EMG JMaster Pickups Review & Demo

[@endafroberts8710]

Your playing style is so fucking sick. Best KZbin guitarist. No posing, just good riffs, good info without being too technical or pretentious! keep up the good work!

[@Gma7788]

I'm glad you recognised me lurking here in the comments section. I'm moving to be difficult to you and so I've taken away some of your privileges.

[@NHail]

i would love a drink from the kitchen thanks for offering

[@highlandradioofficial5824]

Nicest man in the business just sold me on EMGs and a Keeley Loomer.

[@nisebelle]

I'm so glad you're back!!! Those EMG's are impressive as hell and the fact that provide a whole kit is a really nice addition. Also that Patreon ad was incredible haha

[@60CycleHumcast]

I’m watching this whole damn thing.

[@ZRobertson91]

I'm so glad you're back! I've been watching your back log of videos I missed before I started following you

[@Puisheen]

Thanks for waiting for me to come back, Zachary! Really appreciate it

[@paoloverdini8374]

Puisheen, you're the golden standard for us JM/offset junkies. Glad to see you back!

[@andrefludd]

Haven’t watched the video in full yet but so happy you are back! One of only a couple guitar channels I still get excited to watch.

[@ryo38]

hey doc

[@Puisheen]

good to be back, Andre! You’ve been killing it!

[@thedaver8]

The shirts are always an added value to this channel.

[@Releasethebats123]

We’ve all missed you!!! so glad you’re back, but it was a blessing in disguise because I got all caught up watching your old videos that I haven’t seen yet

[@sicjao]

the fuzz demo is the most beautiful thing i ever heard, i need this as a entire song

[@TomCarmony]

Welcome back Mike! It's so great to hear that opening 'welcome' message again.

[@matthoemann7400]

Your content today could have been PB&J's: strawberry or grape and I would have been SO excited to run to kitchen and make smammiches with you! Welcome back!

[@mcfontaine]

It’s so darn good to have you back where you belong my friend. Man do those EMGs sound good.

[@samuelcasale]

that patreon ad was so damn good Mike. Really missed you!

[@gretchman]

Fabulous. Very intrigued by these... This is causing a lot of chin scratching on my end. As always, proud of you. You are a beautiful, talented, wonderful angel baby and I'm happy you're back in the YT mix.

[@capitaldharma]

So glad to see you’re back!

[@sepherus]

As a formerly strictly metal player who fell in love with JMs when I started branching out, these definitely have my interest piqued. They sound great, the addition of the Strat Presence Control, and the Guitar Expander are great ideas, and imo worth paying the extra for the wired guard. (they also have an expander for bass, the EXB. I MAY have been an EMG fanboi back in the aughts...) Anyway, great sounds and playing as always Mike. I'm glad to have you back.

[@stanknugget]

Proof?

[@sepherus]

@@stanknugget for which part? There are a lot of statements there. If you want the EMG abbreviations and their functions, they're all on their website. As for the stuff about me, you'll have to take my word.

[@stanknugget]

@@sepherus Stuff about you.

[@sleepskateboards5710]

Glad to see you back, friend!

[@jrockkai]

Finally! Something to replace those not so great fender noiseless pickups in my American Ultra...

[@Puisheen]

These would be perfect for you!

[@MitchAClark]

Love the new glasses!

[@Puisheen]

I'm so glad you noticed!

[@lunamatic9775]

Kudos to the marketing wizards at Patreon behind that throwback commercial. 😆 Also, ska is a very under-utilized genre in the gear demo world. Kind of surprised to see it deployed with a set of active pickups. Entertaining video as always!

[@gargantuangooners]

I showed up for the review and stayed for the Pancake! The Patreon ad is brilliant. Those pickups are not for me, but I can see why someone would dig them. Passive pickups, active music 4life

[@dewiroebuck]

Glad you're back Mike 🙂

[@TyRobertsmedia]

Glad you're back man!

[@johnathanschaaf8731]

Agree with all the others - so glad to see you back on the Tube again! Great video, great demo as always. The tones you get out of your gear = awesome! Thanks!

[@pothos89]

Awesome as always Mike! Can’t wait to see your take on the Vintera series JM and Jags.

[@emrhappy]

SOOO glad you're back!!!

[@nj1255]

Goddamn. I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this video. Now I need a Jazzmaster with this EMG set.

[@6minus3minus2]

They sound amazing. That fuzz tone? Gorgeous.

[@snoooozer]

Hi Mike glad to see you back! I am happy healthy and safe.

[@triniep82]

So glad to see you back mate! Thanks for the content as always!

[@obahrey5197]

So glad to see you back Mike! What a great video!

[@Austinspace66]

the commercial. the best. thanks for all your videos!

