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Axis 30th Anniversary

EVH pickup gone bad?

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peaveywolfgang

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
38
i own a ebmm evh hardtail. since lately i felt it didn't sound quite right, i had my tech measure both pickups.
the pickups sound unbalanced. the bridge is powerfull, actually i think it is the most cool in your face sounding pickup i have. the neck however is weaker, lower in volume. when i tap the poles with a screwdriver there is sound from both coils of the neck pickup.

the bridge one read about 18k but the neck one almost 0k. we verified if all conections were ok or that the wires aren't interrupted, but everything is ok.

the sound of the pickup is nice, woody and single-coil-ish. but very unbalanced with the bridge pickup
i raised the screws in the black coil as close as possible to the strigs to make it balance more. on the dirty channel of any of my amps there is a little difference in volume between the pickups, but lets say it's bearable, but on the clean channel the difference is pretty major.

i own another axis, so i had what to compare to. the evh has the patent aplied for n1, the axis has the patented n2. the bridge pickups sound virtually the same, but between the neck ones there is difference, in tone and volume.

what do you think is the problem and what can i do?
 
If the neck pickup resistance measures 0 kOhm, there is a short circuit in the pickup somewhere. The pickup needs t be replaced or repaired. Call EBMM customer service and see what they suggest.
 
ok, but if so, how come it sounds almost like it should? even though i raised the screws about 2 mm up, especially on the lower strings
 
Who knows- like Kev said, it could be a short in a coil somewhere, etc. If you're confident that it's wired up properly then I'd call EBMM about the pickup and possibly have it replaced.
 
We've seen that before. The pickup doesn't sound right, measures 0k yet still works.
 
well i am still waiting for an answer from cs.
i don't know what to do since i am located in eastern europe, so having it delivered to ebmm in usa and back would cost me some money and if i do that i would like to have this one fixed and not replaced by an axis one.
or the cheapest way would be to buy myself an air norton and replace it, or maybe put that into the axis and the axis one into the evh.
selling the evh is out of the question, especially since it is a rare one and one with a distinctive top. and sounds kickass

here are 2 pics

IMAG0589_zpsae4e3c77.jpg

IMAG0600_1_zps0c0fe3f3.jpg
 
Last edited:
The Axis pickup is basically the same pickup. They altered the lead wire to accommodate the 5 way on the ASS, but there is no difference otherwise. My 1996 Axis has the original style EVH pickup and the 2000 has the altered. There isn't a difference in tone other than from the piece of wood. My Sport and HHAL have the Axis pick up as well and they sound just as amazing. I think they can send just the pickup if you send the broken one. While you are waiting you can always swap in an Air Norton. If you have to get a new pickup what do you really have to lose by getting an Axis pickup? If you don't like it you can always sell it for good money used since they are hard to come by otherwise.


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Yep. Personally I'd get it replaced, the new ones are the same pickup.

If you really want to have it repaired, I'd drop Dimarzio a line and get their thoughts (since it's their pickup). I'm sure you can also find someone to repair/rewind it, but after that odds are you're going to end up with a slightly different spec anyway.
 
That's a great looking hard tail. I was lucky enough to pick one up from a fellow forumite. I did a sound test between my Floyd EVH and my purple tribute. Honestly, the Axis sounded "hotter" than the EVH. You'll be satisfied with the Axis pickup.
 
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