EMG ALX

[EvilKatarn]

PS: the EMG ALX has some really kickass bite.

But yeah, the pickup and ABQ rock. I was pretty much disappointed with my guitar until I got that.

 

[nunofrg]

It's not much, but not much is needed. That's what amp gain is for.

I'm with Arcane...my boost is either turned all the way down or just turned up 25-30%, just to give it a little more sustain and bite.

I first tried it with boost turned up all the way and 1. it doesn't sound as good..starts to sound to compressed, and 2. it is just WAY too noisy.

ah dont get me wrong, i was just trying to get an idea of how the boost is.
now i really think the emg alx is a great bought, i havent seen 1 person talking bad about it, and that must mean something. maybe im going to buy it too for my guitar

anyway i still have the idea of the mm-04 boost thing in my head, and wouldnt it be even better. ahgr i just dont know =S
im looking forward to try one

and btw, is the mm-04 still made or has been discountinued because of the emg alx? i checked the esp 2010 catalog and the mm-04 was there, but i dont know about 2011..

 

[nunofrg]

I think he's using the ALX pickup in his guitar. May be using the booster that comes with it too, but just leaves the mm-04 switch in so he doesnt have a hole there. I know there was something about this in the gear thread from a japanese mag where he was seen using a prototype of the alx on tour or something.

I'm waiting for ESP to announce any 2011 changes to Alexi's guitar specs, but I expect the ALX bundle to be included.

The EMG-ALX pickup is (steel and ceramic construction) like his old j-50bc, and has pole pieces. The H-4 uses bar magnets/pieces rails/whatever you call them. I had SD Blackout in my guitar but HATED the way it sounded, so I ripped it out and put in an H-4, sounds alot better to me with the mm-04, but I'm prolly gonna get the emg-alx and just use the pup with mm-04. then I'll have an h-4 and abq booster...

Anywho, from what I've seen on youtube, and heard for myself, its should be tons better than a blackout and worth trying.

did anyone went to a recent cob concert and saw how was alexis guitar? (no mm-04 switch?) maybe now he does use the emg alx in all his guitars as alexi says in the promotional pickup video

 

[<Arcane>]

The mm-04 is still available but not many stores have them. Nobody knows about Alexis guitars. They are the same and still got the mini-swithc in it but I can't tell if it's the extern MM-04 or the ABQ which is connected.
Big plus for the ALX/ABQ by the way. It is a really versatile pickup and can be used for all kinds of metal or rock. I liked the bite from the blackout more though. I wouldn't ever change the Je-1000 again but sometimes it is a bit annoying that the wah-effect is so strong. Especially when I play Rock I don't need it. Oh, I don't know if you guys knew it but the wah-effect is only hearable when you play distorted - or at least for me.

 

[srob7001]

Yea, no wah'ish sound on clean channel.

Arcane you might be able to get less of the wah effect by changing some of the freq switches. It's basically the mid range boost that gives it the wah sound.

The Tone Zone in my Ibby has a BIG mid range push and it even has a very slight ah sound to it. And the more I turn up the mids on my amp the more pronounced that sound gets.

 

[nunofrg]

the alx has a little wah effect? didnt know that
is it cool? does the mm-04 also have that?

 

[srob7001]

The ALX PU does not....the ABQ is what gives it that wah'ish sound. The boost portion, well, boost the signal before it hits you amp. The freq switches changes the resonant freq of the PU itself. So depending on which freq you have it set to depends on how much wah sound you get.

What I was saying is that anything with lots of mids helps to get that wah'ish sound. As my Tone Zone PU slightly has it as well because it is very boosted in the mids. And the more I turn up my amps mids, the more dominant that wah sound gets.

Yes the MM-04 has that. They are all basically the same booster. You should know what wah sound we are talking about if you listen to bodom. You can hear it in pretty much all the leads Alexi plays. More so on the older albums than newer though. As he used the J-50BC w/ JE-1000 back then, which has a more dominant wah sound to it.

 

[nunofrg]

The ALX PU does not....the ABQ is what gives it that wah'ish sound. The boost portion, well, boost the signal before it hits you amp. The freq switches changes the resonant freq of the PU itself. So depending on which freq you have it set to depends on how much wah sound you get.

What I was saying is that anything with lots of mids helps to get that wah'ish sound. As my Tone Zone PU slightly has it as well because it is very boosted in the mids. And the more I turn up my amps mids, the more dominant that wah sound gets.

Yes the MM-04 has that. They are all basically the same booster. You should know what wah sound we are talking about if you listen to bodom. You can hear it in pretty much all the leads Alexi plays. More so on the older albums than newer though. As he used the J-50BC w/ JE-1000 back then, which has a more dominant wah sound to it.

hm ok thanks! that answers my question

btw, im curious, for what purpose do you have a mxr equalizer? some told me it was good for example to obtain a sound of a neck pickup (bluesy defined sound) for solos and stuff, which in a guitar that only has a bridge pickup, is very useful. do you have it for that?

 

[srob7001]

I have it for a few different reasons.

1. It lets me shape my tone to great extent. I can boost diff freq +/- 18db with it. Alot more versatile than just using the amps eq knobs.

