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Click Here For EMG PRICES
Killer tone and bulletproof reliability are at the core of everything
we make, but installing and maintaining top performance is just as important.
As systems grow more flexible they can also get more complex. We're here
to help you out with the answers to Frequently Asked Questions that address
the most common questions about our pickups, electronics, and installation
issues.
We have four different help areas to meet
your needs:
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Right here on this page!
Short-form answers to the the most common questions that come into
our Tech group. Look here first - you'll probably
find your answer right here. |
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Detailed technical information
on selected topics is available here, includingthe ever-popular Nine
Basic Wiring Diagrams which illustrate complete schematic to the most
popular combos and excerpts from The Wiring Book, a compendium of
our installation manuals. |
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If you have a question
that we didn't answer online, please write to us at emgtek@emginc.com.
Items of general interest will be considered for inclusion in this
FAQ. |
EMG Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
page collects the most common questions about EMG pickups, electronics,
and installation issues. You may find more detailed technical information
elsewhere in this section.
If you have a question that isn't addressed
here, please write to us at emgtek@emginc.com.
Items of general interest will be considered for inclusion in this FAQ.
General Questions
- What's an active
pickup, and why would I use one?
- What are the advantages
of an EMG pickup?
- Why an internal
pre-amp?
Pickup Questions
- How can I tell which
pickup I have?
- What is the difference
between the EMG-81 and the EMG-85?
- What is the EMG-89?
- Can two EMG-89's
be wired to a single push/pull switch?
- EMG-89 volume differences
in different modes?
- Does EMG make a mini-humbucking
pickup?
- Does EMG make a Rickenbacker
bass pickup?
- Can I use my original
long-shaft output jack with my EMG pickup?
- Do you have pots
for the Les Paul?
- Do you make 25K
concentric pots?
- What do the DIP switches
on my BT/BQ EQ system do?
Acoustic Questions
- What is the difference
between the EMG-AS93U and the EMG-AS125U?
- Can I put a volume
control on an EMG-AS93U or AS125U?
Battery Questions
- Do EMG pickups
need a battery?
- What kind of
battery do EMGs need?
- Where is the
battery located?
- Can multiple
pickups/EQs run off a single battery?
- Can I use multiple
batteries?
- How long does
the battery last?
- What happens
if the battery runs out?
Wiring Questions
- How do I wire my pickups
up?
- How do I wire a coil
tap? a phase switch?
- Can I adjust the
output level of my pickups?
- What value capacitor
do you use with the volume and tone controls?
- Can I mix EMG's
with passive pickups?
- Can I use EMG accessory
circuits on passive pickups?
- What's an active pickup, and
why would I use one?
- An active pickup is one that uses
electronics to improve the sound and enhance its operation. There are
a variety of ways to "Activate" a pickup. A simple "buffer"
pre-amp will do the trick, but it will also amplify the hum and buzz
the pickup produces. Just because a pickup is "active" doesn't guarantee
you'll get great results. EMG pickups utilize an internal pre-amp (inside
the pickup), which not only makes the pickup louder, it also reduces
the noise!
- What are the advantages of
an EMG pickup?
- The greatest is reduction in noise.
No longer will the dimming of the house lighting system cause your guitar
to buzz incessantly. You can use an extra long cable, or a wireless,
and you'll get the same great tone every time.
- Why an internal pre-amp?
- It's the most efficient way to create
an active pickup. All the coil connections are shielded,
the pre-amp is shielded, and the output of the pickup cable is low-impedance,
which makes it less susceptible to noise. Also, it avoids a spider web
of wires and possible loose connections in your guitar and the installation
is simple. All the benefits with none of the hassle.
- How can I tell which pickup
I have?
- A number of the EMG models consist
of different magnets, coils, and electronics in similar shells. That
can make it hard to tell at a glance what kind of pickup you have.
Of course, the first indicator is
the shape of the pickup - humbucker, Strat-style, Tele-style, Precision
(split-coil) or Jazz bass, etc. If you see visible pole pieces, then
this is a Vintage Series pickup.
Once you've narrowed down the general
family, you can tell the specific model by the color of the EMG logo
on the face of the pickup. For example, if you have a humbucker sized
pickup with a silver logo, it is an EMG-81;
with a gold logo, it's an EMG-85. The
identifying logo color for most of our pickups is listed with their
specs on the Product Specification page.
That's still quite not good enough
for the Extended Series bass pickups.
They all have the same external appearance and all have a silver logo.
There's two things to try here. First, there's normally a sticker
on the back of the pickup that shows the specific model number. If
that's not present, you will want to use a piece of our Magnetic
Viewing Paper to visualize the pickup's magnetic structure. You
can then determine the appropriate model by matching what you see
to our Extended Series Specifications.
