Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Not too long ago I posted about not liking the 60 as a neck pickup for the 85 in the bridge in my LTD because I found it too low output. I ended up moving that 60 to the neck position of another guitar. It's still low-output, but I really like how it's voiced. Well, I figured what the hell, I still like the EQ of the 60, so I would just get another 60 for the LTD.
I got a second 60 today. I slapped it on my LTD. Bam. It still sounds like a 60 (bright, open, and chimey), but it's noticeably louder. I recorded some DI's to see if it's just not "perceived loudness". Nope. The waveform is louder. The pickup's headroom is exactly the same, though. I mean, if I hit the strings hard, it seems like both pickups' preamps clip at exactly the same level. If I play with the same sort of moderate dynamics, one is quite a bit louder than the other. What could be going on? I'm pretty sure it's either 60 that's an oddity, and this is not because of the difference between guitars, because the quiet one has been on both guitars, and on both guitars, it's been quiet compared to all of my other EMG's. I also made sure the pickup height was consistent.
I guess it's important to say that both were used. The quiet one is from 2017, and it has a slightly different sticker. The new one is from 2016, and it has the same sticker as other EMG's I have. I'm pretty sure neither is a Chinese copy, though. Everything about them seems legit. The mounting tabs, the quick connect terminal, the logo. It just seems like they changed the design of the sticker. I found some EMG's with that same sticker on eBay that look legit.
These are the pickups' backs. The one on the first pic is the quiet one:
Also, the EMG 81 that I got along with the quiet 60 sounds like a regular 81. It's not quiet or odd at all.
So what could be going on? Could it be that the quiet one has been degaussed from being stuck to another pickup? I had never heard of a ceramic magnet losing charge, though. Any thoughts?
I got a second 60 today. I slapped it on my LTD. Bam. It still sounds like a 60 (bright, open, and chimey), but it's noticeably louder. I recorded some DI's to see if it's just not "perceived loudness". Nope. The waveform is louder. The pickup's headroom is exactly the same, though. I mean, if I hit the strings hard, it seems like both pickups' preamps clip at exactly the same level. If I play with the same sort of moderate dynamics, one is quite a bit louder than the other. What could be going on? I'm pretty sure it's either 60 that's an oddity, and this is not because of the difference between guitars, because the quiet one has been on both guitars, and on both guitars, it's been quiet compared to all of my other EMG's. I also made sure the pickup height was consistent.
I guess it's important to say that both were used. The quiet one is from 2017, and it has a slightly different sticker. The new one is from 2016, and it has the same sticker as other EMG's I have. I'm pretty sure neither is a Chinese copy, though. Everything about them seems legit. The mounting tabs, the quick connect terminal, the logo. It just seems like they changed the design of the sticker. I found some EMG's with that same sticker on eBay that look legit.
These are the pickups' backs. The one on the first pic is the quiet one:
Also, the EMG 81 that I got along with the quiet 60 sounds like a regular 81. It's not quiet or odd at all.
So what could be going on? Could it be that the quiet one has been degaussed from being stuck to another pickup? I had never heard of a ceramic magnet losing charge, though. Any thoughts?
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