Thanks for all the comments from everyone. State of play is still that I am waiting for a new scratchplate to be made by a local company who are not getting their finger out, I have a luthier lined up and then a guitar tech to change the pickups so the Axis is still intact at the moment. Very interested in SLAV123's comments about the old EMGs - could you tell me a model or year for those that could fit without routing?
Help! EMGs into an Axis
- Thread starter neilg50
- Start date
Slav123
Well-known member
Sure, the model names would be the same (85 and 89 or 81 and 60 - my favorite combo). I believe that the bulky connectors " 5-pin Quik Connect " were introduced in the late 90's. So, you would need go to eBay and try to find the older ones (make sure that you see pics of the bottom of the pickups, they should only have a wire coming out vs. the 5-pin connector). You can also try JC's Guitars - New Page 1 their list is a bit outdated but, you can e-mail them or give them a call and they should be able to help you out with a pair of older EMG pickups. They also know the difference between the older ones and the new ones.
Slav
Chaka5150
Well-known member
I replaced my stock pups in my axis and got the zakk wylde set 81/85 put on.
was very nervous about doing it, but it was one of those moments of insanity where i was chasing some tone that i thought would be cool. that was about 2 yrs ago, still have them installed and am actually wanting to put the old ones back in possibly. to accommodate the larger emg pups, the cavities on the axis had to be routed. the emg's are a deeper pickup, pickups rings will cover over the routing job, but this is kind of a point of no going back after you start cutting into the body. I knew it would affect resale value, but i thought f' it...i don't ever want to sell my axis anyways. I have a JP6 BFR, which i had to self my firstborn child for inorder to afford it$$$$ worth it. it is like being married, costs a lot to invest in it and be committed to the guitar, but i still miss my old girlfriend--aka my Axis, and hook up frequently. the emg's sound pretty killer in it..hot, nice and tight. the action on my Axis is unbelievable.
was very nervous about doing it, but it was one of those moments of insanity where i was chasing some tone that i thought would be cool. that was about 2 yrs ago, still have them installed and am actually wanting to put the old ones back in possibly. to accommodate the larger emg pups, the cavities on the axis had to be routed. the emg's are a deeper pickup, pickups rings will cover over the routing job, but this is kind of a point of no going back after you start cutting into the body. I knew it would affect resale value, but i thought f' it...i don't ever want to sell my axis anyways. I have a JP6 BFR, which i had to self my firstborn child for inorder to afford it$$$$ worth it. it is like being married, costs a lot to invest in it and be committed to the guitar, but i still miss my old girlfriend--aka my Axis, and hook up frequently. the emg's sound pretty killer in it..hot, nice and tight. the action on my Axis is unbelievable.
B2D
Well-known member
I replaced my stock pups in my axis and got the zakk wylde set 81/85 put on.
Interesting... I had an Axis Super Sport that i bought with EMGs in it briefly and no routing was required to make the EMG's fit into it. It was a tight fir but it fit in there nonetheless.
Dibs on those Axis pickups if you decide to sell 'em.
browndog
Well-known member
Some picks of that Axis would be nice.
I love the white ASS with EMGs of Aaron Fink from BB.
I love the white ASS with EMGs of Aaron Fink from BB.
Chaka5150
Well-known member
my axis with emg's
I uploaded a few old pics I had of my axis with the EMG 81/85 if your curious to see them. not sure how to upload pic in this actual thread but i created an album you can view right at the beginning page of the forums where recent albums can be viewed.
I uploaded a few old pics I had of my axis with the EMG 81/85 if your curious to see them. not sure how to upload pic in this actual thread but i created an album you can view right at the beginning page of the forums where recent albums can be viewed.
Chaka5150
Well-known member
finally figured out this photobucket! shout out to browndog my fellow canuck for the tips. here is my axis i had retrofitted with the emg 81/85. I love the high output but it does lack the nuances of a more responsive pickup. it seems these pickups are just meant to be played balls to the wall...no dialing back the volume/tone. sounds wicked thru high gain settings.
OU812
Well-known member
Sorry for the necro bump, but hoping Chaka is still active.
On your red Axis, to fit EMG's was routing required because the EMG's are thicker then the stock DiMarzio's and thus sit too high in the pickup cavity, or because of the shape of the pickup legs to make them fit?
On your red Axis, to fit EMG's was routing required because the EMG's are thicker then the stock DiMarzio's and thus sit too high in the pickup cavity, or because of the shape of the pickup legs to make them fit?
Chaka5150
Well-known member
been off the grid for awhile on the forum...just saw this. Well, since then i have actually moved away from the emg's. Wasn't what i was looking for. I now have the suhr doug aldrich set in them...much better to my ears. Routing was needed due to the physical size of emg's and nothing to do with the legs; However, I've heard someone on the forum was able to fit some emgs without any routing at all...which would be preferable. I regretted the routing, but not like i'm going to sell my axis...love it too much.
OU812
Well-known member
Thanks for the reply and for seeing this. Didn't think you'd notice it after so long!
I'm just curious in regards to the EMG's. I like them and I don't haha. They're amazing balls to the wall but I've never been fond of their humbuckers clean sound. I love the Axis pups but its always fun to experiment, though I'd never route out a guitar to make a pickup fit.
How do the Aldrich pups sound in the Axis? I also noticed Jaime Humphries is using the DiMarzio 36th Ann. PAF's in his Axis, ever tried those?
Chaka5150
Well-known member
Never tried those PAF's. Humprhies could play with peanut butter pups and make them sound good I really like the Aldrich pups...perfect for my style of music. I liked the EMG's as well but so one dimensional to me and yes: balls to the wall. The Aldrich set is more versatile IMO. I got the idea to try the Aldrich pups from this guy, Mark Day, on the Fractal Audio forums.
I really like the Aldrich pups...perfect for my style of music. I liked the EMG's as well but so one dimensional to me and yes: balls to the wall. The Aldrich set is more versatile IMO. I got the idea to try the Aldrich pups from this guy, Mark Day, on the Fractal Audio forums.
Chaka5150
Well-known member
In case you're interested...I also changed the pickups in my JP6. Bare Knuckle Pickups - rebel yells. Great pickups for this guitar
OU812
Well-known member
Thanks for the info, appreciate it!!
