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John Myung Bongo 4

LUKE pickup routing question

M

Meedleyx10

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
132
Here's the deal, while I've been heartset for some time on an Axis Supersport (to be closely followed by a Silhouette special.....I'm already addicted to Balls and I don't even have one yet:p), but I've come across a pretty good opportunity to buy used Luke (not the original Luke, but the current one just to clarify) at a really good price....so good that it just might have to become my entry-drug so to speak. The only problem I have is that I'm not very fond at all of EMG's. If I did get this luke, a pickup change would be quick to follow. Now, I've heard from people that the routes for EMG's don't match up with other brands...dimarzio in my case...particularly the single coil routes. I was wondering if anybody could confirm or deny this for me. Any help is much appreciated.


If this is something that should have been asked in the form of a phone call to CS, then I apologize. Though I'm sure they'd be happy to help, it isn't an urgent matter though and I'd rather leave them alone to handle more important things :)
 
I would say that it is true that the EMG routs will be a tad larger than your conventional pup routs but Im sure it wont be by a huge amount Im sure any pup you stick in it will fit but perhaps there will be a little more room that usual


you never know you may like the Luke with them

I HATE EMG's but in the look I really liked them,the two are matched perfectly

BP and Luke know what they were doin
 
I've played several luke's and EMG's have just never been my thing in any guitar, the Luke proved to be no exception. Great guitar and it plays great and all, but EMG's just don't sit with me. Thanks for the info on the routing though, I don't so much mind if there's a bit too much space, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to go hammer-happy with a chisel to create enough space after the purchase :D
 
Im 99% sure that EMG's are bigger than your conventional pups

My friend had a Les Paul and put some EMG's in it and they were bulging/snapping the pickup rings so that tells me they are bigger and Im sure he had to get the pup cavities routed further to accommodate them
 
Pop your cherry with a Luke and be warned, the Luke is the finest of all the MM's. It has the most versitility, and the best playability of all MM's. The EMG's in a Luke don't sound like EMG's in another guitar. My guess is that you'll keep the EMG's in there.

Now go get the Luke before someone else does!:)
 
I have many guitars with and without EMG's and I must say that the EMG's in the Luke have a "different" tone than in my other "metal" guitars. The single coils are great. You can play everything from Blues to Dream Theater on a Luke. You'll love it, trust me.
 
The DiMarzio single coils have a triangular flange that sticks out from the wide side base of the pickup. The EMG pickups do not. You would need to remove this flange to fit the DiMarzio in place of an EMG. You can cut the flange off with a pair of angled cutting pliers aka dykes if you are careful, I've done it for a customer's Ibanez.

Give the EMGs a shot, I enjoy them in my LUKE...


emg1.jpg


dimarzio_area_pickups.jpg
 
I would only get the Luke if your gonna keep the pups in there, I know a guy who removed the pups and they didnt look right, so then he built a pickguard for it and it looked even worse, he eventually sold it for next to nothing, I like the luke also but I grabbed a silo special and I changed all the pups as well, like I said, grab the Luke and live with it the way it is, if not sell it and it sounds like you can get your money back and get a silo special -
 
meedly the thing I cant quite understand is


you must be going on the Luke's looks alone
becuase the only way you could have heard it is with the EMG's!!

unless you have played one with non-EMG's

going for a guitar for its looks isnt the best Idea and changing a major tonal variable like the pups could basically destroy your hopes for the guitar and re sell value,these two goin hand in hand really


I cant quite see where this thread is coming from
 
Meedleyx10 said:
Here's the deal, while I've been heartset for some time on an Axis Supersport (to be closely followed by a Silhouette special.....I'm already addicted to Balls and I don't even have one yet:p), but I've come across a pretty good opportunity to buy used Luke (not the original Luke, but the current one just to clarify) at a really good price....so good that it just might have to become my entry-drug so to speak. The only problem I have is that I'm not very fond at all of EMG's. If I did get this luke, a pickup change would be quick to follow. Now, I've heard from people that the routes for EMG's don't match up with other brands...dimarzio in my case...particularly the single coil routes. I was wondering if anybody could confirm or deny this for me. Any help is much appreciated.


If this is something that should have been asked in the form of a phone call to CS, then I apologize. Though I'm sure they'd be happy to help, it isn't an urgent matter though and I'd rather leave them alone to handle more important things :)
Click to expand...

