Thank you Billy for all you've done for the progression of not only bass as an instrument and artform, but for bass hardware as well! Its totally awesome to see you on here! Thank you so much! BASS ON!
@@LowEndLobster Pretty cool that he reached out to you. I ordered the GZR P pickups today but now I've seen your video, I have to buy another P bass for the Dimarzios. 😂🤘
Thank you Cletus! I agree, DiMarzio is on FIRE right now. Unique designs with unique, killer, and very usable tones. The Relentless and SixtiesP are the yin and yang to the P bass pickup game IMO.
Lobster: everytime I hit that "like" button and watch your claw transform into a real hand before my eyes I rest well at night knowing I did my little part to help keep the show going. Team effort is the way to success! Lmao 🤣
The resonance peak of the DiMarzio is a lot stronger, brings out that "Billy Sheehan growl" without the need for his setup, where the EMG is flatter and warmer. Both very good sounds.
Samantha King it is metal. Great review by Lobster, and great analysis by you! I've got a Relentless in a Lakland 44-51 and a 44-64 GZ w/ the EMG. The Relentless is my favorite.
Love how that Dimarzio has the ears/nubs recessed to make resting your thumb on it easier, would definitely be getting it just from that feature alone.
Thanks Ren! Interesting that you mention that. I think comfort is something that's not on the forefront of most pickup manufacturers designs, but makes a big impact
I am an old drummer of 72 that has had to give it up but decided to learn bass. I wanted a starter bass to learn on and bought the donner bass because of your review. I have a twin who played bass with me for years and he has a late 70 fender precision bought new. My donner is gust as good when compared to the build quality and playing of both. Thanks for doing these reviews and letting people like me hear and see the good andbad that is out there.
Lobster thinks he has some licks. Cat says - "I'll show you some licks." I have a pair of SD Quarter Pounders in a semi hollow project of mine. The longer I've had them, the more they feel like they are lacking something. Not sure if I want to change the pickups, or add a preamp. The Geezer, and the Dimarzio are both sounding pretty nice!
I just went through 3 different P pickups in 3 months trying to find "the one." I thought I had it.... then I see this video of the Relentless pickup. So nice! THAT was the tone I've been looking for. Gotta save more money!
@@PorchBass I'd been using Dean Markley cryogenic strings starting in the early to mid-90s, because I kept breaking the lowest two strings, and not only could they survive the brutality I apparently put bass strings through, they sounded GREAT! I still use them on my main active bass, but my 83 American P bass is now strung with Ernie Ball Cobalt, l was very surprised, shocked even, by the Cobalt strings, how they just seem to feel a little different under your fingers, how great they sound, and how long that great sound lasts.
@@Metalbass10000 cheers they sound good and I didn't know of them. Always up for trying new stuff I remember a trying groundwound and half round years ago
@@PorchBass Yes! As an instrument builder I'm always in search of new avenues to familiar tonal comfort zones. As someone who has been fascinated with metallurgy, from ancient to ultra-modern, how composition affects structures, how BOTH affect its properties and, "behavioral," characteristics, like the patterns of a given string's vibrations, which don't EFFECT the tone of that string, they ARE the tone of that string (I am NOT saying that the composition, and the microcrystalline lattice structure, are what create the tone of a string, I'm saying that the patterns of vibration of a string at a given note, and all of the harmonic series which are also ringing out when that string is played at that note, ARE what create that particular sound, and everything that affects those patterns can affect that sound, or tone, being generated by the vibrations of that string... Sorry, I do get to yammering at times). Once I entered the professional fields of machining, both manual and CNC, machining processes, manufacturing process engineering, I became even more fascinated. It was several years into this career path when I was introduced to the strings you mentioned, and I was blown away. From the time I was 4 years old and first heard Jaco Pastorius I was really fond of the sound of flatwound strings on a fretless bass. I learned much later in life that he used round wound strings on his fretless, but most people can't do that and sound good, and it also tends to be quite rough on the fretboard. Personally, I could never get comfortable playing flat wound strings whether on a fretless or fretted bass for whatever reason So, when a repeat customer, who has become one of my regular clients, and a good friend, asked me to build him a fretless bass, but he also did not like flat wound strings, and did not want to use flat wound strings on his bass, I wasn't sure what to do. That was when I was told of, at just the moment I needed an answer, the half ground strings. I looked into them, how they were made, how they were originally designed, and it was, for me, a huge gift, a blessing, and a problem solver. To my friend, my client, those strings were a revelation. In the next week, give or take a day or two, I will be beginning a 6-string bass build,, which he has expressed a lot of interest in buying, and I am planning on using the half ground strings for this build. I think they will pair extremely well with a mahogany body, a 6 bolt, bolt-on neck, using bolts and steel inserts in the neck,, not wood screws (not disparaging use of high quality screws in the neck joint, lots of high quality guitars and basses are built using them, I still use them on some builds when requested by the customer or client), a two-way, or double acting truss rod, possibly two carbon fiber rods, a multi-laminate neck made of beautifully figured Sugar (Rock) Maple, Wenge, possibly Padauk, and Mahogany (though I am considering Limba in place of the Mahogany, as I have an abundance of very nice, extremely straight-grained White, and Black Limba, generally preferring the White Limba for necks, and Black Limba for bodies, for structural considerations). I had considered a 36" scale, but I had several people, whose judgement and taste I do respect, all suggesting a 34" or 35" would appeal to a larger cross section of bass players in the 6 string marker. I'm not sure about choice of a book matched top for the body, I have many options (Quilted Maple, Spalted Maple, Spalted AND Quilted/Curly Maple, three very different examples of figured Redwood, an incredible Cocobolo billet my wife and I refer to as having Angel's wings, a selection of figured Claro Walnut, some being deeply figured while others have less intense figuring but are extraordinarily colorful, or a deeply Quilted Purpleheart, though that one is likely to be reserved for a build of an instrument to be auctioned off to raise funds for a charitable organization that assists combat veterans who have sustained injuries, but have received thoroughly inadequate care since returning home, especially those who have been prescribed large amounts of opiates, and have, no surprise, become addicted, or dependent upon, those damned opiates. I'm leaning towards a fret board of either Pale Moon Ebony or Gaboon Ebony. Stainless frets from Jescar, GraphTech TUSQ nut, either Hipshot or GraphTech tuners, bridge from Hipshot, or our own proprietary design bridge, an EMG BTC and a pair of EMG TW-45 pickups (though I may opt for a 45JX-CS for added tonal possibilities). Sorry for the verbosity.
