EMG 81 wiring for KE3

[Heavymetal2000]

So my EMG 81 showed up and I'm itching to try it.
The KE3 ofc only has one pot, I have the emg pot, battery harness, and stereo jack.

How do I go about wiring it in properly?

Woll having only one pot matter? Or can I just run on one?

[Number Of The Priest]

Wiring diagram for two pickups, one volume control, no tone control: https://www.jemsite.com/forums/f35/w...tch-40939.html

I had a 1996 KE3 that had EMG-85 bridge, EMG-89 neck, push-pull volume control to split the 89. Battery was a very tight in the electronics cavity because those old KE3s had very tiny oblong cavities.

[Heavymetal2000]

Thanks for the link, I ended up kinda winging it 9n a different schematic that had 2 vol 2 tone.
Plugged it in and theres something off. No tone? Dead battery? Tried more then 1 battery though.

Had the sd-1 and TS-7 both on into the dirty channel amp gain at 6-7 and I have a mostly clean tone?

I'll check the link.
I musta messed up somewhere?

[Heavymetal2000]

So the battery in or out makes no difference atm it seems.

I still havent got to try the other wiring setup but figured od mention the battery ordeal.
Tried three new ones, Energizer, Panasonic, Duracell. All do not increase the pickups output at all.

Also out of curiosity, what's with all the small metal tabs screwed into the pickup pockets and controll cavity with ground leads on them? Do I really need like 5 ground spots in the body?

[Heavymetal2000]

After two more failed attempts I brought the guitar to the luthier.
He's gonna test all the components hopefully get it working and give the guitar a full cleaning, oiling, and setup as well.

I'll have it back next week.

[toejam]

Had the sd-1 and TS-7 both on into the dirty channel amp gain at 6-7 and I have a mostly clean tone?

Did you make sure the guitar cable was pushed in the jack all the way? The first time I had a guitar with EMGs, I put the cable in and got the same weak sound. Those jacks are tight and it takes more than one actual click before full contact is made. Might or might not be your problem.

[Heavymetal2000]

Honestly, I never really noticed. I just plugged it in the same way i always do with a regular input jack.
It very well could have been that and I wouldn't of even thought about it. Good to know, thanks toejam!

I guess the upside to the luthier is, his soldering will be cleaner and neater then mine pretty much guaranteed lol.
Plus he oiled and cleaned my fret board, and is cleaning up and leveling my frets and fixed the still existing action/neck issue I had. All things I'm not really set up to do myself.
I asked him to block my bridge as well as I literally have no use for it floating.

I'm pretty excited to get it back and take it for a spin!

[toejam]

Cool. Hope you get it all sorted out soon!

[Heavymetal2000]

So I got my Kelly back today and wow!
The neck and action are fantastic, he filed my fret ends and cleaned the whole guitar frets and all, blocked my tremolo, set it up in D standard oiled all my parts and fretboard and found the reason my pickup wasn't responding properly.
Apparently the input jack was faulty, he replaced it with a switch craft jack at no extra charge! Couldn't be happier with how it looks and feels.

On the flipside... I'm not all that happy with the EMG81...
I maybe it's the style of OD I'm using, or the fact that my VK isnt the greatest metal amp or I need an EQ but damn it sounds thin and tinny to me.
I'm probably doing something wrong.
I'll give it more time tmrw and see if I can figure this thing out.

[toejam]

Nice. The 81 can be a bit bright, and I recommend an 85 in the bridge if you can't get it EQd to your liking.

[Heavymetal2000]

Thanks toejam.
I'm going to spend the next few nights trying to get it where I would like it and then go from there.
I got it for pretty cheap so I could easily sell it for profit or trade it, but could also throw it in the neck.

Between the EMG 85 and the blackout bridge what's the major differences most would notice?

[toejam]

I've never used Blackouts, so I couldn't tell you anything about them.

The EMG 85 was always my favorite in the bridge with an 81 or 60 in the neck.

[Heavymetal2000]

I played around with the 81 more last night and although I kinda got something a bit chunkier I'm not really happy with it.
Itll most likely find it's way to the neck position.

Most reviews say the ahb1b is a darker, warmer pickup with more bottom but looser with more output.
Found one for 50$ so I'm gonna give it a try as well.

[Heavymetal2000]

So the blackout instead of having a red/white white has red/white/black.

So I send the black to ground as if it were the shiekd/ground on the outside of an emg white wire then send the white to the same place as my existing white?

[etepbbb]

If you have quick disconnect wires for the EMGs, it will plug into the Blackouts. Changes needed.