Guitars that will accommodate an EMG 81tw without modification

[Inflames626]

Hi all,
This should probably be in the Guitar Shop but I thought more people would see it here.

I've got some old hardwired 90s era EMG 89s / 81tws lying around. I'd like to put the 89 in the neck and the 81tw in the bridge. I'll probably flip the 89 logo upside down to make it like an 89r with the split coil near the neck. In humbucking mode they will closely mimic an 85/81 setup.

The problem is the 81tw is 1.1" deep. Normal EMGs are .9" deep.

I know Schecter had some Hellraisers back in the day with this 89r/81tw configuration. The thing is I'm not sure if they were factory modified to accommodate the 81tw in the bridge of if they were deep enough stock because of their carved top and possibly thicker bodies. I could buy a Hellraiser without these pickups but I thought it might not be deep enough and Schecter isn't my first choice of guitar if I have to pay a lot for it.

Pickup cavity depth is something I haven't paid attention to until recently. An Epiphone Floyded Gothic I have has an absolutely massive neck pickup cavity (it actually has what looks like toothpicks inside to hold up the pickup) but a very shallow bridge pickup cavity. My Gibson 496r/500t with Triple Shots retrofit would barely fit inside the bridge. Meanwhile the 496r almost fell in.

It's my perception from pics that carved top guitars are often thicker than flat pointy guitars, but I imagine this differs from guitar to guitar. So I'm leaning toward something like an Eclipse for this, which I hope will have deeper pickup cavities. Many LP guitars are also designed around the long legged Gibson pickup design.

I'd prefer something Floyded, so again I'm thinking a Floyded Eclipse or a Kramer Assault.

I don't have a proper power/hand tool to deepen the cavities. I thought perhaps some patient work with very coarse sandpaper could deepen the pickup cavity if done slowly and carefully as it's only .2".

Many pickup cavities I have seen have a grounding screw at the bottom of the cavity that is then attached to the grounds. Since EMGs do not need a grounding wire to the bridge I am not sure these cavity screws will be necessary.

Thanks so much for help and feedback.

[Inflames626]

Edit: I'm thinking the Epi, having its 3 way toggle switch on the front bottom horn like traditional Explorers, probably had deeper pickup cavities to allow room for the toggle switch wires to run under the pickups. So maybe having a toggle in the front as opposed to near the volume control will be a good indicator of how deep the pickup cavities are in any given guitar.

[Rex_Rocker]

I didn't find any trouble installing the 81TW in almost anything with pickup rings.

Direct-monted, yeah... you're gonna struggle. But with pickup rings, it will more than likely fit. Especially if you want to use the 81TW in the bridge. Keep in mind, as an EMG, they sound best as close to the strings as you can get them since their magnetic field is so weak. And the 81TW is noticeably quieter than the regular 81, so the higher up against the strings, the better.

The only time where I ran into trouble with the 81TW in a guitar with pickup rings was when I used it in the neck position of an Ibanez S series, which as you know, are somewhat unique. No biggie, though. I jus dremmeled some material off the bottom of the cavity. The only problem was the quick connect terminal and cable sticking out, so I didn't really have to dremmel out that much.

Also, I remember the 81TW being newer than the 90's? I started playing around the early 2000's, and there was no EMG 81TW back then. 89's, yeah. When it came out, they made a fuss about it, and I tried it, and I really liked it since, aside from being quieter than the regular 81, was fatter.

[Top-L]

Hi all,
This should probably be in the Guitar Shop but I thought more people would see it here.

I've got some old hardwired 90s era EMG 89s / 81tws lying around. I'd like to put the 89 in the neck and the 81tw in the bridge. I'll probably flip the 89 logo upside down to make it like an 89r with the split coil near the neck. In humbucking mode they will closely mimic an 85/81 setup.

The problem is the 81tw is 1.1" deep. Normal EMGs are .9" deep.

I know Schecter had some Hellraisers back in the day with this 89r/81tw configuration. The thing is I'm not sure if they were factory modified to accommodate the 81tw in the bridge of if they were deep enough stock because of their carved top and possibly thicker bodies. I could buy a Hellraiser without these pickups but I thought it might not be deep enough and Schecter isn't my first choice of guitar if I have to pay a lot for it.

Pickup cavity depth is something I haven't paid attention to until recently. An Epiphone Floyded Gothic I have has an absolutely massive neck pickup cavity (it actually has what looks like toothpicks inside to hold up the pickup) but a very shallow bridge pickup cavity. My Gibson 496r/500t with Triple Shots retrofit would barely fit inside the bridge. Meanwhile the 496r almost fell in.

It's my perception from pics that carved top guitars are often thicker than flat pointy guitars, but I imagine this differs from guitar to guitar. So I'm leaning toward something like an Eclipse for this, which I hope will have deeper pickup cavities. Many LP guitars are also designed around the long legged Gibson pickup design.

I'd prefer something Floyded, so again I'm thinking a Floyded Eclipse or a Kramer Assault.

I don't have a proper power/hand tool to deepen the cavities. I thought perhaps some patient work with very coarse sandpaper could deepen the pickup cavity if done slowly and carefully as it's only .2".

Many pickup cavities I have seen have a grounding screw at the bottom of the cavity that is then attached to the grounds. Since EMGs do not need a grounding wire to the bridge I am not sure these cavity screws will be necessary.

Thanks so much for help and feedback.

You can get a hand router for less than the price of a pickup.

[larryguitar]

You can get a hand router for less than the price of a pickup.

I was going to mention that if you get a palm router and a bearing bit you will never fear a pickup rout again.

Larry

[Inflames626]

You can get a hand router for less than the price of a pickup.

Top-L , not sure I trust my skills with a hand router or a drill press, especially without a jig to hold things in place.

