I wish EBMM guitars didn't use a built-in preamp...

[PeterVV]

I like the option, You dont have to use it! The only issue I have with my Valentine is that the settings change as the knob moves when you push it, so that when you push it back off your volume isnt where it was

 

[DrewH]

The PCB inside many EBMM guitars can be mistaken as a preamp, but if you look carefully in the one in the Reflex, it's just to make the wiring cleaner at the factory.

Its a cost cutting measure that really has me questioning a future non-Petrucci MM guitar purchase. I went through a nightmare on my Sabre with the PCB and changing pickups. I left the original pickup wires soldered to the board because the solder points are so tiny. I found some mechanical connectors and spliced into them with the new pickup wires. Well, with minimal disturbance, a couple of those wires actually broke off at the older joints on the PCB. They used too much heat and it burnt through the wires. Here I am with my 50 year old hands and a magnifier lamp trying to do the thing I was trying to avoid. I did it but it was NOT easy.

 

[mikeller]

I didn't know that. Maybe, I could have just not modded my Cutlass then, but it's fine now.
Without silent circuit it's probably also noisier, and with the noiseless DiMarzio Areas, it really sounds great, while not noisy at all.

I mainly don't like active pickup, because it makes old fuzz circuits useless (I have a self-built fuzz face with original circuit and I don't know any alternatives, which react the same to guitar volume poti)

Cutlass will not operate at all without a battery. The silent circuit in the Silhouette Spec & (I believe) Albert Lee SSS's will but they get noiser

 

[Sweat]

Cutlass will not operate at all without a battery. The silent circuit in the Silhouette Spec & (I believe) Albert Lee SSS's will but they get noiser

Yep Cutlass dead without a battery , the others do function but single coil noise can be inducted

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

My Axis/EVH/ALHH guitars sound great without batteries, preamps and PCBs. Just saying…

 

[loocnmad]

I rarely have anything critical to say about EBMM but in this case I'll offer my opinion/observations as constructively as I can. Any time threads come up discussing the onboard buffers the clear majority opinion is "they're nice but it would be better if it could be bypassed". It solves one single issue but it introduces several others that don't exist without it.

I would also say (again, grain of salt) that modern day use cases don't realistically support it in the first place. How many people are running straight into an amp with only a 20ft or longer cable? John Petrucci/James Valentine/Steve Lukather/Steve Morse all use wireless units which defeat the purpose. How many people with over 20ft of total cables don't have at least one buffered pedal in the chain? If you're recording into a DAW at home, just about every interface I've seen has a high impedance input. Affordable high quality stand-alone buffers are readily available making it feel like a pre-2005 problem that didn't need to be solved.

I get it, this is a small community but I would also say it's made up of the most devoted fans and customers so I hope the company will at least consider this going forward.

Silent Circuit = YAY!!!
PCB's = A logical and economical design choice
Onboard Buffer = Ugh, can I please just bypass it?!

 

[jodokus31]

Cutlass will not operate at all without a battery. The silent circuit in the Silhouette Spec & (I believe) Albert Lee SSS's will but they get noiser

Thanks. Then I probably misunderstood the other guy. I won't need it anyway

 

[AdagioNH]

I hate dealing with 9V batteries so I avoided EBMM guitars with them.

But then I got a Stingray HT and I like the boost button.

I call it my “you’re being a dick” button. It is useful when the other guitar player turns up twice as loud as the rest of the band so he can hear his pentatonic noodling better.