Alder body Jackson + EMG89s - a good match?

[RaDiKaL]

Hey guys, lately I'm really drawn to that clean, clear active sound that is inherited on EMG pickups, so I'm contemplating a complete overhaul of my guitars's electronics.

I have an alder bodied Jackson Dinky DK2T, with Duncan's Jazz & Alterntive8.

The consensus on the forum seems to be that the 89 is a very good match for this type of wood, tight and clear but not as "clinical" or maybe not as shrill (on alder) as say an 81.

Anyone has hands on experience with this combination? I mostly play on Drop C and lower.

Also I was thinking of using two push-pull volume controls in place of the useless (to me) tone control. Looking at the schematic it seems pretty trivial to do it, but I have no experience with active electronics and I'm not sure if anyone's tried it.

And lastly which are the single coil's sweat spots (I never tried coil splitting on my humbuckers)? Would you suggest an 89R where the single coil is facing the neck on both positions?

Thanks!

 

[JeffTD]

Sounds like an awesome combination to me! I use the 89 in less bassy axes, and prefer it over the 85 because it's tighter and doesn't have as much low-mid buildup.

 

[RaDiKaL]

Hey Jeff, you know that one reason that really got me hooked was your awesome Rose Of Sharyn DIs!

Would you recommend the 89 for the bridge and the 89R for the neck, or vice versa?

 

[AgentX]

I did exactly this a while ago on my Jackson DK2, I think it might of even been JeffTD who recommended me the 89. Its a great pickup for this guitar and would recommend it.

Luckily when I bought mine it was second hand and already wired up so all I had to do was a small amount of soldering and it was ready to go. I only use the bridge pickup and no neck pickup so can't help you on that one.

If you have any questions give me a shout.

 

[DominikJW]

Dunno about 89 but I had an 81 in DK2T and it sounded kinda thin. Wanted to try the 85 but eventually I sold the axe which i regret every day ;(

 

[Mancha]

Unfortunately, it`s a hit or miss with alder and 89.

I also got 89 cause of Jeff`s awesome Di`s for my alder strat, but it turned out that it sounds very thin and crappy. Oddly enough Duncan Vintage Staggered for Strat single sounded more beefy in it.
It was on 18v.

 

[RaDiKaL]

Kinda bumping this thread, sorry!

I took the plunge and got two 89Rs, I just installed them and I must say they sound fucking amazing! So tight, clean and clear and not at all thin! Sound like a perfect match for alder! Thanks guys for the suggestions!

Also the solderless system is great and makes it very easy to install all the components (I did a complete conversion from passive to active - so I changed everything).

Just a bit of a warning. The quick connect cable from the pickups has quite a bunch of plastic heads/leads, so it may not fit the hole for the pickup cable in your guitar. It didn't on my Jackson. I had to carefully remove the plastic tabs, pass it through the hole and put them back on the cable leads. And make sure your cavity is big enough for all the stuff!

Here's the cavity after installation.