EMG trouble

[little0x]

Hey I just got ANOTHER guitar in..For repair. Im not sure what the trouble, I re-wired 3-4 times trying to avoid any same mistake. And of course after each time checking it over. But still same problem, I get a humm and the switch doesnt work. Its not a stock EMG switch either. Or output jack if that matters (still stereo). Im not sure what it is. Any help would be GREALTY appreciated. Also, The connectors onto the pickups, which way to they go? Ive tried it both ways and doesnt soudn correct either..Probabley the humm??? thanks!


Ox

[little0x]

Re: EMG trouble

Come on guys..help


Ox

[metafaza]

Re: EMG trouble

The only thing that comes to my mind right now is to make sure the switch is wired correctly. You didn't say if you get just hum or sound from the pickups and hum. Make sure that everything is grounded, grounding the switch may be the soulution. Take a good look at the switch and the jack. Since the jack is not EMG it may need to be wired a bit differently. As far as the pickup connecting goes, maybe one of the guys with a scanner can help, you may try to check EMG web page.

[Immortal]

Re: EMG trouble

What switch? Blade (almost every Jackson has it) or toggle (like Les Paul)?

How many pickups do you want connect together? Have you connected the grounding? The "hot" is a coaxial cable and the grounding is between two isolation skins on the wire. You will have skin the first isolation surface down and then you'll see a silver knitted wire. That's grounding.

Which connectors do you mean? Quik-connect? You have a scheme on the pickup. B represents black, R red, etc. You can see the colours of the "hot" if you turn the quik-connector a bit. You connect it as the scheme says.

Output jack doesn't really matters. You can use a normal one but if you want to avoid battery leaking, you'll have to make a physical switch on your own. The EMG output jacks aren't stereo, duh. It just has three connecting pins. One is +, one - and one is the "switch" for the battery. I've never heard someone to have a stereo output jack in his guitar. How would it sound if the regular guitar cable is mono? For stereo there should be at least 3 connectors. 2 for sound and contra polarity and one for other polarity. Using active pickups and with a connecting pin for the battery there should be 4 connecting pins.

[little0x]

Re: EMG trouble

I think im totally confused now. I have a stereo jack (2 common 1 ground) Dont I hook up the 9v wire to one common and then the other common to the other one and of course ground to ground? What im doing it two humbuckers 1 volume 1 3 way toggel (les paul style) Pickups-toggle-volume-output grounds all connected (minus floyd and 3 way) output. hots 9v output. I really can't nail whats wrong. This guitar has tooken me the longest to ever repair..I dunno what it is..Thanks for the help so far!! keep it coming!!


Ox

[Immortal]

Re: EMG trouble

Sure. To one you have to connect the battery, ground to ground and common to common.

I have my switch also grounded. I think either way is possible. I've tried to disconnect it and it's the same. Too much grounding won't harm anything.
Do you have sound? Does it hums when you touch any of the pots or strings? If so, you didn't connect the groundings from volume to tone. You have to ground both humbuckers to a volume pot for instance, then the ground pin of a volume pot (3) goes to the ground pot of a tone pot (I think it's 2). My hum stopped then.

But anyway there's some hum always because these pickups produce electromagnetic field and hum comes from the rotation of the spool. There were some samples on the old EMG official site and there was one metal riff played at high gain with EMG 81. You could hear some "normal" hum there. While playing hum is not hearable anymore.

Anyway I think this helps a bit...
I've noticed that we use completely different vocabulary to express ourselves... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I didn't know that you call upper pins for the jack "common". [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Ok I think I'll get used to it.

Here's the scheme:

[little0x]

Re: EMG trouble

Doh! It was my POS test amp thats on my work table..I didnt re adjust anything and my friend just tried it thru one of my regular amps and it worked fine, Sounds REALLY clean and great tone. The orginal switch was busted, The replacement out of a paul was crap..The third was the charm, But it still should have worked fine (- the amp). Thanks for everyones help. Now only if the floyd could stop being a ***** . (thanks again!! [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] )


Ox

[charvel750]

Re: EMG trouble

Immortal, "stereo" is the industry term for the output jack used in active pickups/circuitry, duh! [img]graemlins/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]