Help Me Install EMGs, Even If You Don't Know How

[billcraftmetal15]

How long do aklaline 9v's usually last w/ EMGs?

They will last for 3 or so months with heavy playing, but you will genuinely notice the difference when the battery starts to die, so if you want to change it as a general maintenance thing, i would say just swap it every 2 months or something, that way you can be happy knowing you're sounding your best.

Also have you thought about the 18v mod, it seems like a really good idea

 

[J.DavisNJ]

Nice, how is that guitar?? How would you compare it to LTDs/Schecter/Ibanez?

-Joe

 

[2012]

I like them so much, this is my second one. I have another one in tobacco burst which is next in line for getting a pickup upgrade and coil taps.

The PRS SE Singlecut is absolutely my favorite $500 range solid-body mahogany/set-neck guitar. Compared to similarly priced guitars I've owned: EC1000, 007 Elite, 006 Elite, C1 Elite, Epiphone Les Paul Standard, H301, Gibson SG Faded, Parker PM20, Dean Evo Noir, PRS SE Custom - it's easily the most comfortable guitar, and to me, the best value, because they feel so damn good.

LTDs are great and Schecters sound great too, but to me they feel plastic & strange, even though the neck, fretwork, and tone is good. The PRS singlecut is somewhere between the ESP and a Les Paul in terms of body thickness, so they're meaty and full of tone, without being overly heavy and tubby. A guitar's tone is only as good as the piece(s) of wood it's constructed from. The only Ibanez guitars I like are the hollowbodies and the Joe Satriani model. I've owned a lot of guitars, and auditioned even more, and for me, this guitar trumps the competition. The total cost of this guitar after self-installing the EMGs is only $600!

Solid mahogany body + mahogany set-neck + EMG 60/85 =

 

[2012]

They will last for 3 or so months with heavy playing, but you will genuinely notice the difference when the battery starts to die, so if you want to change it as a general maintenance thing, i would say just swap it every 2 months or something, that way you can be happy knowing you're sounding your best.

Thanks.

Also have you thought about the 18v mod, it seems like a really good idea

I have thought about it, but haven't heard enough convincing arguments to do it. I have an extra battery terminal left over from my installation, so I could try it the next time I change the battery, but I'm really happy with the tone this beast is spewing at 9v!

 

[JBroll]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/293799-my-emg-18v-experiment.html

That discussion is about the 18V difference, showing clipped peaks on hard hits (admittedly, *very* hard hits, but they seem noticeable with normal playing) for the 9V, and no clipping and an additional 6 decibels of gain for the 18V. If I felt like using EMGs, there would be no question for me.

Jeff

 

[2012]

Originally posted by DSS3:

Just looking at it is one thing... listening is another.

I've tried it, and in all honesty, it took away what I like about 81's - the compression, the super tight low end, the sterile, grindy midrange. It made it more organic, responsive, and bassier, for sure... but that's not what I bought an EMG for.

FWIW, I found the 18v mod to have almost no audible affect on the 85.

I was considering trying 18v until I read this thread. Something to consider is that nobody ever bangs as hard as I can on all the strings in a song. That seems comparable to screaming into an LDC at point blank and citing the clipped peaks as a flaw in mic.

In the end, it comes down to what it sounds like, not what it looks like. I'm the type of person who would test this himself before deciding. When I change the battery in a couple months, I'm going to try it. I'll try to follow up in this thread or the 18v one with my findings.

 

[JBroll]

I have a pretty strong attack, myself, so I'm pretty sure I'd need the 18 because I don't want that clipping. I don't think the screaming thing is quite the same, because there's a lot to be said for people with really strong picking styles - anyone else playing through my amp's settings would get something that would pass as, at most, a fairly edged rock sound, but I slam the thing right into death territory and because I can get away with very little gain I don't need to bother with noise gates.

The clipping was to show how the pickup responded when pushed, and it does limit at some pretty low volumes, especially when batteries are less than optimal - keep in mind that Mutant (the original poster) was also trying to not create too much fret buzz, so that may be a moderate attack at best for some people. If you're used to looking at wave patterns, you can tell how something is going to sound with that kind of limiting going on - nobody's looking at the picture and saying 'Hmm, less wavy lines here... must be bad', for everyone there it's still about the sound but those pictures are good references for how the 81 preamp behaves. Don't take that the wrong way, though - by all means you should be trying it out for yourself.

Also, keep in mind that a single SPDT switch can hop you back and forth between 9V and 18V if you know how to set up a simple circuit. If it seems too 'out there' I'll draw up a simple schematic, but I'm assuming you can figure the basics out.

Jeff

 

[Mutant]

Something to consider is that nobody ever bangs as hard as I can on all the strings in a song.

1. True for most sensible guitar players.

2. With 9v I sometimes got clipped peaks (not as many of course) when playing 3 string power chords (AEADGBE).

btw. I recorded these clips just because i wanted to measure the dynamic range between the noise floor and the maximum output at both 9v and 18v.

 

[Jaymz]

Something to consider is that nobody ever bangs as hard as I can on all the strings in a song

Your not a indie guitarist are you? uke:

 

[2012]

If you're used to looking at wave patterns, you can tell how something is going to sound with that kind of limiting going on - nobody's looking at the picture and saying 'Hmm, less wavy lines here... must be bad', for everyone there it's still about the sound but those pictures are good references for how the 81 preamp behaves. Don't take that the wrong way, though - by all means you should be trying it out for yourself.