Do NOT FOR ALL THAT IS SACRED try to change the pickups. The routes in the guitar will only allow EMGs to fit, and it takes some rerouting to make old school pickups fit. Trust me, I had this done on both my old LUKEs, and it's a hassle to make it work. I have included pics to explain better:

A EMG singlecoil is actually slighty thinner than alot of normal singlecoils, so it will be a tight fitting on a LUKE. Also, a EMG singlecoil doesn't have the little flange at the bottom like passive singlecoils, so you need the reroute the holes for the singlecoils in this fashion. There is a little route on a LUKE already, but not nearly enough to allow a passive singlecoil to fit.
1325096893_be4e805876.jpg



Also, you need to route out some wood under the bridge pickup to be able to have some height adjustment for the the humbucker. You will also have to drill new holes for the screws, and most likely increase the diameter of the holes in the bucker, so the screws won't get stuck in the pickup.
1325099271_e72f07efd3.jpg



After having this done on 2 LUKEs, I would definitly recommend against it. Buy a Silo Special instead, the LUKE is not designed for swapping out pickups, everything about the way the EMGs are attached to the guitar just screams "Do NOT remove". It's a signature guitar, to the artist specs. If you want something you can try your own stuff on, get something with a pickguard.

One last thing, IMHO the LUKE doesn't sound too good with passive pickups, I actually ended up putting the EMGs back.
 
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It is not worth ruining a perfectly good guitar. Please at least try the EMGs before you just say its a EMG I hate it. :)
 
larryandrews said:
It is not worth ruining a perfectly good guitar. Please at least try the EMGs before you just say its a EMG I hate it. :)
Click to expand...

10000+

he did state he has tried it and hated it


so why the luke then is my question

the look of it

the artists name on the headstock

the luke blue color

I think the silh. special would be your best bet as mentioned
 
Pete and Flukather: thank you very much, those were the kind of responses I was hoping for. Much appreciated:) The routing issue does in fact seem to be something that might not be worth all the trouble so I'll have to think on it a bit...

BigTony, Larryandrews, and leftyguitarblue: Thanks for the input! Like I said, I have tried a couple luke's and the EMG's just don't work for me anymore than in any other guitar I've tried them in. I managed to get some cool clean tones, but nothing that I would prefer over a nice set of passives and the distorted tones really weren't my thing.

lock-ny: The Silo Special actually would be the favored option here, but like I said, the luke is used and it's too great of a deal to completely rule out. I don't have the dough for a Silo Special at the moment, but I'm going to need to pickup another axe relatively soon (sooner than I'll probably have the money for the Silo). I'd much rather go for a guitar that plays great and looks good and spend an extra $150 to make it sound the way I want instead of (for example) getting a strat and kind of liking the way it looks, kind of liking the way it plays, and probably still spending extra money to swap pickups. While I'd still, in a sense, be "settling" for the luke...it's something that I'd be happy settling with:D

MesaDuelRec: not that I'm unappreciative of your input, but please actually read my posts before criticizing me or questioning my motives in considering the luke. If it interests you that much...I can think of several other guitars that look way better to me than the Luke (the luke DOES look good though) and I'm not much of a Lukather fan. He's a great player no doubt, but most of his music isn't my cup of tea. And the guitar in question is actually black, not exactly an exclusive color nor would it be my choice on a guitar that I was buying new at full price. Also, don't forget another key factor in deciding on a guitar: feel/playability. Like I said, I think it plays very well. Just to clarify, in case I wasn't clear up to this point, this is a used guitar at a great price. I don't have the money at the moment for a Silo. Spec. or an ASS (either of which would be the preferable option), but this luke could very well be feasible for me now, which gets a guitar in my hands quicker which is what I need right now (I wont muddy up this post any more by going into all the details). I just don't see what the problem is with me being interested in a quality guitar at a great price that'll make a great workhorse whose only "problem" is my own distaste with the pickups...something that (I was hoping) wouldn't take more than $150 and a soldering iron to fix.

dwells: that wont be necessary, but I appreciate the offer;)
 
I vote for saving for the Silo Spec and letting the Luke go. Too much trouble to get it to be what you want.
 
HOWEVER, there is something you can do. I just remembered it.

Dimarzio will custom-make any of their singlecoils without the flange, I don't think it costs any more, but it will take a couple of weeks to get them. You will still have to butcher the bucker to secure it properly.

I also forgot, you need to drill a hole from the control cavity on the LUKE to the trem spring cavity. You need to do this, because you need to ground the claw that holds the springs to the common ground in the guitar, in other words, solder wire from the ground in your control cavity to the claw.
 
I ended up selling my luke as the EMG's just didnt like my rig, and I couldn't bear the thought of routing it. Went across the pond, hope the gent is enjoying it.

Fabulous guitar though. I'm saving up for a silo or Silo spec. instead.
 
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