Luke without EMGs?

[chemical69]

Is it possible to remove the EMGs in a Luke and put in normal passive pickups?

I don't see any reason why not but I thought I'd ask.

Apologies if this has been asked before but I didn't see it when I searched.

 

[beej]

Yep, it's been done a few times. Problem is that many passives won't properly fit in the routes, so you have to find ones that will.

Should be able to find some threads on this.

 

[petruccirocks02]

Sure. Its definitely possible.

-Phil

 

[Slingy]

I think youd also need to change the pots and output jack, since EMG has 1 meg pots to control the internal preamp. Looks like youd also need to ground the strings somewhere, since active EMG's are internally grounded instead.

 

[emanon]

I think youd also need to change the pots and output jack, since EMG has 1 meg pots to control the internal preamp. Looks like youd also need to ground the strings somewhere, since active EMG's are internally grounded instead.

Actually, EMG uses 25k pots.

 

[banjoplayer]

forumite Marcello posted a pic of his here

- Music Man Luke customized with Di Marzio HS3s and Paf pro pickups

 

[luke2joey]

Hi,

As fellow forumites mentioned: you have to put other (250 kOhms) pots in it and a earth lead to the trem (very important!) Besides that, it is important with passive pu's that you have the right distance to the strings: it is of big influence to your tone.
You can do that with little pieces of foam underneath the pu, so the pu does not 'lean over'.
With EMG's the distance between pu and strings is not of big importance.
But, why take the trouble? At first I thought that my Luke was dull, flat sounding. Until I made new settings with my amp. Now I have discoverd the real treasures in the Luke: it is my main axe now: very musical, versatile, cannot put it down.
Good luck.

 

[Sweat]

Is it possible to remove the EMGs in a Luke and put in normal passive pickups?

I don't see any reason why not but I thought I'd ask.

Apologies if this has been asked before but I didn't see it when I searched.

Anythings possible, but with that said a Luke without EMG's is not a Luke, might as well buy a Silo Special, though you miss the killer neck

I bought my first Luke for the fact it had EMG pups, give them another chance and like joey said dial it in, you might be suprised.

 

[chemical69]

actually I don't have a Luke but I'm thinking of getting one or a Silo Special.

The neck on the Luke is not as wide which I usually prefer. However I'm used to passive pickups and just wanted to know if I can drop in Dimarzio pickups if I wanted to.

Will Dimarzios fit without any routing?

 

[brownpants69]

A Luke without EMGs is still a Luke. It will not end up sounding like a silo spec. I have both and they are worlds apart, not just because of the pickups, but because the pieces of wood are tonally different.

If the Luke sounds good unplugged, it will sound good whatever pickups are on it.

From my experience it was a fairly easy mod to do- with help from Jason with the wiring! There was already a hole drilled through to the trem cavity on mine- don't know whether that's normal, but mine was used (there was also only 1 screw holding the trem plate to the block, but that's another story...).

Humbuckers will fit no problem- I had a bareknuckle Crawler- the greatest humbucker ever IMO.

It's singles you need to watch for. I have Duncan vintage and cool rails fitted. I initially had a lil 59 and a bare kuckle pickup, but the pole spacing wasn't quite right on the lil 59. With rails it wasn't a problem. BUT... I did have to widen the cable channels in order to accomodate the cables- i removed a minimal amount of wood, so nothing to worry about.

The Barekuckle pickup was fine because Tim made me a single coil to fit an EMG route. It sounded good, but noisless siuts me better.

Dimarzios won't fit because of the sticky out bit on the base plate.

If you go for normal single coils, get a spare silent cicuit- you will already have the battery compartment.

If you want anymore info, PM me- I've been through the trauma of butchering a LUKE before! Good Luck!!

 

[brownpants69]

Do Dimarzio have a custom shop nowadays? Maybe they could make you some to fit?

 

[Eilif]

Worlds apart because of the wood? But they both have alder bodies with maple necks. Or am I missing something?

A Luke without EMGs is still a Luke. It will not end up sounding like a silo spec. I have both and they are worlds apart, not just because of the pickups, but because the pieces of wood are tonally different.

 

[guertzi]

Worlds apart because of the wood? But they both have alder bodies with maple necks. Or am I missing something?

Despite the fact that no two guitars will ever sound the same even if they were made of the same piece of wood: the pickups in the Luke are mounted right into the body whereas on the Silo they are mounted on the pickguard which makes a huge difference.

 

[brownpants69]

Ask people who own several of the same guitar- not even they will sound the same. I've owned three strats over the years. Same wood, same pickups, different tone (I know some companies make inconsistent guitars- that's for another topic maybe...).

I remember also when I had a Les Paul- I tried several in the shop that day- all different. Two of my friends have Les Pauls- and they are all different. Very different.

I don't get too bothered about arguing about guitars- personally, I am generally disinterested in the latest crazes, hypes and what the celebs use. I don't believe that one pickup manufacturer is better than the next. I also don't believe that direct mounting pickups makes a difference.

But, I will argue til I am blue in the face that guitars don't sound the same!!!

Really- I have played several Silo Specs- while similar, the response/tone was different. I admit I have only ever played my Luke, and no other Luke, but it's a different beast to the Silo. Totally.

IMO of course...

 

[brownpants69]

(Sorry if I have hijacked your thread!)

 

[emanon]

I can get on board with the fact that two identical guitars might not sound EXACTLY the same but to suggest that a passive Luke and a Silo Special would sound worlds apart is lame. I get that they might sound a bit different but the general tone would be VERY similar.

 

[brownpants69]

It's all down to perception. What do I know?

 

[chemical69]

well in all honesty I don't need or expect it to sound like a Luke if I take out the EMGs.

I am confident I will like the tone of either the Luke or the Silo Spec. It's more about playability and preference because I like thinner (not as wide) necks like on the Luke.

looks like it's too much hassle to drop in Dimarzios so I might just go for the Silo Spec after all. If I could just find a good used one...

 

[Marcello]

Hi! I'm the guy quoted by banjoplayer, it's useful to change pickups if you want to achieve a more natural sound less hi-fi, if you know what I mean (emgs are dramatically CLEANS!".
I've put on my guitar three Di Marzios, 2 Hs-3 and a Paf pro. Everything sound more natural to my ears, but a pickup swapping doesen't change the sound so heavily, it just gives you new flavours.
Anyway, when I bought the Paf pro I didn't notice it was non-trem spaced and now it doesn't match that much the last 2 strings, but actually I like this thing best, the sound is very powerful, yet a bit less sharp on the highs

 

[brownpants69]

pickup swapping doesen't change the sound so heavily, it just gives you new flavours.

Definitely agree with you on this one.

How did you go about routing?