Active Pickup Upgrade

[skabassist13]

im gonna be the one to make emgs sound bad. i dont own emgs myself but ive heard people with them play. to me they sound really really grainy. i dont like it. i guess it has to do with the battery or something cuz when i play my passive les paul through my bass overdrive that is really grainy to. ive found it to be only in a distorted setting. in a clean setting they are very clean. ut distort em and you get a very grainy sound. or at least thats what it sounds like to me.

 

[NorM]

The easiest way to think about how to wire up the activate bridge no matter what is to find the lead that goes to the 5 way from the bridge pup and run a wire from there, through the toggle switch then directly to the output jack. Credit where credit is due, Steve Morse has this on his guitars and it just made to much sense to not do it. Another idea would be to do this with a push pull pot but that might limit space for the battery. Ooh! Important note!!! Wrap your battery with electrical tape to prevent potiential grounding issues!!!!

There is not enough room in the cavity for the guts of this switch. So i did have to do a bit of routing to put it where I wanted it.

I also went all out and put the EMG-89 (Split coil like a SA or 85 all in one) in the neck pup spot. It's activated with the volume push pull pot. So it's like I have a Silo, a silo special or a Luke all in one. With the Bridge switch I have a Steve Morse model as well. And I still have two more frets than they do too. My EBMM guitars rock!

When I did the wiring it was all intuitive for me as I am an electrical engineer by trade. If I get a chance I will post the wiring diagram. Also, I will take pictures next time I am under the hood. Don't hold your breath on that though. On my Blue Dawn Piezo trem silo I love the way the PAFs really cut through but I am starting to think it needs EMGs more and more. It is just more my sound.

I wish EB would build some Norm model Silos. That way more people could share my joy.

 

[zabba]

Ha Ha Ha
Yeah I know what you mean about the Norm "Ray Vaghn: model .
Or the Luke Norrm Morris model

So It was not just my imagination about the sound without the awitch. running both neck and bridge ouos,

I can wire it in from what you have told me . The idea just has to roill around in my head a while, until it crystalizes.

I considered moving the battery in between two springs of the tremolo,

The battery is well taped and fits between the pot and 5 pos switch, It would habe neen disasterous ti not di so.

There are some small switches avaiable that wont, take up much room .

Two more "frets " ???
Whaa???... how did you manage,???,,,,
Hey , say ,,, is your last name Ball???
Are you saying you have 24 or 26 frets


I was reading a guitar book written by some big whip, , he had a chapter about upgrading a guitar. ,at the end of it he give the points that he regretted not doing , ome of then was outting in Demarzios and not going the extra distance to load it with a rack if EMG's.
The author also snidly chuckled about about Strat owners who go for more ioutput by slamming in 5 pops. the result he says s the magnets exert enough pull on the stings to affect the vibrations on the sting, and throw off the tone and sustain. A valid observation, but, not always very circumspect about his opinions , resulting in a curious mix of reality and insanity,


The EMG 's as ypu are well aware use weaker magnerts and still output more
by the use of rhe pre amp.

Another benefit I noted is there is no need to adjust the heights of each individual magnet , because the circuitry takes care of it.

I learned a lot the last few months on this project

Next is to put together an Amp /Speaker system with plenty of power , and more important good quality sound .

 

[zabba]

That did it
the extra switch turned on the juice
The sound of a hhavily overdriven guitar.

It rtakes a little effort to get it to settle down into a quiet melody,

More power than I expected when I started this advenyure

 

[zabba]

When Playing with fuzz or electromic modification that cuts the peaks off the Sine Wave . And gives the wave a flattrned top . I can hear a vibration that is not smooth , and could easi;y be called grainy .
The EMGs are accentuating the cut of the analog smoothness and ampllifying
the suddenness of the fuzz,

Consistant with heavy metal ,acid rock
or even hard rock. , The sound that was popular from the mid '60s and 70s then faded out in the 80s .

Some say that sound has come back into vogue ????

I play many varied styles , and find a use for that overdriven sound Especially when a lead part climbs away from the rhythm and bass and explodes into an overwhelming solo.