I was literally contemplating/researching the EMG P vs the EMG P Geezer Butler pickups for my Bumblebee tribute, and what pops up!?!? My friendly neighborhood LowEndLobster review vid!!! Thanks Lobster! Sincerely, your local NERC Compliance savage.
God damn that DiMarzio is tight! I can hear certain tonal variations caused by different setups and probably different fretboards, but there's a LOT of quality coming from that pickup alone.
The Geezer Butlers (PJ set) came stock on my Lakland 44-64 GZ and are the best passive pickups I've ever played. Those DiMarzio's sound killer as well!
Great video! Loved both pickups, but that DiMarzio sounded badass! Please do a review with the DiMarzio Relentless neck pickup! It's much harder to find good reviews of it than of the P pickup. Also loved hearing the pick and would love to hear it more often on your channel. Pbass played with a pick is a classic combo.
I thought both were great! Both quite different in tone. The Dimarzio had a more aggressive tone great for fast pick..punk and the like. The Geezer sounded more classy and expensive to me and in the cheaper bass too. Both basses are punching above their weight! Great review!
I have the dimazio relentless paired with the big fat "model one". Mine does not sound quite as bright as yours tho. Now all you need to do is a few "how to solder", "equipment you need to have" and a "5 things I wished I knew when I modded my first bass" vids. I think a lot of people could benefit from it. Plus the more we are in the mad bassentist club the better. Stay safe my man
I went with the EMGs Geezers on my old Mex P bass. Needed new pots anyway. So, they are tight and sound great thru my Markbass rig. 2-10- and a Nano head. Get a lot of compliments on the tone. Were very easy to install.
Awwww KITTEH !!!! These both sound great, Lobster. It's nice to know a $100 bass with minor mods can sound so good. I bet each bass has a total of less than $275 into them.
Dude, I put in a Relentless pickup in my frankenstein p-bass earlier this year. It sounds soooo good. They give you a crazy amount of wiring length though. Glad you like it, Billy Sheehan and Dimarzio knocked that one out of the park. I'd say it's the best rock and metal P pickup out there. The Geezer sounds great too! I'll keep that one in mind for future basses.
“We here at Donner music instruments and other stuff, would like to point out that we don’t have a “P bass thing”. The electric bass guitar musical instrument, that your Mr. Lobster is reviewing in this video, is the cleverly named DPB-501S. It also is not called the “PB420NJ-X2” tho it is a catchy name. We would also point out, “upgrading” the pickups immediately voids the warranty...sorry!” Hugs and kisses, TT (not a real Donner employee)
Both sound good. And normally I am an EMG guy in my basses. I have a bass with the EMG p-j set in it and some others with different model EMG's but hats off to that Dimarzio pickup. It sounds really good and looks nice in that Tagima! Thumbs way up!👍
@@LowEndLobster With that said I actually have and Ibanez ATK300 coming this weekend. I was looking to try a something a little different and found a great deal on a 2006 model. I watched your video of the 810 and some others and figured why not. Thanks for bringing us these cool vids!
Nice comparison, I decided to go with the EMG solderless pickups and they work a treat. True to form, the ground wire slipped out of the plastic holder thingy, I think that's the technical term, I just pushed it back in and it stayed in place. Who knew? Thanks for your most excellent work Lobster.
The DiMarzio is the clear winner to my ears. The wood/fingerboard combinations effect the tone, but the DiMarzio still gets it. I look forward to the "test bass" for pickups! By the way - have you checked out the Nordstrand Power Blade P pickup? Thanks Lobster!
Hey Lobster, great informative video as usual. Very curious about the Relentless pick-ups. Looking forward for more pick-up videos. I'm still planning to replace my pick-ups, not yet decided what.
That DiMarzio sounds incredible...like REALLY incredible. But as a primary five-string player, I've always been frustrated with the lack of P-Basses and P-Bass related stuff, particularly as compared to the Jazz Bass world, which always has some sort of equivalent five-string offering. The GZR pickup has always blown me away, but again, no five-string offering. I ended up dropping a vintage wound Nordstrand in my American Standard V and it sounds great. Still, I wish EMG would offer a five-string GZR! :D
this channel is so underrated yet so good at reviewing and communicating with audience. please make an Instagram account and promote your channel, lobster!
