EMG 57 / 66 output issue

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I installed an EMG 57/66 set in my ESP Eclipse today. The 57 is not remotely like a PAF as some reviews say, but sounds like a thicker and slightly less compressed 81, without so much of the upper mid spike. Nice clarity. Bright, but with a wider, more natural sounding EQ than the 81. Definitely still an EMG tone though.

But I have a problem with the 66. It's much quieter than the 57 no matter how I adjust the heights. I took the battery out and played both pickups like that to test if it was a problem with it getting power, and both pickup outputs drop similarly in that test.

Anyone have any ideas what it could be? Surely the 66 isn't supposed to be this much quieter. I'm undecided about keeping the set since the 57 isn't blowing me away, but I'd like to figure out the 66 issue before I make that call, if possible.

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Re: EMG 57 / 66 output issue

Could be a wiring issue, and most of the output problems are height related but you’ve addressed that. Did you try swapping the pickups and see if it’s still lower output in the other position?
 
Re: EMG 57 / 66 output issue

So I rewired them again and the issue hasn't changed. It doesn't sound like a wiring issue to me: the neck is quieter but not by a crazy amount like I've experienced other times I've had wiring issues. Maybe 25% quieter and a lot darker than the bridge. Oddly, neither pickup seems to be particularly sensitive to height changes in terms of overall volume. I just can't seem to balance them.
kramer.geetar said:
Could be a wiring issue, and most of the output problems are height related but you’ve addressed that. Did you try swapping the pickups and see if it’s still lower output in the other position?
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I didn't try swapping them around. I only want to waste so many sets of strings on this experiment. I'll probably return them if I can't find any specific suggestions to debug the problem in the next week.

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Re: EMG 57 / 66 output issue

IMO this particular EMG set are for the guys who use metal sounding amps, with dark pickups that go chug-chug-chug. I bought the 57 because some magazine reviewer said it was PAF like, and I found it was really bassy and a bit deficient in the upper mids. I actually never used the 66 because the reviewers wrote it was darker, and I'd rather stay away from products that contain the devil's number.
 
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