[@richarde3378]

I've been waiting for this review! Welcome back. Miss ya! Thanks! :)

[@BetterWokeThanAsleep]

Best Patreon commercial. You are awesome!

[@Ochoduckie]

Glad you’re back, Mike! The pickups still have that compressed EMG sound, but props to them for creating a unique system. Also, your shirt is metal as f-- #qapla

[@chris-ph6cd]

that fuzz tone was incredible

[@OzziePete1]

The SPC stands for Strat Presence Control: it boosts the midrange to thicken up single coil tones, putting it into near-humbucker tone area. The EXG stands for Expander Circuit- Guitar. EMG also make a bass guitar version called EXB. The EXG kinda does the opposite to the SPC, as it scoops the mids and heightens the low & high frequencies. The much lauded David Gilmour Strat pickguard set comprises a SPC & EXG as part of that pickguard. The JMaster pickups have a preamp installed within the pickup. That's how EMG make their active low impedance pickups. So the pickup alone is an engineering feat in itself. I don't know if they have a tuning EQ capability within that preamp, or they just rely upon a pickup's construction to mimic the original tone they are shooting for. Thank you for the review & demo, I have been wondering if you would take a look at these.

[@dt9r]

glad you're back Mike , intersting pickup set too

[@marcomelillo4590]

Welcome back, Maestro!

[@johnz6808]

Always super stoked for your vids and was hoping you'd review these ❤ Recently put emg single coils into a baritone tele, caught a lot of shit for it until studio friends gawked at seeing a silent tele with ALL OF THE FUZZ

[@alexradsby]

Dude, this is so great! Thank you for an awesome review. Very musical as always, just what we need! This set seems like a great solution if you want to make a partscaster and something that's quite quick & easy to drop in.

[@jamesmarkham7489]

Glad to have you back! Perhaps the worlds greatest pattern ad I’ve ever seen. Amazing. Great review. I may need to consider emg’s going forward.

[@marks9197]

Great demo! I subscribed. EMG really has something here.

[@cactus-mcjacktus]

that first demo nearly sounded like I Might Be Wrong by Radiohead. These pickups are fantastic

[@useme2305]

i think it sounded more like Go to Sleep

[@fontcrimes2022]

EMG do a great job of the prewired pickguards. As always great video and content my dude

[@NicholasGreenwood]

I like everything about this pickup set except the fact that it's active. Having to put a battery underneath the pickguard is a bummer, and modding the body of my AmPro II for a battery box is a no-go. If I ever do a Warmoth JM build (with a battery box planned for the body), I would be happy to get the EMG set.

[@24avenged24]

@@NautilusGoth That's neat, but having a guitar that is unusable without a stompbox and stereo cable sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

[@wilddogwatching6457]

that Strat Presence Control really brings in a humbucker kind of sound, I'm loving the versatility. would love to see one of these for a jaguar with a Marr-esque control scheme

[@ThatMattGoodMusic]

Another great video! The Patreon commercial was so fun. The playing in this one was inspired as well. And those pickups sound great! A little dark to my taste but I know a couple pals this would suit to the ground (one plays a Squier Bari JM in his ridiculously heavy band)

[@ChrisCanMakeStuff]

Worth it just for the Patreon ad!!!

[@jimistephen]

SPC is Strat Presence Control. It was made originally to boost EMG S pickups into Humbucker sounds.

[@skellyngton]

Great to have you back, Mike! Fantastic video and also... are you a bit more swole than you used to be? You been working out pal?

[@thenoizeniche1727]

Incredible fuzz track! Ok these went up higher in my list of choices for Pinkie.

[@nigelnunes]

Happy to see you back, man! Also, I love how self-effacing the Patreon ad is, especially given that you're one of the most esteemed techs and offset Fender authorities in the game.

[@ryant3600]

I was the same way until I tried a set of Retroactive Fat 55's, then I realized EMG is for me too.. The retro's are great, but I've really become a fan of hte 57/66's which has the PAF tone as well.

[@dongonzulman6478]

might have to cop a set - they sound really nice! Great stuff man

[@thebreakfastmenu]

I'm a big fan of the David Gilmour set of Strat pickups with the SPC and EXG controls. But the battery stuff is just too much of a pain for me. I'm patiently waiting for Lace to release some Jazzmaster Sensors... By the way, my jazzmaster is fully shielded and grounded and wired up nice and tidy and it's still SO much noisier than Pancake. What on earth am I missing? (slight pun intended)

[@Puisheen]

I cut this from the video, but back in 2019 I had a few meetings with Lace about this very subject. We talked for months and in the end they told me, "There's no market for that." Which I disagreed with strongly, but I'm just one guy. It thrills me to no end that EMG actually set their minds to this task and made a proper, bespoke pickup for the Jazzmaster

[@Puisheen]

Also, "What on Earth" is really funny when talking about shielding and grounding. That's perhaps too nerdy a joke but I liked it. Anyway, there could be a lot of other factors to consider -- environmental, rig and pedal order, proximity to sources of noise, and even shielding that isn't complete or electrically conductive. It's tough to diagnose this stuff out-of-hand!