I’ve played Dimarzio P pickups before. The knock I have is that they are great for rock and nothing else. This Relentless pickup is truly beautiful and versatile! Looks like my Nate Mendel P-Bass is getting a modification......
Ive had my eyes on the geezer pickups for a while, but I was considering the pj configuration. I would also love to see more with the headless Ibanez and maybe some dingwall/nordstrand pickups!
Great video !! I dig both sets but the Relentless for me are what I dig . I'm going to really have to try a set at some point . Love the channel name too ! :)
Thank you! I am considering snagging another couple of sets for a double P bass that has undergone a bit of a transformation recently. We shall see! Thanks again for the kind words and welcome :)
the high output and spice......all following expectations..well done ....for me the big surprise with tone half down.........now that's fat without mud!! great !
@@Doodlebug1996 The knobs can be removed by applying a little pressure, you will have to replace them though, the originals are not good for emg pots. The whole kit fits without any structural modification.
Yess, I was waiting for the video with the GZR. 😉 I have to say both sound awesome to me! Couldn't choose one over the other. Luckily I don't have to, as my P bass is already equipped with a fine GZR. 😅
The Tagima with the Relentless sounded amazing. The GZR was a tad behind but still excellent. It is my pickup of choice mounted in my 50’s Classic P…..BUT the Relentless comes out top for me here.
The clip for the ground connect is easy. Clip it down on one side to crimp the bridge ground, and if you need to release it, clip it down on the other side. Moves like a see saw
Thanks for that comparison. Both are excellent, of course, and are the two finalists for going into my Squier Mini P Bass. For me, it's the Relentless tone but...the Geezer doesn't need soldering so there's that. A solder-less Relentless? LOL.
Hi 🦞 for me I prefer the Billy Sheehan pickups. Will add these to the wish list for a P Bass project. Might keep passive or pair with the 2 band DG tone capsule .Nice one
DiMarzio looks and sounds amazing. But bass pick ups should always be checked in a full band setting. I have the EMG and it doesnt sound outstanding on its own, but in a band, there is some big magic happening. Everyone I played with loved the sound. Plus I dont understand how EMGs solderless system is still not the standard on all electronics. so easy, simple and solid.
Great video, thanks! I would look forward to more stuff like this, maybe even comparing/putting in context more budget pickup options and for different types of pickups. There really is not much around on the internet for pickup comparisons, not to the high standards that your videos have
Both pickup sets sound very snappy and very nice sounding I really love both pick ups if I was going for something to do with heavy-metal I would probably go with the Geezer Butler signature pickup set, but I still think that Billy Sheehan is an amazing musician and he always plays with amazing equipment and I think that these pick ups that he is playing with are amazing by DiMarzio, I like both sounds!! It’s a personal preference what people want in their instruments but I would go with the EMG these are because I play heavy-metal music and I think it’s got a more rounded more punchy tone for Rock and heavy metal music through a mix, thank you lobster 🦞!
Cool, thanks for this video. I'm familiar with the Geezer Butler PJ set. I installed the P bass pickup into a Squire and the owner, and his band were blown away by the tone, the punch, and the dynamics. Looking for a pickup to pair with the Geezer J bass pickup in an upcoming build. Suggestions, anyone? It's going into a neck through, 34-in scale, tiger stripe sugar maple, black walnut, and red heart multi laminate neck, Maple wings and a beautifully figured Claro Walnut top about a half inch thick. Likely using bird's eye sugar maple 24 fret and chest scarf jumbo stainless steel frets, hip shots Rickenbacker replacements bridge and hipshot tuners, draft tech black XL nuts. I was wanting to build a base with a lot of Rickenbacker qualities, but now I just want to build a really bad ass Bass,
You should install that EB3 style Shehan Hbucker PUP in a cheap bass (routering). Billy runs that Pup to a separate bass amp (so a 1/4” out from each Pup)
Tagima its the First Bass that i have see in this Channel. Tagima is a Brazilian Brand and i'm Brazilian . If tou had the chance grab on of the Brazil hand made séries .they got brazillians wood that sound realy good and a little bit diferent from the normal
I can already guess that, if you record both basses in a mix, the DiMarzio one will pop out much more. That would be an interesting experiment to make.
Hey lobster, another quality video. Regarding the emg ground connector, I messed up first time, I managed to pop it back out using a Stanley blade! Hope that helps a little sir?........
Ya im going with the Dimarzio pick up this time, and I am loving the look of that bass as well. Well done sir! Any chance of the packaderm gold review? That's the one I want to see, buy, play, etc
Heyo! We'll have one very soon. Doing a DIY Fender Precision parts build (with all Fender parts minus the pickup which is that split dual-rail P like Adam Neely)! Will probably be up sometime in May :)
@@LowEndLobster nice one man. I'm really like my P basses. I have 4. The more definition you can give them, the more versatile they are. Love what you're doing. Keep it up. If you ever want to review an Epiphone Accu P bass. Let me know.
Both pickups sound great! One thing though if I may ask :). If you demonstrate tones with a pick, could you please also play without palm muting? That would help a lot since most pick players don't really palm mute that often these days. Thank you for making these awesome videos!
