EMG ABQ / Jackson JE-1000

[srob7001]

They haven't updated the esp's yet. When Mustaine got signature pickups it took awhile for them to be in his esp sig line. The pickup is called an emg-alx', it's on the sticker under the pickup and you can see the specs on the emg website (hence having a signature pickup). And yes without any kind of midboost the j50bc sounds terrible, which is why jackson put je1200s in their soloists back then.

I know the sticker says EMG-ALX....I put one in my guitar w/ the ABQ.

Spec wise it is the same as the H2, except for ceramic and steel magnet, where the H2 is just ceramic.

I asked this question on the EMG boards and this is what the site admin said:
http://forum.emgpickups.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&p=5077

 

[SilentAfterTerror]

Bought the EMG F-ALX set a while ago and going swap out the blackout on my edwards for it. The guitar shops closed and I have no idea when their gna open :S Still gotta wait.

 

[srob7001]

Bought the EMG F-ALX set a while ago and going swap out the blackout on my edwards for it. The guitar shops closed and I have no idea when their gna open :S Still gotta wait.

Does your edwards have the MM-04 in it?

If so are you keeping that and just using the ALX PU or are you gonna use the ALX and the ABQ and get rid of the MM-04?

Curious as to how the ALX will sound w/ the MM-04 instead of the ABQ.

 

[SilentAfterTerror]

I actually want to keep the mm04 for the gain boost and use the ABQ for the EQ frequency thing for the pickup. It would be nice to do that but it's gonna be a huge mess with all the wiring as it'll be seriously hard to get it right.

 

[srob7001]

I don't think it will work like that.

The MM-04 is a gain boost and has the resonant freq switches.

The ABQ also is a gain boot with res freq.

If you tried to run them together you would prob either have way to much boost or it will sound weird because they will both be changing the resoanant freq as you can't turn that off with these units.

I am pretty sure you can only run 1 or the other for it to sound good, but if you get it wired up and working like that I would love to hear a clip of what it sounds like. If you run both you will def need 2 9V batteries.

I did just read something that said you can run the ABQ at 18V instead of 9V, like some do with the active EMGS. Not sure what that would do for tone though....maybe just more headroom?

 

[<Arcane>]

Why run the MM 04 and the ALX ABQ together when both are the same?!?

 

[nunofrg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I38gdpjHMXA



awsome!

 

[nunofrg]

by the way i was thinking... i read again what you´ve said about the abq and you use it on 30% of the gain boost cuz it starts to sound bad if the boost is too big and i realized that why alexi uses this instead of just getting an active pickup? what are the advantages? using the hz with the abq may get a more natural sound because its a passive pickup, its because of that? or maybe because you can have more tone options with the 3band eq? or is it just because its cool and different? alexi started using the gainboost because of the leejackson that had low gain so it could pull more out of it. nowadays alexi doesnt use the gp1000 so doesnt make much sense having the gainboost right? the e530 has plenty of gain...

 

[nunofrg]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkxQu0I-kUU&feature=related[/ame] ok this video explained almost what i asked... never saw it before though

 

[ScatteredDimension]

Bumping an ages old thread. RIP Alexi....

I'm waiting for my JS32t Rhoads Jackson (passive stock pickups) to arrive and already wondering about pickup swap... There is a Jackson J-50BC pickup on sale locally and I'm considering buying it. Could I install the J50-bc with the EMG ABQ preamp pot? (I have yet to found the ABQ but I reckon it's easier to find than the JE-1000...)

Is there anything else to take in consideration about the pickup swap/ installation? Do I need to change the input jack? I know that the EMG ALX set comes with a new jack....

Thx in advance

 

[<Arcane>]

You can of course use the preamp with the J50BC. And yes, you must use the new input jack.

You just have to think about where to put the battery, but there is usually enough space in the back. But stuff everything well!

But then you can only operate one of the two pickups. How the wiring with both goes, I do not know with a preamp.

 

[ScatteredDimension]

Thanks for the reply! The ABQ alone doesn't seem to come with the jack so maybe for me the best would be to get the Emg ALX set with the pickup and all. If it really is that I can't use the existing jack that comes with the guitar...

Why is it that the abq/ j50bc needs a new jack?

You can of course use the preamp with the J50BC. And yes, you must use the new input jack.

You just have to think about where to put the battery, but there is usually enough space in the back. But stuff everything well!

But then you can only operate one of the two pickups. How the wiring with both goes, I do not know with a preamp.

 

[<Arcane>]

I don't know. Maybe the old one's also working. But with all my active pickups and preamps, I got a new jack and with all the passive stuff, not. So I don't know why or if a new jack is necessary.

The thing with your guitar is... I don't know how this all works with two humbucker. Don't you have a guitar tech nearby? I don't want to tell you bullshit

 

[Fastbodom]

You can use the J50BC with a normal jack,
however its the usage of an gainbooster or any other battery equiped unit that makes you get another jack, as it will work as a battery cut off so the battery will not go dead fast when you leave your guitar... so dont leave your guitar behind with the jack cable in either as this will also drain the 9v battery

 

[Inceptionist]

Yeah, basically the gain boost preamp turns your passive pickup into an “active” one. You’ll need a new jack that’d be compatible with an active pickup.

 

[ScatteredDimension]

Okay I get it.
I'll think about getting the ALX set then since it comes with quick connectors, jack etc... Don't really like soldering and my soldering equipment is trash

How does the ALX set compare to the older jackson/ HZ pickups he used to have?

 

[<Arcane>]

The ALX is basically an MM-04 which is basically a JE-1000.

If you want to compare them, listen to the albums. On 2-4 he used the J50BC + Je-1000 combo. On Blooddrunk the ahb-1 + MM-04 and on all other albums the HZ-H2 + MM-04. He's not using the ALX in any of his guitars.

 

[Sany]

The ALX is basically an MM-04 which is basically a JE-1000.

If you want to compare them, listen to the albums. On 2-4 he used the J50BC + Je-1000 combo. On Blooddrunk the ahb-1 + MM-04 and on all other albums the HZ-H2 + MM-04. He's not using the ALX in any of his guitars.

@3:15 Daniel says its an EMG ALX set

 

[<Arcane>]

He's talking about his guitar, not Alexis. All Alexi CS guitars have the same MM-04/HZ-Hx combo

 

[Wild_One69]

So I ordered Edwards Scythe Alexi Laiho signature and I'm currently unsure about the pickup. Maybe planning to put the EMG ALX set with the ABQ booster/eq, or Jackson 50bc with mm-04 booster/eq. They both seem to be copies of Jackson Je-1000, but are pretty different actually when you read their information.

ABQ manual says it can boost frequencies between 1.22–3.33kHz and Alexi settings are 1,38kHz. On the other hand we have mm-04 manual telling it can boost frequencies between 2-5 kHz and Alexi setting are: switches 2 and 4 on.

So this information brings up some questions:

1. Which frequencies does the mm-04 boost when switches 2 and 4 are on? Is it near 1,38kHz(ABQ) or something completely different? Does anyone actually owning mm-04 have any information?

2.Which one is closer to the original? Any information about Alexi's Je-1000 settings or what frequency its boosting?