A few years ago I bought (off this forum) a pair of rather expensive Joe Barden pickups for my Jazz. They were to replace the EMG Selects that were on that particular instrument.
Well. If you read up on them at source they are would to replicate the 'original authentic' sound of an early fender Jazz bass.
I sold the EMGs to Ou7shined up there in Aberdeen who put them on a good bass and proclaimed they were 'pretty decent.'
After a certain period of time it occurred to me that the EMG Selects were also designed to sound like the original 57 Jazz bass, and to be honest with myself, when I listened to recordings of the Jazz with each of the brands in, I was buggered if I could tell the difference!!! Oh sure, when I payed a lot of money for the Bardens, I kidded myself that I could hear a tighter bottom end, more defined mids and extended highs. That's what you'd like if you'd forked out a load of cash.
At the end of the day, I bought the EMGs back from Rich & put them back in - and do you know what? I couldn't really tell the difference. Both were wound to reproduce the same kind of tone & they both did it. Therefore they sounded very very similar except one was about 4 times the cost of the other.
I sold the Bardens.
And the GFS Fatbody neck pickup for Telecaster is an absolutely superb pup for the money. I may get another - in fact I fancy a specially cut Strat pickguard so I could have a Strat with 3 of them. The GFS bass pups are good value for money too.
G.