Hey Mattiverse! Yes! Still getting comfortable with pick playing, and the video releases are a bit out of order (so you may see me be better in some videos and worse in some after ;P).
@@LowEndLobster No worries man, it's not bad to palm mute while playing with a pick and there is nothing bad about your playing :) It's just obviously a very different tone than not palm muted tone.
Thank you, Sir -- for your kind words about these pickups. Very kind of you! I enjoy your channel very much as well. Wishing you the best! Bass On!
Thank you Billy for all you've done for the progression of not only bass as an instrument and artform, but for bass hardware as well! Its totally awesome to see you on here! Thank you so much! BASS ON!
@@LowEndLobster A shout out from the man himself....Fair play Lobster, nice work.
Billy is the best guy ever
The master of "Economy in Motion". A philosophy I will never forget.
@@LowEndLobster Pretty cool that he reached out to you. I ordered the GZR P pickups today but now I've seen your video, I have to buy another P bass for the Dimarzios. 😂🤘
Haven't even finished the video and in my mind, that dimarzio is the true winner between the two. Good work Lobster!
Thanks Brock!
That Relentless puts out glorious tones. DiMarzio is in the Golden Age right now.
Thank you Cletus! I agree, DiMarzio is on FIRE right now. Unique designs with unique, killer, and very usable tones. The Relentless and SixtiesP are the yin and yang to the P bass pickup game IMO.
Wow, that Dimarzio turned that inexpensive bass into a tone monster!
Thanks Darvin! They do sound really good. We'll be doing more content with those pickups soon :)
Lobster: everytime I hit that "like" button and watch your claw transform into a real hand before my eyes I rest well at night knowing I did my little part to help keep the show going. Team effort is the way to success! Lmao 🤣
Glad I’m not the only one. Cheers
@@PushSueAside lol!! Cheers!
You guys keep the channel alive!
The resonance peak of the DiMarzio is a lot stronger, brings out that "Billy Sheehan growl" without the need for his setup, where the EMG is flatter and warmer. Both very good sounds.
Excellent analysis and great comment!
Is the cover actually metal on the Relentless? Probably some neat inductance effect on the tone as well, if so. Tame the ceramic magnets a bit.
Samantha King it is metal. Great review by Lobster, and great analysis by you! I've got a Relentless in a Lakland 44-51 and a 44-64 GZ w/ the EMG. The Relentless is my favorite.
That dimarzio is KILLER!
Right?! I want to do more projects with those
I wonder how the Relentless compares to the Sixties P!
@@jaxonvictoria4345 hoping to check that new pickup out too!
Love how that Dimarzio has the ears/nubs recessed to make resting your thumb on it easier, would definitely be getting it just from that feature alone.
They’re much comfier than regular p bass pickups. I think they’re great
Thanks Ren! Interesting that you mention that. I think comfort is something that's not on the forefront of most pickup manufacturers designs, but makes a big impact
That and the fact they're slightly arced to match the standard arc of the neck.
It's easy to saw off the nub and get a drill to recess the screw. I did it with all my DiMarzios.
“….I forget. It’s a fretboard 🤷🏼♂️”. Just spit out my coffee laughing at that one 🤣
I'm a very simple man, I see cat, I press like. The bass is a nice bonus! Haha!
Thanks Timothy :)
I am an old drummer of 72 that has had to give it up but decided to learn bass. I wanted a starter bass to learn on and bought the donner bass because of your review. I have a twin who played bass with me for years and he has a late 70 fender precision bought new. My donner is gust as good when compared to the build quality and playing of both. Thanks for doing these reviews and letting people like me hear and see the good andbad that is out there.
The sloped Billy Sheehan are a super cool idea, and sound thicc. Mostly I’m glad that your left elbow got a thorough cleaning.
Thanks Jon! Hahaha Elbow cleanliness is one of Goon's top priorities, she's a licker lol
I love the sound of the DiMarzio Relentless 😍 I think it has more lowend than the other one
Thank you Ej!
Dimarzio is so sweet and clear and the bottom end is well balanced.
Thanks Benjamin! I've become quite the DiMarzio fan lately. Loooove their pickups!
Been using EMG GZR for over 5 years now (live and some studio). Absolutely my favorite aftermarket vintage style P pup.
Thanks mouthmw! They're great pickups!
Wow, that dimarzio
Been looking at them for a while.
Another on point video. Best bass channel on RUclips
Thank you Crayon!
Lobster thinks he has some licks. Cat says - "I'll show you some licks." I have a pair of SD Quarter Pounders in a semi hollow project of mine. The longer I've had them, the more they feel like they are lacking something. Not sure if I want to change the pickups, or add a preamp. The Geezer, and the Dimarzio are both sounding pretty nice!
Thank you Bizi! Haha we call that cat "Licky Goon" cause she relentlessly licks
Licky goon is a good band name lol
XD
I upgraded my cort pbass with some vintage fender pbass pickups and vintage pots and inputs and it sounds amazing now! modding is so much fun
Awesome! It really is and it builds confidence too. I don't know what I enjoy more, playing or modding!
I just went through 3 different P pickups in 3 months trying to find "the one." I thought I had it.... then I see this video of the Relentless pickup. So nice! THAT was the tone I've been looking for. Gotta save more money!
