Just bought the Nazgul set and I am replacing EMG 81/85 + PA2 boost with them.

[jpont001]

I would like to still use the EMG PA2 booster, but I can't find any wiring diagrams on how to install the PA2 booster with only 2 Passive pickups (Neck and Bridge) and no battery. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the following:

2 Passive Pickups (Neck + Bridge)
1 Volume
1 Tone
1 3 way toggle
1 PA2 switch
NO BATTERY

I have all of the EMG pots and busses, EMG's wiring diagrams are not specific enough to the above. Of the 7 diagrams they show, none of them are my configuration and I don't use a pot for SPC control (I don't know what that is or what it does).

This will be going in a Jackson Soloist Pro SL2

 

[trevorus]

You cannot use the PA2 or the EMG electronics with a passive pickup set. They’re completely different. You’ll need a new harness, and a booster that has any active circuitry will need a battery.

 

[jpont001]

EMG states on the website and in wiring diagrams that the PA2 can be used in both Active/Passive configurations. Also i'm completely fine with replacing all of the harness/pots and circuitry with non-EMG stuff. Worst case, the guitar is wired for the PA2 switch so i could theoretically still power the PA2 with a 9V, I just don't want to have pickups that rely on 9V anymore. I just need to know how to wire the PA2 with the passives, and in the case of keeping the 9V for the PA2, i don't want to wire it wrong and send voltage into the pickups.

 

[Seashore]

EMG states on the website and in wiring diagrams that the PA2 can be used in both Active/Passive configurations.

You're right that it can be used with passive pickups, but you still need a battery to power the boost itself, and different pot values from the active setup you had. There are wiring diagrams on the product page.

https://www.emgpickups.com/pa2.html

 

[jpont001]

Ah I see what you're saying, I'm talking with EMG right now and they confirm that the PA2 requires the 9V. They're going to dig through they're old files and see if they have a wiring diagram close to my setup. I will post follow-ups with the diagram they send as well as specific wiring configurations for anyone else having this issue. I will have to replace all of the 25k pots with 500k pots, but I don't need any of the EMG busses and I can send the 9V direct into the PA2.

Here is the new configuration:

2 Passive Humbuckers (Rd/Wht/Grn/Gry/Black) wires
1 500k Volume Pot
1 500k Tone Pot
1 3-way Toggle Switch
1 PA2 Switch (left as is, I will rewire direct into the cables currently plugged in)

The wiring diagram is going to be a modified version of EMG PA2 Diagram #3 combined with the Seymour Duncan Wiring Diagram for (2 Humbucker, 1 Vol, 1 Tone, 3 Way Toggle)

From what EMG explained, I can fully rewire the pickups using the Seymour Diagram (Left), but at the very end, I take the ground of the Tone pot + the "Hot Output" of the Volume pot and splice those cables into the pins of "reversed connector" going into PA2 from Master Tone (Passive) pot in EMG PA2 Diagram #3 (Right). I have tried to mix them together below. Because you have to use the 9V to power the PA2 switch, you must keep the TRS Output jack to ground the battery to AND you must ground the pickups to the Bridge plate via the Volume/Tone Pot grounds.

 

[jpont001]

Here is the follow up image from EMG, basically the same thing without as much of a mess. They were also super helpful and quick to respond when I called, so if anyone has a different configuration or issues swapping out EMG's for different pickups, definitely give them a call.

 

[jpont001]

I'll definitely post a follow up after I do the install and let y'all know how it all worked out.

 

[jeremy]

very cool of emg to provide that. ive used the emg spc control with passive pups before and it worked fine. still need the battery and the trs jack, as they said, but it worked fine

 

[jpont001]

As a follow up, I wired exactly as the diagrams from EMG show. It works perfectly, now I just need a decent amp to plug into . The PA2 Boost is technically wired in series with the circuit, so you need a battery to complete the circuit regardless of if the switch is on. I found this out because the plug in tuner i was using didn't show strings at all until i put a battery in and turned the switch off.