- What is the difference between
the EMG-81 and the EMG-85?
- The EMG-81 is our highest output pickup.
The EMG-85 has slightly less output than the EMG-81, yet still has plenty
of output to overdrive an amp. The EMG-85 has more low end and less
high end then the EMG-81. The EMG-81 has less low end and is brighter
than the EMG-85.
- What is the EMG-89?
- The EMG-89 is a dual-mode pickup.
There is no electronic filtering going on to simulate a coil tap. There
are two bona fide pickups in a single humbucking housing. The single
coil portion of the EMG-89 is located on the logo side of the pickup.
It is identical in sound to the EMG-SA.
The humbucking portion is spread across the entire pickup and sounds
like the EMG-85. It's perfectly OK
to rotate the pickup 180 degrees to locate the single coil portion of
the pickup further away from the bridge for a "beefier" tone. You may
also order the EMG-89R, which has the single-coil portion located opposite
the logo.
- Can two EMG-89's be wired to
a single push/pull switch?
- Each EMG-89 requires it's own double
pole/double throw (DPDT) switch. For example,
if there are two EMG-89's in a guitar, you will need two push/pull pots,
two mini toggles, or one of each. The pot portion of the push/pull pot
is 25K ohms. It can be wired as a volume control or a tone control.
Even though the pot and switch portions of the push/pull pot are physically
joined together, they are really two separate circuits.
- Is there supposed to be a volume
difference between the single coil and humbucking portions of the EMG-89?
- There is a noticeable difference in
gain between the single-coil and humbucking portions of the EMG-89.
It's design reflects the fact that single-coils generally have less
gain. Obviously, there are tone differences as well, but the gain difference
is also a factor. You can compensate for the gain difference by putting
an EMG-PA2 (pre-amp booster> on the single-coil
portion of the EMG-89. However as the gain of the single coil is increased,
there will be less difference in sound between the single-coil and humbucking
portions of the EMG-89.
- Does EMG make a mini-humbucking
pickup like the one found in the Les Paul Deluxe?
- EMG does not make a mini-humbucking
pickup. The only humbucking guitar pickup is a standard size (1.5" X
2.75").
- Does EMG make a replacement
pickup for the Rickenbacker 4001 bass?
- EMG does not make a direct replacement
for the Rickenbacker 4001 bass. The closest size available is the EMG-HB
("1.5 X 2.75"). The EMG-HB can be installed with some modification to
the instrument.
- The jack I have in my guitar
has a much longer shaft than the one supplied with the EMG pickup. Can
I use the one in the guitar?
- That depends on what kind of jack
you have in your guitar. Active pickups require a stereo jack to turn
the battery off when the guitar is unplugged. A stereo jack has 3 solder
lugs. Many of the Ibanez guitars come stock with a stereo long shafted
jack. There is one lug not used with passive pickups and that is where
you will connect the battery black wire. If your jack has only 2 solder
lugs it is mono and you will need to replace it. We recommend a Switchcraft
p/n 152B. You should be able to find it at any decent electronics parts
house. If not, you can order it from us.
- I have a Les Paul and the pots
don't fit through the top. Do you have pots that will work for the Les
Paul?
- We do have long shafted pots for the
Les Paul installation. Customers can order them directly from us or
through their dealer. They are not available anywhere else. We also
have the long shafted push/pull pots for use with the EMG-89.
- Do you make 25K concentric
pots?
- Yes! We stock the A25KX2 dual concentric
25K pot. This model features two independent audio taper controls that
fit in a single hole. It's particularly useful when you add one of our
single knob EQ units (the SPC,RPC,
or EXG). Using the A25KX2, you can relocate
your original passive tone knob and volume knob in the same hole, and
add the new EQ without making additional holes in your axe.
EMG also offers a dual ganged balance
pot for two pickup systems. This unit has two independent control
elements on a single shaft.
- What do the DIP switches on
my BT/BQ EQ system do?
- These switches set the frequency where
the active treble control kicks in. The BT Accessory Technical Page
shows the various switch settings and the resultant effects. They make
a huge difference in your sound! We highly recommend that you experiment
with the switches to find the setting the best suits your playing style.
- What is the difference between
the EMG-AS93U and the EMG-AS125U?
- The only difference between these
two pickups is the width. The AS93 is .093" (3/32) and the AS125 is
.125" (1/8). They are both 2.70" in length. The AS93 would be for the
traditional saddle widths such as Martin guitars. You would use the
AS125 on guitars with 1/8" saddles.
- Can I put a volume (or volume
and tone) control on an EMG-AS93U or AS125U?