You could try different strings too to further tweak your setup? Elites/elixir/ coated give a unique tone once aged
@@PorchBass I'd been using Dean Markley cryogenic strings starting in the early to mid-90s, because I kept breaking the lowest two strings, and not only could they survive the brutality I apparently put bass strings through, they sounded GREAT! I still use them on my main active bass, but my 83 American P bass is now strung with Ernie Ball Cobalt, l was very surprised, shocked even, by the Cobalt strings, how they just seem to feel a little different under your fingers, how great they sound, and how long that great sound lasts.
@@Metalbass10000 cheers they sound good and I didn't know of them. Always up for trying new stuff I remember a trying groundwound and half round years ago
Thanks Bassnyc, James, and Metalbass! Great comments :)
@@PorchBass Yes! As an instrument builder I'm always in search of new avenues to familiar tonal comfort zones. As someone who has been fascinated with metallurgy, from ancient to ultra-modern, how composition affects structures, how BOTH affect its properties and, "behavioral," characteristics, like the patterns of a given string's vibrations, which don't EFFECT the tone of that string, they ARE the tone of that string (I am NOT saying that the composition, and the microcrystalline lattice structure, are what create the tone of a string, I'm saying that the patterns of vibration of a string at a given note, and all of the harmonic series which are also ringing out when that string is played at that note, ARE what create that particular sound, and everything that affects those patterns can affect that sound, or tone, being generated by the vibrations of that string... Sorry, I do get to yammering at times).
Once I entered the professional fields of machining, both manual and CNC, machining processes, manufacturing process engineering, I became even more fascinated. It was several years into this career path when I was introduced to the strings you mentioned, and I was blown away.
From the time I was 4 years old and first heard Jaco Pastorius I was really fond of the sound of flatwound strings on a fretless bass. I learned much later in life that he used round wound strings on his fretless, but most people can't do that and sound good, and it also tends to be quite rough on the fretboard. Personally, I could never get comfortable playing flat wound strings whether on a fretless or fretted bass for whatever reason
So, when a repeat customer, who has become one of my regular clients, and a good friend, asked me to build him a fretless bass, but he also did not like flat wound strings, and did not want to use flat wound strings on his bass, I wasn't sure what to do. That was when I was told of, at just the moment I needed an answer, the half ground strings. I looked into them, how they were made, how they were originally designed, and it was, for me, a huge gift, a blessing, and a problem solver. To my friend, my client,
those strings were a revelation.
In the next week, give or take a day or two, I will be beginning a 6-string bass build,, which he has expressed a lot of interest in buying, and I am planning on using the half ground strings for this build.
I think they will pair extremely well with a mahogany body, a 6 bolt, bolt-on neck, using bolts and steel inserts in the neck,, not wood screws (not disparaging use of high quality screws in the neck joint, lots of high quality guitars and basses are built using them, I still use them on some builds when requested by the customer or client), a two-way, or double acting truss rod, possibly two carbon fiber rods, a multi-laminate neck made of beautifully figured Sugar (Rock) Maple, Wenge, possibly Padauk, and Mahogany (though I am considering Limba in place of the Mahogany, as I have an abundance of very nice, extremely straight-grained White, and Black Limba, generally preferring the White Limba for necks, and Black Limba for bodies, for structural considerations). I had considered a 36" scale, but I had several people, whose judgement and taste I do respect, all suggesting a 34" or 35" would appeal to a larger cross section of bass players in the 6 string marker.
I'm not sure about choice of a book matched top for the body, I have many options (Quilted Maple, Spalted Maple, Spalted AND Quilted/Curly Maple, three very different examples of figured Redwood, an incredible Cocobolo billet my wife and I refer to as having Angel's wings, a selection of figured Claro Walnut, some being deeply figured while others have less intense figuring but are extraordinarily colorful, or a deeply Quilted Purpleheart, though that one is likely to be reserved for a build of an instrument to be auctioned off to raise funds for a charitable organization that assists combat veterans who have sustained injuries, but have received thoroughly inadequate care since returning home, especially those who have been prescribed large amounts of opiates, and have, no surprise, become addicted, or dependent upon, those damned opiates.
I'm leaning towards a fret board of either Pale Moon Ebony or Gaboon Ebony. Stainless frets from Jescar, GraphTech TUSQ nut, either Hipshot or GraphTech tuners, bridge from Hipshot, or our own proprietary design bridge, an EMG BTC and a pair of EMG TW-45 pickups (though I may opt for a 45JX-CS for added tonal possibilities).
Sorry for the verbosity.
The Dimarzio really brings out your "bass face". The pucker factor goes great as well!
Hehe thank Budd!
I was literally contemplating/researching the EMG P vs the EMG P Geezer Butler pickups for my Bumblebee tribute, and what pops up!?!? My friendly neighborhood LowEndLobster review vid!!! Thanks Lobster! Sincerely, your local NERC Compliance savage.
Update. Ordered the Geezers, can’t wait!
Hell yeah man! Congrats! Real easy install with those. Enjoy!
Aesthetically, the Tagima looks like a beautiful work of art on camera.
God damn that DiMarzio is tight! I can hear certain tonal variations caused by different setups and probably different fretboards, but there's a LOT of quality coming from that pickup alone.
Thanks Bash!
DiMarzio's sound like heaven to me. Especially with a little tone rolled off!
The Geezer Butlers (PJ set) came stock on my Lakland 44-64 GZ and are the best passive pickups I've ever played. Those DiMarzio's sound killer as well!
