Bought a Charvel 750XL need some help with parts

[RickD67]

So I have ordered this 750XL but it won't be here till probably Friday. It's in need of pickup surrounds (see pic) and probably pickups as well since I am not an EMG fan, but I will try them out before I pass judgement. So I am assuming the bridge pup is F-spaced due to the Floyd? Is the neck pup F-spaced also? Are these oversize rings? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

BTW I have been wanting one of these since 1989

[RickD67]

I posted this in the wrong sub forum could a mod please move it?

[EntrailsOfU]

https://fretsonthenet.com/

You can get custom pickup rings from here and probably a back plate. Any Charvel MIJ from 86-91 back plate will fit and they are on ebay almost all the time, same for pickup rings if you want period correct. As far as pickups, these guitars came stock with random Jackson pickup configurations so you can pick which Jackson pickup you like best or what ever pick up from any company that is F spaced. Neck pickup does not need to be F spaced.

Good buy! I considered it myself!

[Black Shadow]

Congrats on the beast! The neck pickup is normally spaced.

I'd give the EMGs at least a month if I were you. You may find that they provide a welcome contrast to the rest of your collection. That's how I started, and now I have 6-7 guitars with EMGs.

[RickD67]

https://fretsonthenet.com/

You can get custom pickup rings from here and probably a back plate. Any Charvel MIJ from 86-91 back plate will fit and they are on ebay almost all the time, same for pickup rings if you want period correct. As far as pickups, these guitars came stock with random Jackson pickup configurations so you can pick which Jackson pickup you like best or what ever pick up from any company that is F spaced. Neck pickup does not need to be F spaced.

Good buy! I considered it myself!

I take it you were one of the watchers on Reverb?

[RickD67]

Congrats on the beast! The neck pickup is normally spaced.

I'd give the EMGs at least a month if I were you. You may find that they provide a welcome contrast to the rest of your collection. That's how I started, and now I have 6-7 guitars with EMGs.

Well it has EMG's but I have no idea which ones they are, the seller told me that they were passive which seems very odd to me. The only passive EMG's I have ever seen are the EMGhz and these are not them.

[Number Of The Priest]

If I had to guess from the one photo you posted, the pickups could be EMG-85 bridge (gold logo), EMG-60 neck (gray logo).

Lift the pickups, and check for the model label on the underside.

I'd also recommend giving the EMGs a chance. I had two guitars back in the day with EMGs, sold those and went without EMGs for about 15 years, recently acquired two guitars that had active EMGs and one that had passive EMGs, and now I don't mind the brand.

[EntrailsOfU]

I take it you were one of the watchers on Reverb?

I was, I have the opportunity to watch Reverb (and eBay for that matter) almost all day with impunity... It COULD get very bad for my wallet. I would have bought this 750 if I had not just recently bought another. It is good for my ability to quickly value most Charvel and Jackson models. Not that that is an important knowledge base to most...

I will chime in, I'm not an EMG fan. But they are good pickups that can be had for fairly cheap these days. Worth a try since they are already in the guitar. You'll know within a day or two if you can stand them or not. The 85/60 guess by Priest is probably fairly accurate, and they definitely don't look passive to me. There is space for a battery in the fairly large Charvel control routes.

[Black Shadow]

I was, I have the opportunity to watch Reverb (and eBay for that matter) almost all day with impunity... It COULD get very bad for my wallet. I would have bought this 750 if I had not just recently bought another. It is good for my ability to quickly value most Charvel and Jackson models. Not that that is an important knowledge base to most...

I will chime in, I'm not an EMG fan. But they are good pickups that can be had for fairly cheap these days. Worth a try since they are already in the guitar. You'll know within a day or two if you can stand them or not. The 85/60 guess by Priest is probably fairly accurate, and they definitely don't look passive to me. There is space for a battery in the fairly large Charvel control routes.

The bad thing about watching Reverb + ebay all day is that you will find SMOKIN' deals on things you don't really need or maybe even want. It's hard to resist buying certain items when you know it may take years to find them again at the same price, if ever.

The 85 and 60 are two of my all time EMG faves. For a hefty 24.75" scale guitar like the 750, the 81 may be even better at the bridge, but try what you have first. I have an ESP Eclipse with the 81/60 and love it!

[RickD67]

If I had to guess from the one photo you posted, the pickups could be EMG-85 bridge (gold logo), EMG-60 neck (gray logo).

Lift the pickups, and check for the model label on the underside.

I'd also recommend giving the EMGs a chance. I had two guitars back in the day with EMGs, sold those and went without EMGs for about 15 years, recently acquired two guitars that had active EMGs and one that had passive EMGs, and now I don't mind the brand.

I won't have the guitar till next Monday, I will definitely check the pups. The seller insists that they are passive, maybe he never opened the back cavity cover?

[Black Shadow]

I won't have the guitar till next Monday, I will definitely check the pups. The seller insists that they are passive, maybe he never opened the back cavity cover?

They would say EMG Hz on the covers if passive.

[EntrailsOfU]

The bad thing about watching Reverb + ebay all day is that you will find SMOKIN' deals on things you don't really need or maybe even want. It's hard to resist buying certain items when you know it may take years to find them again at the same price, if ever.

It IS bad. I saw a BC Rich gunslinger neck thru the other day for 600$... WHY I didn't buy it just to flip I'll never know. Less than an hour later it was gone. I do justify my collection by basically having almost every piece worth about double what I paid. So that helps most people understand why I have so many guitars. Working at a guitar store also fuels this even more. So it's double whammy for me.

[RickD67]

So I got the guitar and yes it has active EMG's (81/60) and I am digging them so far. The guitar is so gorgeous I can just sit and stare at it! Frets are perfect, intonation is way off gonna fix that right now. The previous owner installed a nice little brass block on the trem. I need to find a rear trem cover though. I was able to source the correct vintage pickup surrounds and installed the right away.

[EntrailsOfU]

Selling already?

[RickD67]

Selling already?

Yeah I decided I couldn't live with the pickups but then I noticed that EMG has some newer offerings. I decided to try the EMG Fat 55's and I am totally happy with the guitar now -SHES A KEEPER!!