- It's no problem to add either a volume
or volume and tone control to these pickups. Simply install them in
line after the preamp. You should use the same 25K audio taper pots
that are used with our electric pickups. These are generally available
from your EMG dealer, or can be purchased directly from the factory.
- Do EMG pickups need a battery?
- All of the active guitar and bass
pickups we make require a battery; the Select
models are passive and don't need one. The active pre-amp, located in
the pickup housing, is powered by this battery.
- What kind of battery do EMGs
need?
- EMG active pickups and EQs are powered
by a standard, rectangular 9 volt (IEC 6LR61/NEDA 1604A) battery. We
recommend normal alkaline batteries (Eveready or Duracell, for example)
for best results. These are the same batteries that you would use in
an effects box or wireless unit and are widely available.
We do not recommend the use of rechargeable
batteries in EMG systems. Although they are compatible electrically,
typically you must fully discharge these batteries to preserve long
life, which can be problematic in normal usage.
You can externally power your EMG
system, although we do not provide parts for this option. We don't
recommend doing this, however, as the you will require extremely high
quality power filtering to equal the performance of a regular battery.
Since the pickup is the very first stage of your system, it's particularly
sensitive to noise.
- Where is the battery located?
- If your guitar came with EMG pickups
as standard equipment, you may have a battery cavity with it's own cover.
In most other cases, the battery is located in the main control cavity
which is usually accessible by removing a cover plate. Stratocaster-type
guitars don't have a cover plate - in this case, you would remove the
pickguard to get access to the battery.
If you're thinking about installing
an EMG system, look for a suitable location for the battery. Although
it's tight on Strats, you often can fit the battery under the pots
with little or no body modification.
Don't forget - most 9 volt batteries
have a metal casing and should be insulated with foam or tape before
installation.
- Can multiple pickups/EQs run
off a single battery?
- Yes. All pickups and EQ units can
run off a single battery with no problems. Since the current drain on
all our products is very low, you should still get reasonable battery
life with any reasonable combination of circuits (unreasonable combinations
too!).
- Can I use multiple batteries?
- Yes. If you've got room for multiple
batteries in your guitar, you can use two batteries wired in series
to power your onboard circuitry at 18 volts. The output level will not
appreciably increase, but you'll have increased headroom and crisper
transients. This is especially useful for percussive/slap bass styles
where you can generate enormous instantaneous power levels across the
entire frequency spectrum.
You can also wire two batteries in
parallel to provide a regular 9 volt supply but with much longer lifespan
between battery changes.
Although most of our products are
rated for 27 volts, we recommend a maximum of 18 volts. The additional
benefits of 27 vs. 18 volts are negligible.
- How long does the battery last?
- All EMG pickups and EQ systems are
designed for extremely low current drain. In addition, the pickup jack
included with all models has a switch that disconnects the battery when
the guitar is not plugged in. To maximize battery life, you should always
unplug your guitar when it's not in use.
The Specs Page
includes current requirements and estimated battery life for each
model. Generally, each pickup requires about 80 microamps (uA), except
for the Vintage Series pickups which require 220 uA each. EQ circuit
requirements vary widely but are higher than pickups.
For your reference, a standard 9
volt alkaline battery provides 580 milliAmpHours (mAh) of power. That
means that it will provide 580 milliAmps for 1 hour or 1 milliamp
for 580 hours. There are 1000 uA per mA. You can figure the approximate
battery life of any setup by adding up the individual power requirements,
then dividing 580,000 by this total. Here's an example:
1 - EMG-81 = 80 uA
2 - EMG-SV = 220 uA*2 = 440 uA
1 - EXG = 410 uA
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Total required = 930 uA
Total life = 580,000 uAh / 930 uA = 623 hours
If you left your guitar plugged in day
and night, the battery should still last a month. Under normal playing
conditions, you would probably be looking at changing the battery twice
a year. Of course, you should treat these numbers conservatively and
not try to drain every last uA out!
- What happens if the battery
runs out?
- We were afraid you were going to ask...
Because EMG pickups are designed from the ground up to operate as active
pickups, they're not very functional when deprived of power. As the
battery weakens over time, the output level will reduce and become more
distorted. When you hear that happening, it's time to change the battery.
Below a certain voltage, the onboard
active circuitry will stop working. At that point, you will hear little
or no output from the guitar. Don't let this happen to you!
Other "active" systems run the output
of normal high-impedance pickups into a buffer amp or active EQ circuit.
If the battery goes dead in one of these systems, you can bypass the
active circuit and still get some sound. That's nice, but this sort
of design compromises the pickup design yielding only a few of the
benefits of optimized active pickup design. That bypass switch will
cost you tone and noise - a BAD tradeoff.
- How do I wire my pickups up?
