Entwistle (the other one)

[bremen]

I have Entwistle neodymium pickups in my Precision and just done my first rehearsal with them. They are monstrous. Love them. Dirtier than the quarter pounders they replace.

 

Wasn't all easy though. As others have noted, they are physically very deep- the pole pieces protrude a long way out the back, and some routing was called for. And the ears are bigger than any other P pickup I've met so the pickguard needed modded. Why they chose to depart from a well established standard I have no idea. Must have put a few people off buying a great sounding and very affordable item.

 

The other niggle was: the pole pieces weren't grounded so there was hum pickup, and a LOT of noise if you touch them. Easily fixed by wrapping tinned copper wire round the back, but again this surely must have disappointed some customers.

 

But they do sound fantastic.

[Bassman68]

I’ve just got one for a bitsa P-bass I’ve been knocking up.

It’s an immense sounding pickup but I’ve experienced the same as yourself, having to mod the scratchplate etc.

I also found it easier to mount the pickup with screws rather than foam underneath due to the extra depth of the poles.

The slight noise doesn’t bother me as I use a wireless, so no grounding issues when played live..

Still considering an EMG GZR at some point but will see how it goes over the next few months..

[neepheid]

I've got one waiting to go in a bass which is on back order.  Glad to hear positive things about the sound, and for the warnings about potential pitfalls (which sound like they're not dealbreakers).

[kodiakblair]

Long time fan of Entwistle neodymium pickups.

 

Loud AF, don't lose the mids and they don't have a stupid name designed to attract impressionable Americans 😁

 

I've fitted plenty of them over the years. 

 

Pickup covers too big. Covers can be swapped, you just pop them off. Either reuse the one from your old pickup or £3 from eBay 👍

 

Poles too long. Generally not an issue if you're replacing a ceramic mag pickup or as @Bassman68 mentioned use springs instead of foam.

Should the pickup cavity be particularly shallow, you'll want a pencil, some masking tape and a drill. Masking tape goes in the cavity, rub the pencil on the bottom of the poles then press the pickup into the cavity. You'll have a line of dots showing where the poles will land, use the drill and make holes 🙂 Pickup will now drop in nicely and you won't have made the cavity any deeper.