[@thebreakfastmenu]

@@Puisheen No market? Oh man, we gotta get a petition going then, I've seen loads of people mention they want Lace JM pickups!

[@Andyanddiana467]

Remember to unplug the cable from your active guitar when you’re not playing or you’ll waste the battery!

[@In_MT]

So nice to see you again 🙂

[@charleszaman7666]

Out of interest Mike, what’s your thoughts on the Jim root jazzmasters? Would love to hear what you make of them

[@Formlessrecording]

I don’t usually watch videos about active pickups, I’m just doing it for effect. For entrainment.

[@TheSaOk]

Welcome back. Bought Jazzmaster Pro 2 and Jaguar American Original 60s guitar after watching your reviews for various guitars and both been awesome fun to play.

[@paulrose9046]

missed u mike!! frankly love to see a new take on a jazzmaster pickup set. as a predominately aggressive-music-style-ish player i must say i am veryyyyyyyy intrigued. as a frequently gigging professional however i do have to say the battery business would be sooooo cumbersome and i direly wish there were a way to obtain these sounds/concepts without the battery hoopla. i love my novak set in mine and was considering sticking the extra j mascis pickups i have in another but i must say u have once again introduced something to pique my interests. well done, much love and hope all is well!!!!

[@therewasascene]

I feel like that SPC control would be most useful with higher gain/fuzzy tone sculpting - boost the mids to taste with a muff or for leads generally Use the scoop for mid gain stuff to make a middier amp more fendery, etc.

[@grantandrews4826]

Hello Mike. I'm doing alright, you know how it is. I bought a Fly Fuzz from Mother Mary because of you. It's very cool in every way. ❤

[@crossbones911]

JBE also makes a jm pickup, but with dual blade type magnets. I have a set of their tele pickups and they're my favorite sounding pickup. Unfortunately, I can't find a demo or a sound sample of them anywhere. They're noiseless too.

[@macsarcule]

Sounds awesome, but I can’t imagine pulling my strings and pickguard off every time I need to change the battery. I’d be pretty tempted to route out a battery compartment to open in the back.

[@brncrw]

Good stuff. Novak Thunderbirds, though. 🤔 I think that's the direction I might go for JM #2.

[@MildFantasyThreat]

Would love to see you review a G&L Doheny with Leo's MFD wide bobbin pickups!

[@rossamundbrennan7248]

Very strange to not hear you play the riff when showcasing pickup positions. Great to have you back though 💜

[@Puisheen]

ROSSAMUND I actually cut it from the episode. It's weird not having it but I just wasn't feeling it lol

[@mastermachetier5594]

Awesome video man ! Also would have loved to see the wiring !

[@gaston7484]

Great demo! Pls review the new 2023 Collection Traditional Late 60s Jaguar (MIJ) next

[@ethanpearson897]

Big ear woodcutter is such a fantastic rat variant. Love mine on my board

[@chrisprescottguitar]

He’s back! Love it!

[@RS2KR]

Wow these sounded really good.

[@PeacewiththeGraces]

Oh man. I want it.

[@Mindartcreativity]

Thanks for this review, Mike! Great video and great sounds. I'm new to Jazzmasters, only got my first one in 2021, but I have been playing EMGs my whole life. I'd really love to see a full/extended playthrough of the pickups with your pedalboard to really hear how they react to different drive, fuzz and modulation pedals. The EMGs (and Fishman active pickups) in my other guitars don't really like my Rat-type pedal (Walrus Audio Iron Horse) but that might also be because they are humbuckers and compress more. If you consider making such a video, that would be great and would help a lot of people. I also think that the "rhythm" circuit controls would work better as pull/push pots instead of wheels that are fiddly to change while playing. To be honest I'd just leave them unplugged if possible. As a fun fact I have the exact same guitar in the same finish and that made me even more interested in this video.

[@linleechiun]

Brilliant EMG made a on board pedal without saying it . Great idea for every pickguard-covered guitar 🎸

[@kevinkeith3530]

Kinda makes sense. The most modern JM with modern pickups. Think it sounds great actually

[@urban_coyote]

I've found the stock pickups in the Vintera 60s modified to be brutally shrill on the top and lackluster in the mids. I've been searching high and low for a pickup situation that would fit my style... Never imagined it would be EMGs 😂 rarely mess with the rhythm circuit on the standard JM or Jags, I feel like I'd get way more utility from the EMG set-up

[@crock2434]

Love EMGs. 81/60 set is beast

[@elavd]

Great video Mike! Thank you. By the way, what exactly color does this jazzmaster has? It looks like Lake placid blue, but somehow it's different...