2. I use it as almost a 2nd volume for my amp. My amp is only 22 watts, but that is a pretty fucking loud for me just playing in my room. So, I can set the amps volumes higher so I get good tube distortion and tone, and then lower the volume on the EQ so it isn't soo loud that all my neighbors can hear me and call the cops. I have no headphone input on my amp so it really helps to keep the tone sounding good at lower volumes. Solid State it really doesn't matter, but tube amps are a whole different ballgame.

I use mine in the f/x loop for my amp. To use it to get a neck PU sound you would have to use it in your pedal chain before it even hits you amp, which is fine, I just don't use it for that.

Personally, the EQ pedal is prob the best pedal you could get to go with any rig, unless of course you have a bad ass rig to begin with, but for me(on a budget) it is the perfect pedal. When I first got mine it was almost like getting a new amp, that's how versatile it really is.

 

[nunofrg]

I have it for a few different reasons.

1. It lets me shape my tone to great extent. I can boost diff freq +/- 18db with it. Alot more versatile than just using the amps eq knobs.

2. I use it as almost a 2nd volume for my amp. My amp is only 22 watts, but that is a pretty fucking loud for me just playing in my room. So, I can set the amps volumes higher so I get good tube distortion and tone, and then lower the volume on the EQ so it isn't soo loud that all my neighbors can hear me and call the cops. I have no headphone input on my amp so it really helps to keep the tone sounding good at lower volumes. Solid State it really doesn't matter, but tube amps are a whole different ballgame.

I use mine in the f/x loop for my amp. To use it to get a neck PU sound you would have to use it in your pedal chain before it even hits you amp, which is fine, I just don't use it for that.

Personally, the EQ pedal is prob the best pedal you could get to go with any rig, unless of course you have a bad ass rig to begin with, but for me(on a budget) it is the perfect pedal. When I first got mine it was almost like getting a new amp, that's how versatile it really is.

wow i never thought about that volume idea, which i think is really well thought! i have a 6505 112 combo tube amp too in my room and is damn loud for the room obviously, but that might be the solution too! double thanks

 

[srob7001]

It might help out. I mean the 6505 is what 50 watts or 100? Either way it's fucking loud. So the eq volume thing might help.

You know what I mean then with having the volume turned down on a tube amp. It just doesn't sound like you know it can.

An attenuator would be the ideal piece of equipment, but the hot plate is like $300.00 buck or something....too much for me.

 

[nunofrg]

It might help out. I mean the 6505 is what 50 watts or 100? Either way it's fucking loud. So the eq volume thing might help.

You know what I mean then with having the volume turned down on a tube amp. It just doesn't sound like you know it can.

An attenuator would be the ideal piece of equipment, but the hot plate is like $300.00 buck or something....too much for me.

it is 60w, the down volumes dont sound bad on my amp, but i know it can sound 30 times better by being louder. thats a problem i have since i bought the amp (which i bought for playing live) but anyways, for you it really makes the difference right? so im confident it will with mine even though its 60w... lets see, i gotta get one. double thanks

 

[nunofrg]

^ only a pickup doesn't bring Alexis sound ...

^^ Alexis sound is nothing special nowadays. A good Marshall with a high-distortion pickup is all what you need. EMG 81, HZ-H4 + boost, ALX, S&D blackout...It's all pretty much the same sound. I had an HZ-H4 with EMG-PA-2, HZ-H4 with MM-04, Blackout with MM-04, Blackout without MM-04... no noticable difference. The biggest difference came with the setup I use nowadays...

so ur saying that the emg h4 +abq will sound the same as the alx + abq or the h4 + mm-04?

 

[Botta]

so ur saying that the emg h4 +abq will sound the same as the alx + abq or the h4 + mm-04?

you would be saving yourself a lot of time and effort if you just the buy the emg alx. it would also be a lot easier to install yourself. i think those mm-04's are like 150 bucks or somthing verses the emg alx which is only 100 plus you dont get a pickup with the mm-04 only the booster you even might find yourself liking the the alx (not the booster) better then the hz h4

 

[Froze]

Can someone who has this pickup with the gain boost tell me when the thing is really powered on and off because the guy in the music store said that it consumes the battery everytime there is a cable sitting in the output jack, which is basically acting like a switch. But doesn't the EMG knob also turn it off when the pot is pulled up and prevent it from consuming the sweet juice all the time?

 

[<Arcane>]

I don't have it but I can tell you that it's always "on". Only thing what you can turn on and off is the gain itself.

 

[srob7001]

Knob down gain boost is on. Knob up gain boost is off. The freq. switches are always activated.

The jack is a stereo jack, so if you leave the cable plugged in it will drain your battery even if you have the gain boost turned off as the freq. portion of the unit also requires battery power to work.

THe P/U it self doesn't use juice. The active electronics do. It's basically an active P/U with the pre-amp outside of the P/U, which is why it still requires a stereo jack.

 

[vivebodom]

yah, they've got one or two.

 

[T3h_Killjoy]

^ wtf is this shit ?

 

[vivebodom]

el perro grandioso