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A Compendium of the Arcane
Compiled by Dr. EMG
The first time you had that "bad"
feeling was when you finished unsoldering the pickup selector
switch from your Strat and realized that there were an awful lot
of wires in that guitar. But hey, you didn't really need the bridge
pickup anyway, right? And who even knows what the middle knob
is for...
But this is getting ridiculous!
You feel like you need a PhD in Material Science just to buy a
set of strings ("Yeah, I'll take the cryogenic chromium doped
alloy hybrid set, please"). And that's nothing compared to the
components counter...
Never fear- Dr. EMG to the rescue!
This glossary will translate that gobbledygook on the package
into useful, everyday terms so that you can be a smart buyer.
Understanding the specs will help you home in on the right parts
to fine tune your sound.
- Center Frequency
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- A tone control is a network
of active or passive components that have uneven sensitivity
across the frequency range. For example, a bass control is more
sensitive to low frequencies than high frequencies with the
end result being that the bass sounds louder. The tone control
network is designed to have maximum effect at a certain frequency.
This frequency, at the center of the affected range, is called
the center frequency. A tone control can have
a fixed center frequency (a conventional passive control or
an EMG-SPC), or can have a tunable
center frequency (such as the EMG-VMC
parametric midrange control).
- DPDT
- Double Pole
- Double Throw. This term
refers to the construction of a switch. The "poles" refer to
the number of independent sets of contacts exist in the switch.
For example, a double pole switch can independently switch two
separate circuits. The "throws" reflect the number of positions
the switch element can occupy. A simple on-off switch is a single-pole
switch; a double throw switch can connect a single wire to either
of two other wires.
DPDT switches are commonly
used to control accessory circuits - in one throw, the instrument
signal is routed through the EQ; in the other throw, the EQ
circuit is bypassed.
- Impedence Modeling(tm)
-
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An EMG Exclusive.
With complete control over the coils, wire, magnets, preamp,
EMG can precisely tune the primary and secondary resonances
of the pickup coils. This gives an unprecedented level of
control over the most important aspect of a pickup's sound
- the resonance. Since impedance varies with frequency, controlling
the impedence plays a major factor in shaping the pickup's
tone.
- Parametric EQ
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- A parametric
EQ lets you control the basic characteristics of the equalization
filter. Generally, you can control the amount of cut or boost,
the center frequency, and (mostly on studio mixing boards),
the Q or width of the frequency range affected by the EQ. A
parametric EQ lets you focus the effect of the tone control
right where you need it - to increase the punch of slapped strings,
or reduce the low midrange to clean up guitar chords.
- Piezo Film
- A piezo transducer is an element
that generates (or moderates) an electrical current based on
physical pressure on the element. EMG Acoustic pickups use a
plastic film with piezoelectric properties under the bridge
to detect the vibrations of the strings. Plastic film is advantageous
for use in a piezo pickups since it can be accurately shaped
for the application and is sensitive to string motion in one
plane only. This reduces the extraneous noise level from touching
the guitar top, while accurately reproducing the string's vibrations.
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