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

I remember getting the Megazord toy! It was an awesome experience

[@catv11598]

I was like "oh ok that's cool, that's fine" until the fuzz demo, now I want a set of these so badly

[@kennygardner5041]

Original JM’s are quiet in two pickup mode. I had an original 1966 untouched. One pickup is reverse wound. So is a Jazz Bass.

[@nealixd.3011]

I'm not much of a Jazzmaster or an active EMG aficionado, but I did buy a used 1994 Fender (made in Korea) "Squier Series" Stratocaster at a local GC that has an active EMG DG20 David Gilmour pre-wired pickguard/pups assembly in it. GC had not marked it as such, and really wasn't smart enough to figure it (judged on talking to the salesman and the non-specific sales tag), but while I was simply trying it out and playing it I was wondering, "what in the world is in this thing? It sounds fantastic and the two tones controls seem to be doing a lot, whatever it is". Searching the web on my smart phone by the EMG branded pups and the white pearloid pickguard, I figured it out to be the DG20 and bought it for circa $350, minus a penny before sales tax. It was also like getting a really great playing and cool looking vintage Fender guitar for another $30, ha, since the EMG part of it cost $320 new at the time, even less if you factor in sales tax. The guitar itself is one of those sleepers with a vintage white finish and rosewood neck, that is every bit a good Fender Stratocaster in and of itself (the "Squier Series" is in small print on the nose of the headstock where they usually put synchronized tremolo and the brand is the big Fender logo). The white pearloid guard looks cool on it too.

[@nealixd.3011]

I shared your video to my musician's page and tagged a couple guys who might find this fascinating, no doubt, great video.

[@calvinevans6347]

Hey Mike!!! If I upgrade the pickups on my Squier Jaguar, is it recommended or necessary to upgrade the electronics as well? Do you have a video on the subject?

[@Puisheen]

If you're going to get in there you may as well. The electronics that come in most Squiers isn't anything special, and in some cases, detrimental to your sound with wildly varying tolerances and less robust components. Upgrading at least the lead circuit with full size CTS pots and Switchcraft jacks and switches will help immensely

[@calvinevans6347]

@@Puisheen thank you, Mike. I bought a pair of pure 65 pickups for a Squier CV Jag.

[@t_sosh]

Darnit, my Trek-loving friend... I just rewatched this and now I need a set! For comparison's sake, I know Pancake had the JM-V/JM-Fat set but you said there's JM-Historics in there now? Which version? '58? '59? '60-'64? '65-'69?

[@Cadillac500]

I never thought EMG pickups would be good for ska, but I'm impressed.

[@adamdavis106]

Spit take when the infomercial bit popped up. 😂

[@camarotrash]

4:32 That’s a good riff. It could be a song.

[@christopherdunn974]

This makes me want a Jazzmaster and those pickups lol

[@Insanicide13]

Mr.Adams, could you do a video on the Squier paranormal Cyclone?

[@e.r.559am7]

The EMG"s sure are quiet but the novaks have that 'thang': more sparkle and complexity. There's really no comparison. The ESG rolled up is harsh. PS huge fan of your playing: real nice altrock/postrock/oddrock instead of the 10,00th iteration of Little Wing. Thank you!!!!

[@NikonFA84]

When did Mike put Novak historics in pancake? Is there a video about it? I've been waiting for a demo since they came out!

[@Puisheen]

They've been in there since before the line came out. I'm extremely pleased with them!

[@NikonFA84]

@@Puisheen which ones did you go for? Is there a video in the works? I took a gamble right when they were introduced and got the 58s with the fat bridge, very pleased with them! Would love to watch you demo yours! 🙏🙏

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Fine video ... I didnt know this...but you CAN actially PLAY 🤯

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

How's your feelings on the Gold pickups ??

[@BayAreaBrenner]

These are pretty cool. You definitely sacrifice a little of the JM sparkle. But the versatility of using the SPC and EXG controls get you a lot of usable tones for a variety of music styles. Makes me wanna build a Jazzmaster now.

[@jonjones655]

Welcome back! Ugh battery issues...the pickups do sound like EMGs to me, cool but cutting up my Jazzmaster or having to pull the pickguard every time I have to replace it?!? nope

[@WordupG]

I don’t know why they don’t just build in a rechargeable battery and a discrete USB-C port. That would be so much better.

[@calvinevans6347]

Hey Mike!!! It's me again. I'm purchasing a Squier 70's CV Jaguar from Sweetwater. I purchased a pair of Fender Pure Vintage Pickups for them to install. What size are the stock pots and what, if at all, should I upgrade them to in order to maximize the upgrade? Also, is shimming the neck always necessary on this style of guitar?