Doug Wimbish from Living Colour is such an insanely smooth bassist. Look no further than his playthrough of the classic “Cult Of Personality”, which Wimbish breezes through like it’s nothing. I’m not actually sure he even touches the strings throughout – I think he just waves his hand over ’em and they do his bidding. Have I mentioned that Wimbish’s playing is smooth?
Check it out below and get yourself a nice Wimbish tone right here thanks to his EMG Pickups Doug Wimbish DW Signature PJ Set (which goes for $189). And if you’re really feeling the low end, check out Wimbish’s signature Spector basses right here as well. Those start at $3,499.99, which is y’know – a little more than some pickups.
At its core, the DW set follows a classic P/J architecture: a split-coil P-style pickup in the middle position paired with a J-style bridge pickup. EMG developed the set by studying Wimbish’s original 1980s Spector bass, analyzing how the original EMG P/J combination interacted with his playing style, effects chain, and performance dynamics.
The result is a pickup set that emphasizes high headroom, tight low-end response, and a distinctly forward midrange presence. The split-coil P pickup delivers the foundational punch, while the bridge-position J pickup adds definition and harmonic complexity that helps the bass cut through..
Visually, EMG leans into the nostalgia factor by using the original EMG logo on the pickups, reinforcing the connection to the company’s early era and the era of bass design it helped define. Installation is streamlined thanks to EMG’s quick-connect system, making the set accessible not just to custom builders, but to any player looking to drop that signature tone into an existing instrument without extensive modification.