True, though I'm using an 85 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck. No 81's here.

Also, keep in mind that a single SPDT switch can hop you back and forth between 9V and 18V if you know how to set up a simple circuit. If it seems too 'out there' I'll draw up a simple schematic, but I'm assuming you can figure the basics out.

Good idea! Thanks!

1. True for most sensible guitar players.

2. With 9v I sometimes got clipped peaks (not as many of course) when playing 3 string power chords (AEADGBE).

btw. I recorded these clips just because i wanted to measure the dynamic range between the noise floor and the maximum output at both 9v and 18v.

Understood on all points, and I appreciate you performing this comparison and posting your results, don't get me wrong! Bear in mind, though, that I am using an 85. I will be tracking with the guitar this weekend and the first thing I will do is zoom in and check the waveforms on some heavy handed riffing.

Your not a indie guitarist are you?

My picking hand is definitely not anemic. A few years ago I had to force myself to learn to play lighter because I was breaking new strings every day, but I still don't slam all the open strings. Well... I take that back. There was one show where I ripped all the strings off and slammed the guitar into mic stands and cymbals... but that was the finale, and not in a song. I doubt that I would do that while recording.

 

[KeithRT99]

make sure you attach the clips to the pickups the right way. i had them backwards or upside down or someway, and i took it to a tech and paid him 30 bucks just to flip them. Granted, he cleaned up some of my poor soldering.

 

[2012]

make sure you attach the clips to the pickups the right way. i had them backwards or upside down or someway, and i took it to a tech and paid him 30 bucks just to flip them. Granted, he cleaned up some of my poor soldering.

A tech around here quoted $120 for a complete EMG installation. I instantly decided I would do it myself. Rick @ EMG was very helpful and sent me the diagram I needed within 5 minutes of e-mailing him. I had never completely gutted a guitar before and changed the wiring configuration, but I have installed passive pickups in guitars and replaced scratchy volume pots, etc. I had a couple years of electronics & PCB layout in H.S. so it just took a few minutes to pull that experience out of the memory banks and a few minutes to get familiar with soldering again. I was curious about the clips when I was doing the install, but I managed to attach them correctly the first time.

 

[JBroll]

Yeah, I've been getting back into electronics myself, after a while of playing with stompboxes and some odd-job mods here and there. The SPDT switch is really not that hard to do, and you sound like you can pull it off without a problem so good luck with that.

Jeff

 

[nwright]

IMO, you don['t have to really pick that hard to get the ugly preamp clipping from the pickup. Of course, for some people's tastes in gain, that could be an added bonus to their high gain tones. For me, I looove 18 volts.

 

[JBroll]

It would of course be helpful to know what people think of as 'hard' - for me a 'normal' attack is louder than most people's 'hard', so perhaps I made a mistake in not clarifying how hard one has to go... my playing never seems to make EMGs happy, but I'll have to spend more time with an 18V.

Jeff

 

[2012]

Signal Chain 1: PRS w/ EMG 60-85 > Little Labs Redeye > Black Lion Audio 002

I could not get either the 60 or the 85 to clip internally when slamming all open strings hard.

However, both the 60 & 85 show internal clipping when I play heavy palm-mutes. In this test, I palm-muted just hard enough to push each chug slightly out of tune.

More tests to follow...

 

[Mutant]

I could not get either the 60 or the 85 to clip internally when slamming all open strings hard.

Maybe that's the difference between 6 and 7 string versions of EMG pickups ?
Or maybe that's because of a different string gauge or pickup height ?

 

[2012]

The pickups are very close to the strings.

Signal Chain 2: PRS w/ EMG 60-85 > Black Lion Audio 002 Line In

I could not get either the 60 or the 85 to clip internally when slamming all open strings hard.

However, both the 60 & 85 show internal clipping when I play heavy palm-mutes. In this test, I palm-muted just hard enough to push each chug slightly out of tune.

This is from EMG:

If you've got room for multiple batteries in your guitar, you can use two batteries wired in series to power your onboard circuitry at 18 volts. The output level will not appreciably increase, but you'll have increased headroom and crisper transients. This is especially useful for percussive/slap bass styles where you can generate enormous instantaneous power levels across the entire frequency spectrum. You can also wire two batteries in parallel to provide a regular 9 volt supply but with much longer lifespan between battery changes. Although most of our products are rated for 27 volts, we recommend a maximum of 18 volts. The additional benefits of 27 vs. 18 volts are negligible.

 

[2012]

Well, shit.

I couldn't wait any longer to find out what the 18v fuss is all about, so I wired up the guitar with another battery. I already know that the EMGs clip internally when pushed really hard, so I didn't bother with checking the transients at 18v, I'm assuming they're clean.

The real test is how it sounds through my amps. Like I suspected, I prefer them at 9v. I agree that they have more passive qualities at 18v, but all my guitars are passive except for this one, so I'm not looking for that. I think EMGs are designed to clip when pushed. I know EMGs are supposed to be mounted close to the strings, but perhaps lowering them a little would reduce this clipping if you really wanted to avoid it. I don't! Although it looks like a big deal when you zoom in to the sample level, it really isn't. Flattened transients are distortion. The amp is going to do this to your guitar signal anyway. The EMGs slight clipping results in more grind and they're plenty hot for the front end of any amp without any dB boost that 18v would give me. I'm going to leave the 2nd battery terminal in the guitar, because I don't want to desolder it and I may want to try using 18v with this guitar on certain projects in the future.

Thanks to everybody for their advice & suggestions!