I may be overthinking things but woodworking and paint are not my forte when it comes to guitars.

[Inflames626]

I didn't find any trouble installing the 81TW in almost anything with pickup rings.

Direct-monted, yeah... you're gonna struggle. But with pickup rings, it will more than likely fit. Especially if you want to use the 81TW in the bridge. Keep in mind, as an EMG, they sound best as close to the strings as you can get them since their magnetic field is so weak. And the 81TW is noticeably quieter than the regular 81, so the higher up against the strings, the better.

The only time where I ran into trouble with the 81TW in a guitar with pickup rings was when I used it in the neck position of an Ibanez S series, which as you know, are somewhat unique. No biggie, though. I jus dremmeled some material off the bottom of the cavity. The only problem was the quick connect terminal and cable sticking out, so I didn't really have to dremmel out that much.

Also, I remember the 81TW being newer than the 90's? I started playing around the early 2000's, and there was no EMG 81TW back then. 89's, yeah. When it came out, they made a fuss about it, and I tried it, and I really liked it since, aside from being quieter than the regular 81, was fatter.

Rex_Rocker , I know the 89 is from 2000 because John Carruthers of Carruthers Guitars put it in a Jackson KV3 when I attended GIT from 99-00. He was teaching guitar maintenance there at the time and was formerly affiliated with EMG. He also used to carry their products in his custom instruments.

I used it on a recording and it is fatter than an 81 but to me not in a pleasing way. It is similar to an 85 as a humbucker. I prefer thickening the 81 by putting all my EMG guitars in 24 volts with the 24 Volt Mod.

The 81tw may not be from the 90s, but it is hardwired. This may make the pickup somewhat thinner without having to have a quick connect on the bottom. I haven't looked.

The main use for this guitar aside from coil splitting is a hot humbucker in the neck, something I don't normally do. I also like the EMG SA in the neck, which the 89 emulates. My real EMG SA/S I am going to replace with an SV/SAV to see if I get more of a 50s tone. In 24 volts the S/SA sound like mini humbuckers more than the 50s Strat I was looking for.

[Inflames626]

The Jackson KV3 John built for me was an 81/89 build. I didn't like the 81 in the neck at all. Ceramic mags and bright pickup fight the warmer tone of the neck position. This was also in the days before running EMGs in 18/24 volts became popular. X series didn't exist, nor did Blackouts.

That same guitar now has Full Shreds in it.

[Inflames626]

Rex_Rocker , I prefer pickup rings, honestly. For one I can use Triple Shots with them. I also think the rings look nice if they are chrome against gloss black with all the rest of the hardware being chrome.

Direct mount looks naked to me. It also makes me think rap/nu metal/groove metal/extended range. I'll put up with them, but only because it seems hard to find ring mounted 7 string pickups/rings.

[Top-L]

Top-L , not sure I trust my skills with a hand router or a drill press, especially without a jig to hold things in place.

I may be overthinking things but woodworking and paint are not my forte when it comes to guitars.

You would have to devise some way to protect the paint. If the router bit is short and below the lip of the cutout, there shouldn't be any visible damage to the cutout, but I would still mask it with tape.

That said, I haven't done this myself. I bought a guitar with 57/60tw set and I really like them. Glad I don't have to buy them or install them!

[Rex_Rocker]

I know the 89 is from 2000 because John Carruthers of Carruthers Guitars put it in a Jackson KV3 when I attended GIT from 99-00. He was teaching guitar maintenance there at the time and was formerly affiliated with EMG. He also used to carry their products in his custom instruments.

I used it on a recording and it is fatter than an 81 but to me not in a pleasing way. It is similar to an 85 as a humbucker. I prefer thickening the 81 by putting all my EMG guitars in 24 volts with the 24 Volt Mod.

The 81tw may not be from the 90s, but it is hardwired. This may make the pickup somewhat thinner without having to have a quick connect on the bottom. I haven't looked.

The main use for this guitar aside from coil splitting is a hot humbucker in the neck, something I don't normally do. I also like the EMG SA in the neck, which the 89 emulates. My real EMG SA/S I am going to replace with an SV/SAV to see if I get more of a 50s tone. In 24 volts the S/SA sound like mini humbuckers more than the 50s Strat I was looking for.

Oh, the 81TW sounds fatter than the 81 running at any voltage. I like it. But I like the 81 just fine as well.

But yeah. As long as the guitar is using pickup rings and not direct mount, I'm 90% sure it will fit. Like I said, the only time I encountered an issue was on an Ibanez S which, as you know, those guitars are pretty unique, and on the neck position, which you usually have to have the pickup lower/closer to the bottom of the route in there for it to balance.

In my experience, I'll say with 90% certainty, it will work as long as the pickup is mounted on a ring. The actual like pickup box of an 81TW is pretty massive, but a 500T has screws sticking out further out of the bottom of the baseplate, which the 81TW does not have, and it has long legs on top of that, which the 81TW doesn't either.

[Rex_Rocker]

I prefer pickup rings, honestly. For one I can use Triple Shots with them. I also think the rings look nice if they are chrome against gloss black with all the rest of the hardware being chrome.

Direct mount looks naked to me. It also makes me think rap/nu metal/groove metal/extended range. I'll put up with them, but only because it seems hard to find ring mounted 7 string pickups/rings.

I prefer pickup rings as well. I like the clean look of direct mounts, but you're usually stuck with the pickups that fit those routes. You'd be surprised how pickup dimensions from different manufactures are all over the place. You'd think a humbucker is a humbucker, right? Good luck trying to fit a 500T or an 81TW in an Ibanez with direct mounts.

I'm a tinkerer, and there's no way I ever stick with the same set of pickups on a guitar for more than like 3 or 4 months. I hate feeling limited as to what I can experiment with.