EMG mod

[man-in-moon]

i have read on here several times about the 18 volt mod and was wondering exactly how it is done and what difference it makes in sound. sorry if i am asking something that has been talked about already i just haven't saw anything on it yet.

 

[dani]

Re: EMG mod

its suppose to increase headroom. do a search for 18 volt.

 

[some_dude]

Re: EMG mod

You can either modify the wiring harness to use two 9v batteries in series, or

Buy three battery clips, solder them all in series (in a ring shape), hook the first two upto batteries, and the last upto the stock wiring harness' 9v battery clip.

I like the second route as it's completely reversable.

I found that when I used the EMGs (81 and 85) at 9v they were compressed and very "metal" sounding. Great for metal guitar playing, but kinda limiting. When I first plugged them in I was quite dissapointed.

At 18v they seemed to have quite a bit more headroom. The since the preamp didn't max out so fast they had less compression more dynamics. They also seemed more punchy, I assume this is do to a better attack responce at the higher power level. I found they sounded alot more like a normal pickup than an active pickup at 18v. Now that I've done this, it'll be a long time before those pickups come out of that guitar.

 

[SheDoesntDoIt4Me]

Re: EMG mod

Just take 3 more 9 volt battery connectors, like you get at radio shack. Make a triangle out of them....black to red, black to red, black to red.....attach one conector to your original battery connector for the emgs and hook up two batts to the others, if done right you will have 18 volts. I really didnt care for it, it may be more for clean sounds to add headroom, but I dont know.

 

[rinse_master]

Re: EMG mod

Sorry to hijack but...

lot of people say that EMG's sound like EMG's in near enough any guitar, does the EMG let the natuaral sound of the wood through a little more?

 

[Imp]

Re: EMG mod

nope - they make a $125 guitar sound like a $400 guitar, but a $1200 guitar also sound like a $400 guitar IMO

 

[rinse_master]

Re: EMG mod

nope - they make a $125 guitar sound like a $400 guitar, but a $1200 guitar also sound like a $400 guitar IMO

Even with the 18v mod, maybe more headroom could do it good?

If not I might get some EMG SA's for my Squier Strat...

 

[Imp]

Re: EMG mod

i just always put the 18v mod in, and i've done a couple of mate's guitars with them.. upgrading a squier or the like is the perfect use for EMGs IMO - they can breath life into a cheaper guitar

 

[rinse_master]

Re: EMG mod

Nice, better get looking on ebay!

 

[Monty-Jay]

Re: EMG mod

I really like the 18v mod too. At first, I was working off a weird diagram and it wasn't correct. Then I found another one and it made perfect sense. I installed it into one of my explorers and compared it to another explorer, also with emgs but no 18v mod. The 18v made everything feel stronger, to me that's the main improvement. The *feel* is pretty cool and the sound is nice and strong too.

MJ

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: EMG mod

nope - they make a $125 guitar sound like a $400 guitar, but a $1200 guitar also sound like a $400 guitar IMO

Eh....I tend to place the tonal value at probably $275. $325 at the most.

 

[fenderiarhs]

Re: EMG mod

Sorry to hijack but...

lot of people say that EMG's sound like EMG's in near enough any guitar, does the EMG let the natuaral sound of the wood through a little more?

I am sure you have heard that from someone(and i've got the feeling he has never used emgs)......i have tried emg's in 7 different guitars and in each one of them they sounded different

 

[some_dude]

Re: EMG mod

I am sure you have heard that from someone(and i've got the feeling he has never used emgs)......i have tried emg's in 7 different guitars and in each one of them they sounded different

I agree.

Unless EMG's will somehow make a Les Paul sound like a Strat, or vice versa, the "EMGs make all guitars sound the same" thing is kinda silly.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: EMG mod

The easiest way to do the mod is:
unhook the black wire from the jack. attach the second battery clip's black wire to the jack, and it's red to the black one you disconnected in step one. plug in 2 batteries, and you're all set.

This is just as reversable as 3 battery clips, and less complicated.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: EMG mod

thanks for the info guys i'll give it a try

 

[Imp]

Re: EMG mod

best thing is try someone else's guitar with them in before you buy - EMGs have a 'vibe' about the way they sound, and you'll love it, not mind it or totally hate it, depending what you look for in a tone..

put it this way - i really miss singlecoil hum :laugh2:

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: EMG mod

Going to get another battery harness and try it this week...this sounds great, but what's with everyone talking about 3 battery jacks? you only need two.

 

[rinse_master]

Re: EMG mod

You connect one to the existing battery clip, and the batteries to the other two (they are all daisy-chained together) this makes it easy to reverse if you don't like it.

 

[some_dude]

Re: EMG mod

Going to get another battery harness and try it this week...this sounds great, but what's with everyone talking about 3 battery jacks? you only need two.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~screamingdaisy/New_Folder/EMG 18v mod.jpg

 

[Zerberus]

Re: EMG mod

Going to get another battery harness and try it this week...this sounds great, but what's with everyone talking about 3 battery jacks? you only need two.

Need: One, because one should be in the guitar already :22:

the thing with 3 is that you can take 3 plugs, wire them all in series, and have an adapter that lets you convert to 18v and back to 9v in an instant if you don´t like it

You can actually even go to 27v without worries, the circuits will hold up just fine (three 9v batteries in series, won´t fit in most guitars without modification, btw). But the difference won´t be nearly as noticeable as going from 9 to 18