- Complete installation instructions
and hardware are included with all of our pickups, accessories, and
systems. In addition to basic assembly, there are often useful customization
tips which are worth checking out. If you need a new copy of the installation
sheet, contact EMGTek to get
a new copy.
Our pickup wiring color code is standardized
across most models for simplicity:
- White = Signal Output
- Metal braid = both signal and power
Ground
- Red = Power feed (+9V) to the active
electronics
The EMG-89
wiring is quite a bit more complicated and is covered by it's own
tech page.
Similarly, the color code for our
accessory circuits looks like this:
- White = Signal Input
- Green = Signal Output
- Red = Power feed
- Black = signal and power Ground
- How do I wire a coil splitter?
a phase switch?
- The design of EMG active pickups doesn't
allow access to the individual coil outputs from the pickups. As such,
it's not possible to wire coil taps or pickup phase switches in the
traditional manner. We do provide a number of alternative accesories
to help you simulate some of these tone mods.
To create the sound of a split coil
pickup, you can either change to the EMG-89
pickup which contains both a dual-coil humbucker and single-coil pickup
selectable by a switch, or you can add the
EMG DMSK Dual Mode Switch Kit which lets you customize a switchable
high-pass filter to create a sound reminiscent of a single-coil pickup.
One advantage of using these devices are that they will retain their
low-noise performance, unlike a split coil pickup which will be quite
buzzy compared to the humbucker mode.
The EMG
PI2 Phase Inverter actively inverts the phase of an EMG pickup
giving you a true out-of-phase effect, controllable by a switch.
- Can I adjust the output level
of my pickups?
- The pre-amp circuitry in each EMG
pickup is factory preset for the optimum output level. This level was
carefully determined to minimize hum and noise while maximizing a clean
output signal under heavy playing and high transients, and can't be
modified. Please note that a clean, high output level from the pickup
into a high-gain amplifier is the BEST way to get a full, distorted
tone!
If you would like to have increased
output from the guitar, you can add our EMG-PA2
inline pre-amp booster which includes a trimpot that lets you adjust
the output level up to +20dB(!).
EMG active pickups have higher output
levels than traditional passive pickups. If you find that the output
level of your EMG pickup is too hot to get clean tones, the easiest
fix is to reduce the gain on your amp (if it has pre-amp/master volume
controls). If that doesn't do the trick, then try turning down the
volume control on your guitar. Unlike a traditional passive volume/tone
system, the low-impedance EMG system lets you turn down the volume
with very little effect on the tone, so you won't sound muffled when
you back off the volume knob. If this is still a problem,
contact EMGTek for more info on circuit mods to address your problem.
- What value capacitor do you
use with the volume and tone controls?
- We use 0.1 micro farad capacitors
for all our volume and tone control setups including guitar and bass.
- Can I mix EMG's with passive
pickups?
- It is possible to mix EMG's with passive
pickups. There are three possible wiring configurations; one is better
than the other two.
- Use the high
impedance (250K-500K) volume and tone controls. The problem
is that the high impedance controls act more like a switch to the
EMG's. The passive pickups, however, will work fine. If you have
a guitar with two pickups and two volume pots, with a three-way
switch, there is another alternative. Use the 25K pots for the EMG,
and the 250K pots for the passive pickup. This way you can use one
or the other with no adverse affects, but with the switch in the
middle position the passive pickup will have reduced gain and response.
- Use the low-impedance (25K) volume
and tone controls provided with the EMG's. The problem here is that
the passive pickups will suffer a reduction in gain and loss of
high-frequency response.
- This is the best alternative. Install
an EMG-PA-2 on the passive pickups. There are two benefits to doing
this. With the trimpot on the PA-2, you can adjust the gain of the
passive pickups to match the EMG's. The PA-2 acts as an impedance
matching device so you can use the low-impedance EMG controls (25K)
without affecting the tone of the passive pickups. You will also
be able to use other EMG accessory circuits such as the SPC, RPC,
EXB, EXG, etc. For this application, I recommend ordering the PA-2
without the switch for easy installation on the inside of a guitar.
- Can I use EMG accessory circuits
on passive pickups?
- Most EMG accessories can be
used directly with passive pickups. They are the
- EMG-PA2
- EMG-SPC
- EMG-RPC
- EMG-VMC
- EMG-BTC CONTROL
- EMG-BTS CONTROL
- EMG-BQC CONTROL
- EMG-BQS CONTROL.
These EMG accessories cannot be
used with passive pickups
- EMG-EXG
- EMG-EXB
- EMG-BTC SYSTEM
- EMG-BTS SYSTEM
- EMG-BQC SYSTEM
- EMG-BQS SYSTEM
Technical
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