Old EMG J-set info need

[Marco Pancaldi]

I've been offered an old EMG J set, probably very old.

They have the old brown goop on the bottom, with the white coaxial cable and the red battery wire (not the "modern" snap-on connectors).

Apart specific failures, are EMG prone to bad aging, with poor signal/noise performance etc.? I can't test them and make a fair comparison with a new set.

On the same subject: I remember to have rejected years ago a full-humbucker model (81 or maybe 85) having big string-to-string balance problems...maybe had you similar experience?

many thanks

Marco Pancaldi

[JoshG]

Hi Marco,

As long as the brown epoxy/secret sauce isn't breaking down and the lead wires are in good shape, there's no reason why they wouldn't keep on functioning as they were designed to. EMGs, both old and new, can take quite a bit of punishment.

As for string to string balance: as applied to your Jazz bass, some of that will hinge on the fingerboard radius, the setup of the instrument, and how critical your ears are. With nearly all "flat" pole-pieced Jazz bass pickups I've ever used, I've noticed the A and D strings not quite having the same output and dynamic energy as the E and G- especially in the bridge pickup location due to the strings vibrating in a smaller, tighter ellipse at that point on the instrument.

If the price is right on that EMG set and they're in good shape, then I'd say it's a safe bet to just go for it. That's my .02, for what it's worth.

I hope this is helpful.

[David Schwab]

Marco, I have a few very old EMGs, included an Overlend EMG mini humbucker with the brown epoxy. I have some pre quick connect EMGs with the black epoxy. They all work fine after almost 25-30 years. I think he old Jazz pickups sound better than the newer ones. I suspect they had more wire wound on them.

[JoshG]

+1 on the old EMGs sounding better.