stratmorse Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Hi there, I`m writing cause i REALLY need your help in this . I have a Legend guitar with 2 humbuckers and I`m replacing the bridge pickup with an EMG 81.This is the first time I do this. Ok, I have the wiring diagram that comes with the pickup and I have followed it exactly, the guitar is set up like this: 2 tone, 2 volume (each volume independent) and a 3 way switch, it has a passive pickup in the neck so is a hybrid circuit. I used the EMG pots, the battery is ok. So far so good. The pickup works but now comes the problem: when I plug my guitar to the amp I got this crazy buzz no matter which position the switch is. I can play but the buzz is always there. Is very annoying, it goes away when I touch the strings, the tone pots or the jack; it seems to me that the grounding is not ok but I really don`t know what could it be . I have checked everything and it seems to be in place. Oh, another thing, I did not reconect the ground wire that comes from the bridge. Well I`m puzzled , any help will be greatly apreciatted . Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Hi there, I`m writing cause i REALLY need your help in this . I have a Legend guitar with 2 humbuckers and I`m replacing the bridge pickup with an EMG 81.This is the first time I do this. Ok, I have the wiring diagram that comes with the pickup and I have followed it exactly, the guitar is set up like this: 2 tone, 2 volume (each volume independent) and a 3 way switch, it has a passive pickup in the neck so is a hybrid circuit. I used the EMG pots, the battery is ok. So far so good. The pickup works but now comes the problem: when I plug my guitar to the amp I got this crazy buzz no matter which position the switch is. I can play but the buzz is always there. Is very annoying, it goes away when I touch the strings, the tone pots or the jack; it seems to me that the grounding is not ok but I really don`t know what could it be . I have checked everything and it seems to be in place. Oh, another thing, I did not reconect the ground wire that comes from the bridge. Well I`m puzzled , any help will be greatly apreciatted . Thanks in advance. I dont think EMG's need to be grounded. If thats not true then hook the ground back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 you should not run the passive pickup with the active...unhook the passive and check it...i bet the buzz goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarmonky55 Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 you didnt reconnect the ground wire, and while emgs dont need to be grounded, a passive does. its not a good idea to mix passives and actives, lose the neck pickup for an 85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratmorse Posted December 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Thanks for your help. Wes i did what u told me and unhook the passive, yep the buzz is gone now,in fact is very quiet , is working perfect , this pickup sure rocks , but is there any way you can mix passive with actives?? or do I have to wait till I save the money for the 85 I plan to install in the neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 but is there any way you can mix passive with actives?? there are a couple of ways to do it...both are fairly complex i think... i would just get the 85 for the neck and be done with it.i think you will be happier anyway if you really want to mix them,read the how to at the emg website...i just don't reccomend it personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Can I mix EMG's with passive pickups? It is possible to mix EMG's with passive pickups. There are three possible wiring configurations; one is better than the other two. Use the high impedance (250K-500K) volume and tone controls. The problem is that the high impedance controls act more like a switch to the EMG's. The passive pickups, however, will work fine. If you have a guitar with two pickups and two volume pots, with a three-way switch, there is another alternative. Use the 25K pots for the EMG, and the 250K pots for the passive pickup. This way you can use one or the other with no adverse affects, but with the switch in the middle position the passive pickup will have reduced gain and response. Use the low-impedance (25K) volume and tone controls provided with the EMG's. The problem here is that the passive pickups will suffer a reduction in gain and loss of high-frequency response. This is the best alternative. Install an EMG-PA-2 on the passive pickups. There are two benefits to doing this. With the trimpot on the PA-2, you can adjust the gain of the passive pickups to match the EMG's. The PA-2 acts as an impedance matching device so you can use the low-impedance EMG controls (25K) without affecting the tone of the passive pickups. You will also be able to use other EMG accessory circuits such as the SPC, RPC, EXB, EXG, etc. For this application, we recommend ordering the PA-2 without the switch for easy installation on the inside of a guitar. from emginc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 A simple transistor emitter follower or JFET source follower will minimize the interaction, but Wes still has the best idea - get an 85, and eliminate the problem entirely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratmorse Posted December 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 Thanks again for your help . I`m going with the 85, in the meantime i`ll be playing with the 81 only . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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