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EMG Problen

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8/31/2005 3:15 PM
paulg	EMG Problen I'm installing a set of S/S/H EMG's in a Strat. The Humbacker has a real low output. The Pickup measures 13.5K (the neck is about 17.5k). The pickup is powered by the same 9V battery as the others. Any ideas why the output is low? thanks

9/6/2005 9:49 PM

Dwight Listmayer

Sorry, I've never measured any EMG's though I've worked with them. I have installed both single coils, and the humbuckers; while my son who plays guitar rather than writing on forums, built his SSH EMG Strat 2 - 3 years ago. We have EMG 81 and 85 HB's; I wouldn't know if they're even current models. No problems though.

Here's one thing I DO know. The EMG website has excellent tech support. Not a forum, but uno ... a Q & A, diagrams, and a tech support email address.

I think that's a pretty good service. Strat man Dwight

9/8/2005 11:10 AM

If they are the standard active EMG's, resistance measurements won't tell you much as the pickups are buffered. I have had an EMG-SA, and a friend currently has an SA, that both have a very low output even with a new battery. Unfortunately both of the low output pickups are defective. When mine was replaced the problem was fixed.

One bad thing about EMG customer service is their warranty, just one year IIRC. They refused to replace my friend's SA in his David Gilmour set, and he will have to buy a new SA to complete the set. For the prices they charge, EMG should have a better warranty. They are impossible to repair as they are potted in epoxy (at least you can rewind a standard pickup). So if your pickups are new, you may want to get the humbucker replaced before the warranty runs out.

9/8/2005 11:59 PM

MKB said:

One bad thing about EMG customer service is their warranty, just one year IIRC. They refused to replace my friend's SA in his David Gilmour set, and he will have to buy a new SA to complete the set. For the prices they charge, EMG should have a better warranty.

I was just wondering what might cause EMG's to go bad... maybe some stoned guitarist connected a stomp box backwards and turned the volume up to 11 since nothing was coming out of the speakers. (I think that happens a lot with stoned guitarists... no idea whatsoever why their equipment stopped working.

)

My opinion on mfg warranties is that they are basically there to cover pre-existing problems that were missed during QC (if indeed there was any testing at all before shipment). Especially electronics circuitry like the transistors or op amps inside a EMG pickup: I think that if they are working right after installation there is a good chance that they will keep working right for a few years.

There are certain exceptions like damage caused by static electricity, and some stuff actually breaks all by itself... I just think that most problems are either pre-existing or due to customer misuse. (Go ahead and shoot me!

)

Steve Ahola

P.S. Thanks for the heads up about the EMG warranty period! Sometimes we'll let something go figuring that the mfg will make good on it when we eventually bring it to their attention so it's good to know that EMG doesn't. Some companies will give you a lifetime warranty against factory defects (or maybe 5 years), but they need to agree that it is a factory defect...

P.S.S. I suggested that connecting EMG pickups to the output of a stomp box might damage them... I have never tried this myself so I can't confirm that it would damage them. (Maybe there is something to protect against that- or the effects of hooking up the battery incorrectly.)

12/8/2005 6:04 AM

Re: EMG Problem: Good news update

My friend with the bad SA in the Gilmour set knew he was out of luck on the warranty period, plus he had bought the pickups used off ebay. After he had exhausted his options, with nothing to lose, he finally boxed up the bad SA and sent it to EMG with an explanation letter. To his surprise, a week ago he received a new replacement SA in the mail! So he is up and running now. They replaced it even though their tech on the phone said they wouldn't, and the warranty had expired. So maybe their service isn't too bad after all.

12/8/2005 11:01 AM

I bought an SA set aeons ago. I ended up adding an SPC, then later an EXG. The EXG worked great at 0 and 10, but picked up noise between 2 and 8. EMG service told me that it sounded like a cold solder joint and to send it back, which I never did because I thought he was wrong. So, a couple of years ago, I asked one of the techs at work to put it under a microscope and touch up all the solder joints. Turned out that the EMG tech guy was 100% correct, which means I was 0%....

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