Please educate me on EB Pickups/Preamp in my new Luke 4 BFR 2025

[ern2112]

Hey guys,

New to EB world but have looked at them for years and loved the way they feel and play.

This guitar is a HSS setup. Based on reading, it seems these are not active pickups (correct me if I wrong). The battery in the guitar is only for the preamp....correct?
Question is this. What is the best way to deal with the preamp situation when plugging into my Apollo. Hi Z or Line in? Do i just run the guitar gain way down? Reason I asked is because the output on the Luke is killer for my Axe FXIII. The response is nice and I really like it. The output direct to my Apollo has been more challenging as it's pretty hot. I put a compressor in the Unison slot in the input and that seemed to really be the way to go. Any advice is appreciated.

Second question. I am pretty savvy when it comes to soldering and wiring. How hard of a job is it to put a switch in the bypass the preamp....or is this a terrible idea?


Thanks in advance,

Ernie

 

[Rbg]

You don’t need to do anything. I run my L3s with passive pickups and an active preamp (same as you L4) as well as L2 with emgs into axe fxiii with absolutely no problem. It acts just as my passive guitars. The preamp when not engaged acts like a buffer providing low Z output.