EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 bridge

[Jackson-Charvel]

My DR3 arrived today and I want an EMG neck single coil to compliment the EMG 81 in the bridge. I've only had experience with full sized EMG humbuckers, not the single coil ones. Any recommendations? Would be nice to have a neck pickup for nice jazzy warm tones but still glassy for the typical strat neck tones. Anything close to that in EMG land?

[pro-fusion]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

Try the EMG-SA in the single coil slots. Those match up very nicely with an EMG-81. The SA isn't huge sounding, but would get nice and jazzy if you roll off the tone control a bit.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

There is no tone control on my 3DR, just a volume. After playing it for a while now, I'm not sure I care for the 81 bridge. The 81 sounds huge in my DK2LE but in this it sounds tinny and wimpy. Can't imagine why it would sound that much different.

[rocksoldier]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

Maybee you would prefer passives for the jazzy tones if you doesn´t like the 81 anyway?

[kremit]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

[ QUOTE ]
There is no tone control on my 3DR, just a volume. After playing it for a while now, I'm not sure I care for the 81 bridge. The 81 sounds huge in my DK2LE but in this it sounds tinny and wimpy. Can't imagine why it would sound that much different.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had the 81 / SA combo in a Charvel Model 7 I just sold. IMO, that was one of the most versatile guitars I had in my arsenal.......and man do I miss it ! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

One thing about the EMG 81's is that they should sound the same no matter what guitar they are put in. Maybe it's time to put in a tone control ?

[GodOfRhythm]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There is no tone control on my 3DR, just a volume. After playing it for a while now, I'm not sure I care for the 81 bridge. The 81 sounds huge in my DK2LE but in this it sounds tinny and wimpy. Can't imagine why it would sound that much different.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had the 81 / SA combo in a Charvel Model 7 I just sold. IMO, that was one of the most versatile guitars I had in my arsenal.......and man do I miss it ! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

One thing about the EMG 81's is that they should sound the same no matter what guitar they are put in. Maybe it's time to put in a tone control ?

[/ QUOTE ]

I strongly object! EMG's are still subject to bodywoods, etc. As they SHOULD be! That's one of the 'fun' things of playing the guitar, imho.

Here's some soundclips Crunchmeister from SBT-band made, each is with an 81 but with the noted bodywood guitar, you can easily hear the difference (tone settings, etc were the same!)

ALDER

MAHOGANY

MAPLE

[pro-fusion]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

If you go with passive replacements for the EMGs, a Duncan Cool Rails or Lil' 59 would be perfect to get the jazzy sound you want. Problem is, you can't really mix and match EMGs and passives--especially if you only have one control pot--since they can't share controls.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

Question the guitar I received on Ebay came with an EMG 81 bridge and a Jackson J200 single coil. I thought the single coil on the Jackson was passive, but all 3 positions work. Aren't EMG's supposed to have special 25k pots and wiring? It seems someone may have just soldered in a battery lead and used the old wiring. I was under the impression you couldn't mix active and passive pickups without some sort of eloborate wiring scheme and 2 output jacks.

Upon inspection of the control cavity the single volume pot is a 25k pot. Wondering why I'd still get tone from the neck single coil then...

[pro-fusion]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

Well, I supposed you'd get tone from the SC that way...just really bad tone. Weird. Whoever installed the EMG must not have known what they were doing. It's possible to properly mix the pickups using the same controls if you route all the pickups through an EMG PA-2 active tone circuit. That's a way you could do it and still use a passive single coil-sized humbucker for a warmer sound.

By the way, that guitar's a real stunner.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

Thanks Pro Fusion, but the pics make it look like a nice Sea Foamish Green. Unfortunately it is more like a Fluorescent Blue. Well I took a pic with my camera and it looks the same color as posted. I am guessing this was a non original color as I have never seen a Charvel in this kind of blue or even the color in the picture.

[rocksoldier]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

That´s a really, REALLY sweet guitar!

[pinto79]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I supposed you'd get tone from the SC that way...just really bad tone. Weird. Whoever installed the EMG must not have known what they were doing. It's possible to properly mix the pickups using the same controls if you route all the pickups through an EMG PA-2 active tone circuit. That's a way you could do it and still use a passive single coil-sized humbucker for a warmer sound.

By the way, that guitar's a real stunner.

[/ QUOTE ]

Installing passive pups with EMG's is not a problem. EMG just want you to buy the whole set. the biggest draw-back is that with only a 25k pot, you loose a lot of high frequencies and the volume jump from the passive to the EMG is huge. I've done it in several guitars without issue. It technically would work better in a 2 vol situation. It will not damage/destroy anything.

Point of note: J200 singles are low-impedance, like EMG's, so they should sound ok with the 25k Pot anyhow... [img]/images/graemlins/idea2.gif[/img]

[jeff300]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

That Jackson single coil in your picture is not a J200.

For one thing, the J200s are single coil sized humbuckers. The J200 has no exposed poles (like an EMG) and the J200R has two rails (like a SD Hot/Cool Rail).

To my knowledge, the only guitars that had J200 series pickups were the Fusions.

[etaeniura]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

i believe the exposed pole ones are the J-100's.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Re: EMG neck single coil to match with EMG 81 brid

So are the J-100's low impedance? I am surprised it works at all and the more I play it, the neck doesn't sound too bad.

I guess at this point if I kept the neck pickup the way it is, at the least I'd want one of those black plastic covers for it to match the EMG somewhat. I wouldn't supposed that those covered Jacksons had removeable covers that I could use for my J-100?