Great video! Loved both pickups, but that DiMarzio sounded badass! Please do a review with the DiMarzio Relentless neck pickup! It's much harder to find good reviews of it than of the P pickup.
Also loved hearing the pick and would love to hear it more often on your channel. Pbass played with a pick is a classic combo.
Thanks Landroid! That's a great idea, I would love to do a full Sheehan project in the future :)
Spicy hot af, DiMarzio very cool indeed. Clear & defined musical notes. Just love that! Again🎶🎵🎶
Thanks Richard! So happy with how both of these turned out.
I thought both were great! Both quite different in tone. The Dimarzio had a more aggressive tone great for fast pick..punk and the like. The Geezer sounded more classy and expensive to me and in the cheaper bass too. Both basses are punching above their weight! Great review!
Thank you Keith! Was very happy with the turnout of both instruments :)
I have the dimazio relentless paired with the big fat "model one". Mine does not sound quite as bright as yours tho. Now all you need to do is a few "how to solder", "equipment you need to have" and a "5 things I wished I knew when I modded my first bass" vids. I think a lot of people could benefit from it. Plus the more we are in the mad bassentist club the better.
Stay safe my man
Thank you! Great suggestions (seriously, will try to do some more 'talking head' stuff discussing topics like this)!
The Dimarzios killed!
Thank you :)
I went with the EMGs Geezers on my old Mex P bass. Needed new pots anyway. So, they are tight and sound great thru my Markbass rig. 2-10- and a Nano head. Get a lot of compliments on the tone. Were very easy to install.
I love the design and sound of the DiMarzio and I love the sound of the EMG Geezers too, the only solution is to get an extra pickguard and both sets!
Thanks Jim! Indeed both sets are great!
Awwww KITTEH !!!!
These both sound great, Lobster. It's nice to know a $100 bass with minor mods can sound so good. I bet each bass has a total of less than $275 into them.
Thanks Michael! The Tagima + the pickup (if getting both brand new) is probably around $350. The Donner is probably closer to $250 though all in.
I have the DiMarzio’s. They’re fantastic
Thanks Ampher! I agree!
That Di Marzio sounds amazing!
Thanks LaiKa!
Dude, I put in a Relentless pickup in my frankenstein p-bass earlier this year. It sounds soooo good. They give you a crazy amount of wiring length though. Glad you like it, Billy Sheehan and Dimarzio knocked that one out of the park. I'd say it's the best rock and metal P pickup out there. The Geezer sounds great too! I'll keep that one in mind for future basses.
Thanks Michael! I agree. I've used the Geezer on several applications in the past, but the Relentless really impressed me
Perfect timing, just picked myself up a p bass!
Good timing indeed :) Congrats on your bass!
Man you deserve so many more subs This is quality RUclips entertainment
Thank you dude!
@@LowEndLobster No Problem My Lobster compadre !
Nice lobster! I was waiting for a review of the Relentless for a while after Billy announced it but I forgot until now
Thanks Bernard!
The Donner P-bass “thing” 😂🤣
It has some silly name like the Donner PB420NJ-XQ. Ain't nobody gonna remember that!
“We here at Donner music instruments and other stuff, would like to point out that we don’t have a “P bass thing”. The electric bass guitar musical instrument, that your Mr. Lobster is reviewing in this video, is the cleverly named DPB-501S. It also is not called the “PB420NJ-X2” tho it is a catchy name. We would also point out, “upgrading” the pickups immediately voids the warranty...sorry!”
Hugs and kisses,
TT
(not a real Donner employee)
The Tagima has a deeper punch (on the E string) when slapping compared to the Donner. Love the Tagima! Great demo.
Thank you Michael!
Loving that DiMarzio, damn fine sound! Thanks🥂
Thanks Steve!
Both sound good. And normally I am an EMG guy in my basses. I have a bass with the EMG p-j set in it and some others with different model EMG's but hats off to that Dimarzio pickup. It sounds really good and looks nice in that Tagima! Thumbs way up!👍
Thanks Marks5s! I agree, I'm a huge EMG fan but the Relentless here just roars
@@LowEndLobster With that said I actually have and Ibanez ATK300 coming this weekend. I was looking to try a something a little different and found a great deal on a 2006 model. I watched your video of the 810 and some others and figured why not. Thanks for bringing us these cool vids!
Glad to see you used a double bass from my country, I have a Tagima.
I was very impressed by Relentless. I am planning to use Relentless PU for TinyBoy Bass.(23" scale cuty)
Nice comparison, I decided to go with the EMG solderless pickups and they work a treat. True to form, the ground wire slipped out of the plastic holder thingy, I think that's the technical term, I just pushed it back in and it stayed in place. Who knew? Thanks for your most excellent work Lobster.
The Tagima is rocking but, considering the price of the Donner, it's still amazing as well. Love them both L.L.❣
Thanks Gerald! I agree, I chose these basses because they both played very well and would be a great foundation for these mods.
The DiMarzio is the clear winner to my ears. The wood/fingerboard combinations effect the tone, but the DiMarzio still gets it. I look forward to the "test bass" for pickups! By the way - have you checked out the Nordstrand Power Blade P pickup? Thanks Lobster!
Thanks Chris! I haven't yet, but we will be doing some more pickup stuff soon :)
“Next to me are two P-Basses ... and one really winsome kitty.”
