saying it will work. I will say it's does have a voice of it's own. Amazing tone with a pick and really good with fingers. And here's the downfall… I am getting 60 cycle hum. I was excited to play it at a church gig a couple weeks ago but after rehearsal, I knew I would have to bring my Stingray. The electrical buzz was unbearable. I am tempted to pull the preamp and run it passive just to see if that helps. If not, I will end up swapping pickups.
Hi! Did you have to drill your bass to put the new bridge? greetings from Peru !
Excellent job by the way !
I would have used EMG Hz pickups. Killer tone and no battery needed.
You are missing a pot.
Some quality upgrades. You should get one of the EMG eq electronics sets so you don't have a hole in the front of an otherwise very smart bass.
I found the kickass bridge (even with the steel saddles) really mellowed out the tone compared to the stock bridge when I did some upgrades. I put in a Duncan Quarter Pound pickup and hi mass bridge and the whole bass was just duller than the stock squier affinity stuff. When I swapped the bridge out for a simple Wilkinson one, it got all the punch I was expecting. I'm not honestly sure what the deal is there.
Pretty cool. I have been basically doing this with most guitars and basses I have (or had). Get the somewhat cheaper variant, make sure it plays well and is well intonated (these days less of an issue it seems) and upgrade it. In the end you often have a better instrument for less money, had great fun making it that way plus an unique instrument.