But it is not desireable with a softer blues piece, expecially when covering up yhe harsh sound of an attack by a pick using slides , pull offs , hammer on, and bends to give a gliding feel instead of a sharp pluck

That is why Norm designed the guitars with an EMG 85 in the neck because it is softer tham the EMG 81
which is more radical and distorted on the bridge .

That grainyness is easily solved by not settinfg it up to preform that way.
It is a kick to have the increased range pf sound
lt has taken some adjustments on my part to achieve the
soft melodic smoothness,,
mostly just careful selection of effects.

It also seems to come from lower frequency notes and less from the higher notes

I would also think a solid body guitar would produce the effect more than a hollow body


If it is that soft sweet sound a gibson
Luciele would be the guitar to pick up
instead of a Les paul or Ernie Ball.

It seemed to me that the EB Silo was a bit dead and had the sound of a strat . with the standard pups , Not too surprising considering Fender ans Ernis Ball are buddies all the way down to the tremolo bar
I have a couple of strats already and was in need of something with nore sauce ,
I have a telecaster with EMGs and the sound is much richer than the strats.


Its is great to be able to hear your opinions and to have the ability to choose the type of soumd we can produce
Even though likes and dislikes seem subjtctive , to a trained ear it is an obvious distinction in quality of sound.

And not at all bad for EMG they suceeded in thier designs , just not for every ones style, If we all sounded the same I would have to quit due to boredom

 

[NorM]

Teal Silo w EMG's

Here is a picture on my Teal 93 Silo w/ EMG's and the Steve Morse Bridge activation switch.

 

[NorM]

Here is a picture on my Black 98 Silo w/ EMG's and the Steve Morse Bridge activation switch. I also added the Floyd Rose Lowers pitch only trem. (Complete with D-Tuna)

 

[NorM]

The BD got EMGed

The PAF Pros are GREAT pups. I just felt like I wanted this guitar to have EMG's as well. It gives me the sound and features I want/need. It was my intention to do this from the get go. So I finally found the round tuit. The Neck pup on this guitar is the split coil capable EMG 89. It is set in upside down so when in single coil mode the active coil is closest to the neck. At first I found the tremelo bar is the perfect height to push the push/pull knob back down. I applied a little cold steel technology to the tremelo bar but I will have to do some more. Also, I have been looking at the abalone top chrome knobs. I think that will dress out the guitar nicely to match the pickgaurd.

 

[zabba]

Impressive bit of customization
Great looking guitar , flashy and remarkably one of a kind
but tastefull , not gawdy like Zakk bullseye.

PAF pro is that the Gibson brand of humbuckers?

I keep thinking those are crystals, but that is your other project.
Seems there is no end to your imagination

I am surprised that you could mount the EMG pup upside down.
the electronics are set for each string , since there is no magnetic pole piece adjustment, I would expect the "D" string to be overly quiet and the "G" string to be extra loud?

 

[NorM]

DiMarizo PAF PROs are what comes standard in MM Silos.

Here is a quote from the EMG Websight:

It's perfectly OK to rotate the pickup 180 degrees to locate the single coil portion of the pickup further away from the bridge for a "beefier" tone. You may also order the EMG-89R, which has the single-coil portion located opposite the logo.

The crystals are actually part of the Blue Dawn Finish. You really have to see it in person to believe it.

This is my first set in Alder. The first thing I noticed is how much cleaner the sound is. I do have to go with the single coil to get things like chicken pickin and squawks to voice more expressivly. But tapped harmonics and two handed tapping happens so much easier. I tried a piece with third and fourth fret harmonics and they jump out of the guitar with little effort. The guitar is now about a pound hevier but the sustain to weight ratio is much higher than before.

 

[zabba]

I see what you did, now thst I look st thr pups in the picture
amazing that there is such a big change in eound

Never seen crystals in a paint
thought it was a metal flake at first.
but they are much larger than any metal flake.
I wonder how many coats of clear it took to smooth out the surface