The DiMarzio sounds amazing.
I wonder why truly solderless output jacks are so rare.
Thanks Sam!
A standard Switchcraft #11 jack installed in millions of guitars and basses for 50 years fits a standard spade lug.
Yay for pick playing! 😊
:)
The 'Relentless' pickup has some real kick to it.
Then again, it's designed for drive.
Thank you Muppio! Indeed it has some kick! I really like the pickup a lot. I think we'll be featuring a pair of them in an upcoming project soon ;)
Hey Lobster, great informative video as usual. Very curious about the Relentless pick-ups. Looking forward for more pick-up videos. I'm still planning to replace my pick-ups, not yet decided what.
Thanks Gianluigi! Glad you enjoyed the vid :). Any other pickups that you'd like to see?
That DiMarzio sounds incredible...like REALLY incredible. But as a primary five-string player, I've always been frustrated with the lack of P-Basses and P-Bass related stuff, particularly as compared to the Jazz Bass world, which always has some sort of equivalent five-string offering. The GZR pickup has always blown me away, but again, no five-string offering. I ended up dropping a vintage wound Nordstrand in my American Standard V and it sounds great. Still, I wish EMG would offer a five-string GZR! :D
Thanks Paul! Indeed a 5 string geezer would be suhweeet
That Dimarzio sounds excellent. I’ve just ordered one for my P. Great review again Mr L!
this channel is so underrated yet so good at reviewing and communicating with audience.
please make an Instagram account and promote your channel, lobster!
Thank you! I have an insta, I just use it to post bass porn and pics of projects. I try not to get to aggressive with promotions/advertising.
I installed golden relentless pickups on my fender precision bass (limited edition green with tort pickguard) looks and sounds awesome 👍🏼
I’ve played Dimarzio P pickups before. The knock I have is that they are great for rock and nothing else. This Relentless pickup is truly beautiful and versatile! Looks like my Nate Mendel P-Bass is getting a modification......
Thanks Joe! Happy modding :)
Exept pick sound all the rest is just great
Thanks! Yeah working on my pick playing hahaha
Ive had my eyes on the geezer pickups for a while, but I was considering the pj configuration. I would also love to see more with the headless Ibanez and maybe some dingwall/nordstrand pickups!
Thanks SmallFry! That's a great idea with the EHB. I think we may do that at some point!
@@LowEndLobster I’d love to see you do that! I’m also stuck on whether or not I’d keep the preamp on the ehb or put a darkglass preamp in.
I love p basses and cats. This video is almost perfection
Thank you Stef!
Great video !! I dig both sets but the Relentless for me are what I dig . I'm going to really have to try a set at some point . Love the channel name too ! :)
Thank you! I am considering snagging another couple of sets for a double P bass that has undergone a bit of a transformation recently. We shall see! Thanks again for the kind words and welcome :)
the high output and spice......all following expectations..well done ....for me the big surprise with tone half down.........now that's fat without mud!! great !
Love the emg Geezer tone! I have put a set on my Yamaha Bb434m!
Hell yeah! Thanks for sharing, Marco!
Did you have any problem with the pots not being long enough ?
Also how do you get the knobs off the BB ? I'm scared to pull to hard and break it haha
@@Doodlebug1996 The knobs can be removed by applying a little pressure, you will have to replace them though, the originals are not good for emg pots. The whole kit fits without any structural modification.
@@LowEndLobster I love your channel!
Yess, I was waiting for the video with the GZR. 😉 I have to say both sound awesome to me! Couldn't choose one over the other. Luckily I don't have to, as my P bass is already equipped with a fine GZR. 😅
Thanks Al :)
The Tagima with the Relentless sounded amazing. The GZR was a tad behind but still excellent. It is my pickup of choice mounted in my 50’s Classic P…..BUT the Relentless comes out top for me here.
I have a set of gzr pj pups in my fretless bass. Love it. That dimarzio sounds good tho.
Thanks Melter!
The clip for the ground connect is easy. Clip it down on one side to crimp the bridge ground, and if you need to release it, clip it down on the other side. Moves like a see saw
Thanks for that comparison. Both are excellent, of course, and are the two finalists for going into my Squier Mini P Bass. For me, it's the Relentless tone but...the Geezer doesn't need soldering so there's that. A solder-less Relentless? LOL.
Interesting! Solo, the dimarzios for the win. In the mix, the geezers - absolutely no question!
Hi 🦞 for me I prefer the Billy Sheehan pickups. Will add these to the wish list for a P Bass project. Might keep passive or pair with the 2 band DG tone capsule
.Nice one
DiMarzio looks and sounds amazing. But bass pick ups should always be checked in a full band setting. I have the EMG and it doesnt sound outstanding on its own, but in a band, there is some big magic happening.
Everyone I played with loved the sound. Plus I dont understand how EMGs solderless system is still not the standard on all electronics. so easy, simple and solid.
Great review by the lobster 🦞
Thanks T H!
Billy is nailing it for me.
Love the Dimarzio's but then again I have a thing for dimarzio pups.
Tagima is what I vote for. Great job Lobster.
Thank you!
Great video, thanks! I would look forward to more stuff like this, maybe even comparing/putting in context more budget pickup options and for different types of pickups. There really is not much around on the internet for pickup comparisons, not to the high standards that your videos have
The DMZ is amazing!
Thanks Bflo!
I like the way the DiMarizo pickups are curved to match strings...
Both pickup sets sound very snappy and very nice sounding I really love both pick ups if I was going for something to do with heavy-metal I would probably go with the Geezer Butler signature pickup set, but I still think that Billy Sheehan is an amazing musician and he always plays with amazing equipment and I think that these pick ups that he is playing with are amazing by DiMarzio, I like both sounds!! It’s a personal preference what people want in their instruments but I would go with the EMG these are because I play heavy-metal music and I think it’s got a more rounded more punchy tone for Rock and heavy metal music through a mix, thank you lobster 🦞!
Cool, thanks for this video. I'm familiar with the Geezer Butler PJ set. I installed the P bass pickup into a Squire and the owner, and his band were blown away by the tone, the punch, and the dynamics. Looking for a pickup to pair with the Geezer J bass pickup in an upcoming build.
Suggestions, anyone? It's going into a neck through, 34-in scale, tiger stripe sugar maple, black walnut, and red heart multi laminate neck, Maple wings and a beautifully figured Claro Walnut top about a half inch thick. Likely using bird's eye sugar maple 24 fret and chest scarf jumbo stainless steel frets, hip shots Rickenbacker replacements bridge and hipshot tuners, draft tech black XL nuts. I was wanting to build a base with a lot of Rickenbacker qualities, but now I just want to build a really bad ass Bass,
Go double Geezer P's! Doooo itttt ;P
@@LowEndLobster if you're buying it, I'll build it....
You should install that EB3 style Shehan Hbucker PUP in a cheap bass (routering). Billy runs that Pup to a separate bass amp (so a 1/4” out from each Pup)
The EBS Shehan Signature pedal is awesome for Drive/Compression, even feedback squeal at higher Gain setting
Thanks Glenn! That's a great idea! I don't think I'll do that with the Tagima but I think we need to do this on an upcoming project!
@@LowEndLobster Billy Shenan keep that low end going with that front pickup while the Bridge PUP picks up 2nd Register Riffs at scalloped fretboard
Tagima its the First Bass that i have see in this Channel. Tagima is a Brazilian Brand and i'm Brazilian . If tou had the chance grab on of the Brazil hand made séries .they got brazillians wood that sound realy good and a little bit diferent from the normal
Great as always!
Thank you Insoma :)
@@LowEndLobster I thank you for tons of insprirational content!
I can already guess that, if you record both basses in a mix, the DiMarzio one will pop out much more. That would be an interesting experiment to make.
Dimarzio sound seriously nice ！！！ Honestly, never favorite with GZR even revisit it few times....
Thanks Totomo!
Hey lobster, another quality video. Regarding the emg ground connector, I messed up first time, I managed to pop it back out using a Stanley blade! Hope that helps a little sir?........
Thank you! It does help!
This is an amazing video. Thanks :D
Thank you Michael!
I'm looking forward to the release of the Les Claypool EMG set.
Thanks! Me too! :)
Wonderful. All of your videos are great. DiMarzio recommends a 500k pot on the Volume and 250k pot on the Tone. Are these the values you used?
I really like both of these.... Dammit....
;P Decisions decisions haha
Ya im going with the Dimarzio pick up this time, and I am loving the look of that bass as well. Well done sir! Any chance of the packaderm gold review? That's the one I want to see, buy, play, etc
Thanks Ryan! Got the EMG coming soon, should arrive in the next two weeks :)
Check out Delano and Haeussel pickups . . . killer P-tones
Dimarzio !!!!!! Look and sound !
Thanks Christian! We got more DiMarzio content coming :)
Id love a Dimarzio Split P demo on this channel! P humbuckers.
Heyo! We'll have one very soon. Doing a DIY Fender Precision parts build (with all Fender parts minus the pickup which is that split dual-rail P like Adam Neely)! Will probably be up sometime in May :)
@@LowEndLobster cool, maybe go one step further and shoot it against something like the quarter pound? Either way cant wait for it!
I put the relentless in my player series P.... wow!
Nice!
Soo we're not going to talk about the cat going ham on his elbow?😂
You should check out the Curtis Novak PB-90 p bass pick up. Outstanding
Little late to the party, but I messed up the EMG ground wire "plunger" thing, too, twice. I ended up soldering and shrink-tube the connection.
I did that a few times as well
I'm hanging with the DiMarzio crew. The tone is much more varied and the pickups have more kick.
Thanks Rick! I'm only starting to explore DiMarzios and am really liking them.
@@LowEndLobster nice one man. I'm really like my P basses. I have 4. The more definition you can give them, the more versatile they are. Love what you're doing. Keep it up. If you ever want to review an Epiphone Accu P bass. Let me know.
The Tagima is a FAR better instrument. Nicer than the Fender Player series. Not really a fair fight.
Both pickups sound great! One thing though if I may ask :). If you demonstrate tones with a pick, could you please also play without palm muting? That would help a lot since most pick players don't really palm mute that often these days. Thank you for making these awesome videos!
Hey Mattiverse! Yes! Still getting comfortable with pick playing, and the video releases are a bit out of order (so you may see me be better in some videos and worse in some after ;P).
@@LowEndLobster No worries man, it's not bad to palm mute while playing with a pick and there is nothing bad about your playing :) It's just obviously a very different tone than not palm muted tone.